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By Dick Brown
Winning an angler of the year title in the competitive Maryland
B.A.S.S. Federation Tournament Trail is a tribute to any angler who has
achieved the honor. Winning consecutively is certainly a tremendous
accomplishment, to say the very least. Congratulations, Kevin Waterman,
on pulling off back-to-back Angler of the Year titles.
Deep
Creek Lake
Starting the 2004 tournament
season at Deep Creek Lake as reigning Angler of the Year didn’t go as
well as planned for Kevin. As he headed away from the State Park ramp in
his brand new Ranger boat, Kevin barely got the boat on plane when the
engine suddenly shut off. Wondering what in the world could possibly be
wrong, he eventually discovered he had inadvertently switched the fuel
selector to "off" position. That is just the kind of day it
was going to be.
Kevin admitted he lost
a bunch of fish by just being too cavalier. Out of 25 or so bites, he
only boated 6 fish. He tried for bigger fish early on top water lures.
Simple mistakes like trying to swing 3 lb fish into the boat on top
water lures, having the fish hit the gunnels and straighten out the
hook, for instance, cost him dearly in this tournament. His 5 fish
weighed between seven and eight pounds.
Upper
Bay
Once again things don’t
always end up the way they start out to be. Kevin drew the last boat out
and had found fish on the "flats" in practice, but opted to
stay closer to Dundee State Park than to make the run to the flats in
the Bay. Once again he lost a few fish in top water but he didn’t
"mess up," like he believed he did during the Deep Creek
tournament.
By 9 a.m. he had caught
his first fish flipping a jig and probably hundreds of flips later, at
3:30 p.m. landed his fifth fish on a day that he never was able to cull.
After a long grueling nine-hour tournament he considers himself very
lucky to have had "two four-pounders mixed in with the other three
peanuts," as he calls them.
Choptank
River
By now the theme of this
article should be "don’t judge your performance by things that go
wrong but by the things that go right." Why, then, should this
tournament be any different than the first two? Imagine the hoots and
howls coming from the other anglers as this accomplished angler launched
his boat without putting in the plug! Fortunately, Kevin figured this
out and was able to pull his boat up on a trailer to pump out and plug
up. Now, imagine having only one bite by noon. Sometimes you get them,
sometimes you don’t. The outcome truly wasn’t all that bad. The
fishing was poor for most everyone else in the tournament, and Kevin
didn’t drop in the Angler of the Year standings. Sometimes things just
eventually go your way whether you realize it at the time or not.
Potomac
River
At last, home sweet home. Kevin
is fortunate to live just minutes from his "home" waters.
Kevin felt pretty good going into this tournament. He had a fair
practice, but it was a long ride to where he had located his bigger fish
and after some mighty rainfall up north, the River was laden with
debris.
Knowing you’re in the
drivers seat and it’s yours to win or loose can often toy with one’s
head. Not wanting to take a chance, he decided to stay close. Kevin
pulled into his first spot, and within five casts he had his first fish.
That initial rush soon gave way to the realization that it was a short
fish. Shortly afterward he had hooked about a 1.5 pounder that ended up
spitting his jig back at him. At that point things became nerve-racking,
and Kevin decided to just go fish. It would either happen, or it would
not.
Late in the day Kevin
decided to make a little run and was able to get a three pounder. With
only 2 fish in the live well, he certainly didn’t think he had Angler
of the Year. In fact, he thought he had blown it. Being consistent and
keeping your sense of humor along the way has its rewards.
In closing, Kevin
wishes to thank Don Muir, who allowed Kevin complete control, carte
blanche over where he fished in that final Potomac tournament, knowing
the Angler of the Year title was on the line.
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