"It's Sweet To Finally Make It."

 Story By Pete Robbins - Photos by Mark Jeffreys 

Norman, OK – For years, anglers outside the west knew Byron Velvick primarily as “the swimbait guy” or “the sight fishing guy,” or “the Bachelor,” but now they can give him a new title….Bassmaster Classic Qualifier.

Unlike past Elite Series offseasons, when he had to worry about whether he’d be back on tour the following spring, Velvick will start this “offseason” fishing the US Open on Lake Mead and end it on the Red River, site of the 2009 Bassmaster Classic. After posting a 35th place finish in the Angler of the Year standings, there’s no question that he’s found a home on the Elite Series.

Time Heals All Wounds
Velvick’s monster 72 place swing, from 107th last year to 35th this year, did not result from any single change.

“Maybe it was my focus,” he said. “I wasn’t doing any of the TV stuff like Bass Center. Instead I was doing a lot more fishing.”

“I also became a lot more confident,” he continued. “I learned a little bit about fishing by the seat of my pants. Most guys who do well can have a lousy practice and then a good tournament, but that’s a formula I wasn’t aware of. I used to get real down and out but this year I surprised myself by putting the bad stuff behind me.”

He cited Skeet Reese, another westerner, as providing an example of how to fish that way. “A lot of times he doesn’t have a clue what he’ll be doing until the tournament starts,” Velvick said. “He just keeps pre-fishing through the tournament. Randy Howell and I talked about it at the campground – Skeet has no fear of trying new things throughout a tournament. A lot of other fishermen, if they exhaust their good stuff and don’t do well, they’re done.”

Another change for the better was his physical condition. Last year it was widely reported that an attempt to stop a runaway boat at Amistad resulted in an injured leg, but it was less widely known that the damage persisted throughout the course of the Elite Series season.

“It was a sour note (last year) at Amistad. It broke my spirit,” he said. “It was a severe contusion, which is sometimes worse than a break. Trip (Weldon) asked me to withdraw from the tournament. He wouldn’t put a co-angler in the boat with me. I went out with an observer. I don’t even remember the first day at Amistad.“

While he didn’t play up the injury, the effects didn’t go away when he left Texas. “It carried over for the first two or three events. I couldn’t walk to the front of my boat. I never use a seat up front but I had to use one.”

High Note to End the Year
While the 2007 regular season was a disaster for Velvick, he went out on an up note by winning the Wild Card to requalify for the Elites. 

“A lot of guys were surprised by me winning the Wild Card,” Velvick said. “They already had the nails in the coffin.”

Unfortunately 2008 started much like the bulk of 2007, with a below-average 75th place finish at the Harris Chain. But then he started to fish like a man on a mission, beginning at Toho, where he finished 15th overall.

“Toho is a perfect example of a tournament where I had a lousy practice, then stumbled onto a little something,” he said. “I had the confidence to expand during the tournament and I fished my strengths. I’ve been fishing tournaments since I was 16 years old and I fished swimbaits and sight fished before most other guys did. This year I realized that I can’t always match the really good crankbait fishermen or match KVD with a jerkbait.”

He finished 3rd in the next tournament, at Falcon. It bettered his previous best Elite Series finish, a 13th at the 2006 Clarks Hill event, and pushed him up to 17th in the Angler of the Year standings after three events. 

But then he stumbled on his adopted home lake of Amistad, finishing 61st.

“What a lot of people forget was that after the first day I was in the top 20,” he explained. “But on the second day I got stuck on some kooky bed fish and got sideways on a few of them. “

“Maybe it was a local jinx. I did better this years on lakes I hadn’t been to before, lakes like Murray and Kentucky Lake that I didn’t know as well.”

While the out of the money finish at Amistad only dropped him to 19th in the AOY standings, an 86th at Clarks Hill pushed him down to 36th, on the Classic bubble with less than half the season completed. At that point, it became a six tournament race to the end, and he responded well, posting four straight money finishes.

The last finish in that streak, a 50th at Old Hickory, much like the 49th that he closed out the year on at Oneida, is indicative of the type of season Velvick enjoyed – instead of ending up on the outside looking in at 51st, both times he found a way to get to fish Saturday. 

“I’ve been there enough times to know that I’m proficient, even if the standings don’t always show it,” he said. “But those tournaments are just examples of things going right. That’s a key part of this sport. Even the guys in the bottom 20, they’re all really good anglers. They just ended up on the bad side of some decisions.”

Even though he’s fortunate to have the unwavering support of a solid cadre of sponsors, he admitted that “those checks are confidence builders.”

“I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have any financial concerns. Eighty percent of the guys cherish those $10,000 checks.”

Classic Chase
After Kissimmee, Velvick never fell outside the Classic cut again, but there were some tense moments, and he didn’t know he had it sewn up until his last day of competition.

“People don’t realize how close it was,” he said. “It was a really scary time. Just like Todd (Faircloth) felt like he had the weight of the world on him towards the end, I felt exactly the same way.”

But he didn’t really feel the Classic pressure until the New York swing. The 50th place finish at Old Hickory had launched him into 19th in the standings, and that’s when his fiancée Mary started to make plans to be in Shreveport next February.

“I didn’t realize it at the time,” Velvick said. “I hadn’t looked up from the grindstone since the beginning of the year.”

At that same time, old friends Skeet Reese and John Murray congratulated him on qualifying for the big show, but Velvick believed that “it was not a foregone conclusion by any means.” A bottom of the barrel 103rd place finish at Erie showed that to be true, and with one event left he was in 33rd. But at Oneida he caught just enough to claim the final spot in the top 50 and when the dominoes finished falling he had locked up a Classic berth, with a few spots to spare.

It’s All Good
It’s no secret that Velvick has been the target of some derisive comments, whether they be about his network television appearance, his struggles in recent years, or other perceived faults. Whether any of that has been justified, or whether it’s just jealousy, is subject to debate, but he steadfastly believes that it hasn’t affected him negatively or positively.

“I had heard about it,” he admitted. “Some people like to bash others, kick them when they’re down. They want to hear about others’ failures. But my friends and my fiancée kept it from me.”

“Then, when I started doing well the detractors shut up. People on the internet can remain anonymous. There’s no accountability when you’re hiding behind a computer.”

At the same time, he feels that despite his lengthy list of prior achievements – the BASS three-day weight record, US Open wins, the Ray Scott Light Line championship victory and his 2007 Wild Card performance – the 2008 consistency does provide him with additional validation.

“I’m not trying to hit a home run anymore,” he said. “I’ve learned that I can compete with these guys. The talent level out here is amazing. These guys don’t stub their toes. No matter how good you’re doing, you have to look over your shoulder.”

“To have had a good year at this level, it makes me feel good. It’s sweet to finally make it.” 

Going Forward
Right now he’s out west, where he made his name, preparing for the US Open, but he’s implementing his new game strategy there, too. 

“It’s a practice day today and I’m not even out there,” he said. “Last year I came in 5th without even practicing so I’m just going to go fishing. I may fall flat on my face, but I feel good about the way things are going. I’m at a good comfort level.”

After that, he’ll head to Kentucky Lake for the BASS Open. He’s signed up to fish it, but may sit it out and just serve as Mary’s caddy. But the lion’s share of his “free” time will be split between his home at Amistad www.amistadlakeresort.com and the Red River.

“I’ve been (to the Red River) one time, for the Open,” he said. “It was high and muddy, so I’m glad I went, although I wish I had spent more time there. I have a lot of work to do, but I feel like I have as good a shot as anyone.”

While he’s not resting on his laurels, he’s proud of the work that he’s done and what he’s accomplished – in addition to his $700,000 in western winnings, he has now established himself as a contender from coast to coast.

“Ten years ago, it was a different playing field,” he said. “Now we have 11 tour events and a hard core points system. Just look at the guys who didn’t qualify. It’s never been this tough before. “

Accordingly, he’s proud of where he’s traveled, detractors be damned.

“This is something they can’t take away from me.”