Boerne, Tx. – For fourth year Elite Series pro Grant Goldbeck, the biggest difference between 2010 and the prior years has been multiple changes of scenery.
Most notably, he’s not currently staring at the backside of an eight-ball in the AOY points race.
In each of the past three years, he’d had at least one bomb of 95th or worse in the first two events and at least two in the first three tournaments. In 2006, he started his Elite Series career with a 101st place finish at
Amistad.
Photos
by Mark Jeffreys & Matt Pangrac
In 2007, after commencing with a check at Amistad he finished 95th at the Cal Delta and 103rd at Clear Lake. In 2008, he began with an 83rd at the Harris Chain, and then followed that up with 106th and 108th results at Kissimmee and Falcon, respectively. Last year was no better – he started off with a 70th in Del Rio then went on to a triple digit result at Dardanelle. In fact, he only earned one check all year, for a 23rd place finish at Kentucky
Lake
He seems to have broken away from that history by virtue of a near-money finish at the Delta (56th), followed by a 17th place effort at Clear Lake, his best Elite Series finish since May of 2008.
As a result of those two finishes, he currently holds down 32nd place in the Angler of the Year race, inside the Classic cut at this early point in the season. For Goldbeck, an angler who’s never finished higher than 74th in the AOY race, that’s indicative of his changed attitude and the consequent change in fortunes.
Moving On
Of his current position, Goldbeck said: “I feel like I’m on top of the world right now.” That statement doesn’t only describe his on-the-water success. He said it’s meant to encompass the complete change of direction that his life has taken over the past year.
“The truth is that things are incredible at home right now,” he said. “And that’s because I’ve got a new title sponsor, Knighten Industries. He’s just been incredibly supportive.” Knighten manufactures, sells and services fluid movement pumps for the oil industry in south and west Texas.
Goldbeck’s relationship with Knighten goes beyond that of the standard sponsor/promoter. In addition to bearing the company’s logo and making appearances, he’ll be working for the company during breaks in the schedule and during the offseason. This begets change of scenery number two: “He’s made it possible for me and my family to relocate to Boerne, Texas, which is about 20 miles outside of San Antonio.” That will put Goldbeck closer to many of the tournament venues than his current base in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It will also allow him to spend more time with his wife and young son.
The corporate relationship was not one that Goldbeck initially sought out. The company’s owner is a huge fan of professional fishing and he and his wife served as Marshals at Amistad last year. While neither was paired up with Goldbeck, they met him in a restaurant and quickly became acquainted.
“We hit it off great,” Goldbeck said. “He fished the Fish and Chips tournament with me and then they wanted to come out to the DC area and see all of the museums before we left, so they came out for Christmas. He finally asked me, ‘What is it going to take to make you sign with us?’” A deal was struck quickly.
“He’s as good as gold,” Goldbeck continued. “One of those friendships that you’ll keep forever.”
Clear Lake Redemption
While there was no chance Goldbeck would do worse than he did the last time BASS visited Clear Lake – with only 93 anglers in the field, there was no way he could match his 103rd place finish from 2007 – he was mindful of the need to avoid an early season bomb. It was a very different tournament in that overall weights were down this time. Goldbeck was able to build upon his prior mistakes to improve 86 spots, all the way up to 17th.
He caught his fish on a jig first thing in the day, but after that he “destroyed them on a Jackall Flick Shake worm.”
“They’re not a sponsor of mine,” he explained. “I drew (lure designer) Seiji Kato when he used them to win the amateur side at Amistad. Ever since then it’s been a go-to bait. It’s on my deck in every single tournament.”
He’d used a Flick Shake in ’07 as well, most notably to catch a 9 ½ pounder the first morning, but he abandoned it too quickly to chase the swimbait bite, he said. He was in the same area with “a guy who takes a lot of Classic second places,” he explained, and instead of chasing the bite he should’ve stayed close. “On that lake, at that time of year, you can sit in one spot and let them come to you. In 2007 I left and went swimbait fishing.”
This time around, he mined an area approximately 100 yards from where he caught the big girl the last time he visited Clear Lake, and camped out there for much of the event. The Flick Shake was especially effective because the key places “were getting pounded and the fish were a little skittish.”
He averaged almost 19 pounds a day for three days and missed the cut to 12 by only five pounds. It might not have been his third Elite Series top 12, but the finish provided him with some valuable points and breathing room as he heads to Smith Mountain Lake, just a few hours down the lake from his soon-to-be-ex-home.
Ready for More
With momentum working in his favor, Goldbeck is anxious to keep fishing. He doesn’t want to get ahead of himself and look at any tournament other than the next one on the schedule, but at the same time he said “I can’t tell you that I didn’t have the wife look at the standings on the internet. I know I’m in 32nd place.”
For the journeyman pro, if he can hold onto that position, he’ll earn his first Classic berth, a hard-won reward for keeping the faith.
“When I went into this year, I was talking to my boss and he said you’re going to make the Classic and the whole company is going to be there to support you,” Goldbeck said. “Given what I’ve done so far, it’s not out of the question to make it.”
For an angler who’s been living out of a suitcase for the past two months, waiting for his wife and son to wrap up business in Maryland, he’s anxious to set down new roots, and right now the scenery is very much to his
liking.
