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Zapata,
Tx. –. Boyd Duckett started the 2007 tournament season the way tournament angler would like to start his tour level career, by winning the Bassmaster Classic. It just doesn't get any better than that.
But by no means was Duckett a one hit wonder. He backed up his Classic title with a 17th place finish in the AOY standings and a Major win, which added $250,000 to the $500 grand he'd won at the Classic.
Tough Start
If 2007's start was the dream, then 2008 was something of a nightmare.
"It seems like I'm driving the suck bus," he said with a laugh. "Well, maybe but driving it, but at least riding on it."
It started at the Hartwell Classic, where his attempt to defend his crown was undermined by a 33rd place finish.
"I was really looking forward to Hartwell, but the cold weather and rain on the first day really hurt me. I had figured I could catch 16 to 18 pounds a day, but I made some mistakes in judgment, then tried to recover on the second day and didn't. I made some mistakes in judgment and maybe I should've stayed with my pattern anyway. It's easy to say that at the end when you've weighed in two bass."
Like many of the top finishers, he'd found some deep fish to complement the shallow pattern he thought would prevail, but they suspended and he couldn't entice them to bite.
"The Classic gets away from you real quick," he said.
Magic Kingdom?
He wasn't particularly amped to started the Elite Series season in Florida, for the simple reason that he has "always done horribly in Florida, and not just with BASS." A quick glance at his prior BASS results are enough to tell the tale:
• Harris Chain 2003 – 158th
• Okeechobee 2003 – 75th
• Okeechobee 2004 – 113th
• Toho 2006 – 35th
• Okeechobee 2006 – 53rd
• Toho 2007 – 63rd
For a guy who's used to being at the top of the food chain, tough tournaments in Florida are difficult to swallow.
The bleeding continued this year with 62nd and 73rd place finishes to start the year.
"At Toho I never knew what to do, but I did have some fish at Harris," he said.
"I can never seem to get a pattern going (in Florida). Everyone says you have to find one or two places and beat them up and get one or two big bites a day, but I can't do it. I like to fish within myself, and that means react to conditions and go with them, but in Florida it seems I'm always confused."
It might just boil down to "a lack of confidence when I drive across the state line."
He has concluded that he needs to approach future Sunshine State events differently and "give up trying to fish it my way."
Consultations with Kevin
He had the chance to spend time with KVD both before and after the Florida run, working a series of promotional events together, and they talked extensively about past Florida woes. But the bottom line, he said, is that KVD adjusted and he didn't.
"Kevin did what he needed to do. He found two grass clumps, one of which was about the size of a boat and a truck and he stayed on them. He cast his lipless crankbait through there so many times, by the time the fourth day was over there were no leaves left on the hydrilla. That's hard to do unless you believe it's going to happen. I have no knowledge from experience, but that's apparently what you have to do. I just haven't found the right pickup truck yet."
Like VanDam, he had a tremendous burden last year in the form of pressure from the media, the fans and other anglers. "Some of the pressure is off now. It's just me out there fishing."
He noted that he had a terrible start to the 2007 regular season as well, including a 93rd place finish at Amistad, and the lesson he took away is that "two bad events don't wreck a season."
"I felt that if I could get through Florida with a couple of finishes in the 50s, I could still win Angler of the Year."
He's anxious to get another shot at Amistad, and stated that he's seeking "personal redemption. When the lake beats you, you really want another shot at it."
He's also excited about Falcon, and said that he doesn't know what to expect and doesn't "know anything negative or positive about the lake," and that makes him optimistic.
And the rest of the season also sets up to his liking, with one tour tournament in his home state of Alabama and another one on Kentucky Lake, where he's done well in numerous tournaments over the years. He added that he "had a great Open at the Mississippi River two years ago and I like the Carolinas. I've also had some good finishes at Erie."
Looking Forward
Despite the lackluster start, he's done anything but come unglued, and he harkened back to a conversation he had three years ago with Angie Thompson about Greg Hackney, who was absolutely on fire at the time.
"He was smoking hot, in his prime, but everybody has strong periods and weak periods. He won't stay that hot forever. The only guy who ever does is Kevin, and it took him a long time to get there."
He also mentioned a recent taping for Ultimate Match Fishing at Georgia's Lake Lanier. While he can't say who he fished against or how it shook out, he did note an experience in which he seined a single boat dock for what seemed like an eternity. "I made 40 casts to a single piling, an area two feet by two feet with nothing under it and caught three bass. The last one was a 5.75. I just felt like it was the right thing to do."
"Good decisions just come to you," he concluded.
"It's pretty hard to have a better season than I did in '07," but he seems willing to give it a shot..
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