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Kissimmee, FL
– A 3rd place finish at Kissimmee, following closely on the heels of a 42nd place finish at the Harris Chain, has Scott Rook in 12th place in the AOY standings. Combined with his 13th place finish in the Classic, he's already socked away nearly fifty grand this year.
He's fishing well and he knows it.
So why does he have a pit in his stomach?
Partly because he felt that he was on the winning fish at Kissimmee but had to share them with Jason Quinn. He doesn't blame Quinn, and in fact he repeatedly remarked about how well they worked together, but still he can't shake the thought that if he had them to himself he might have beaten close friend Kevin VanDam.
Quinn ended up the week tied with Mike McClelland for 19th place.
"If either of us had had it to ourselves, we would've won. I pulled in the first morning and we were both going in the same direction, so we agreed to share and it worked out real good," Rook said.
Not only did they share the water efficiently, but they were close enough that they could see each other catch fish and offer advice.
"We went back and forth and all around a 50 acre area," Rook said. "It was mostly hydrilla, keying on the deeper holes. We were basically fishing the same way. I started with a paddletail and he started with a fluke. I told him what size sinker I was using. He caught one in a hole where it was real clear and told me to keep an eye open for beds. We helped each other."
As often happens in Florida, many other anglers were fishing nearby. In addition to the immediate competition for those fish, second place finisher Ray Sedgwick was just outside their area. There were six or seven more boats nearby the first day, three or four more the second day, and two others on day three.
"Between all of us and our co-anglers, that's a lot of fish taken out of one place," Rook remarked.
Despite the common thought that increased payouts have decreased sportsmanship and increased friction, Rook believes that the Gentleman's Agreement between himself and Quinn helped both anglers. He believes that on-the-water disputes hurt both parties by distracting them from the task at hand.
"A lot of times guys get overprotective. I'm guilty of doing the same thing sometimes. If you start worrying more about that, it'll hurt you. I found out a long time ago that if you can't get along it's not a good deal for anyone. The Jim Bitter/George Cochran confrontation a few years ago is a good example of that. It's just uncalled for."
He noted that he had not previously shared an area with Quinn, but that this experience convinced him that he's "a true pro."
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