THE FLORIDA FACTOR

Story by Matt Pangrac - Photos by Mark Jeffreys, Matt Pangrac, and Dave Rush

Moore, OK – Just how much of a factor does the home field advantage actually play in professional bass fishing? 

The BASS ZONE tackled this question last August in a feature titled, “Breaking Down the Home Field Advantage.” CLICK HERE to view the original story. 

The stats show that during the past two years of competition on the Bassmaster Elite Series, anglers have capitalized on tournaments that were held on familiar fisheries in their home state.  Still, the debate exists as to just how much of an advantage an angler fishing a tour level tournament in his own backyard has over the rest of the field.  

For years, the “Classic curse” seemed to prevent any angler fishing the Bassmaster Classic in his home state from lifting the trophy.  That theory fell apart in 2007, when Boyd Duckett won the Lay Lake Classic less than two hours from his Demopolis, Alabama home.         

While home-state dominance in tournaments may appear to be sporadic throughout many lakes in the country, every tournament angler residing in Florida would be remiss not to have a “Home, Sweet Home” welcome mat in front of the entrance to their home.  

Over the past two years, the majority of tour level anglers living outside of The Sunshine State who have hooked up the boat and headed to the land of palm trees and alligators for a tournament, have left their entry fees in Florida. 

Just dating back two years, the stats are impressive when it comes to how well Florida anglers fare in national tournaments that are held in Florida. 

Since 2010, there have  been nine FLW Everstart Southeast Division, Bassmaster Southern Open, FLW Tour, or Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments held in the state of Florida, including the 2010 Bassmaster Southern Open on Lake Seminole located on the Georgia/Florida state line.  Here’s a breakdown on how Florida angers have dominated each and every one of them:

Note: Chris Lane and Randall Tharp, although living in Alabama, are included as “Florida anglers” in the following stats.  Lane relocated from Florida to Alabama several years ago and Tharp spends much of his winters in Florida.

Florida by the Numbers
Number of Everstart, B.A.S.S. Open, FLW Tour, or Elite Series events in Florida since 2010: 9
Number of Tournaments won by Florida anglers: 6
Average percentage of anglers from Florida in each tournament field: 23.5%
Average percentage of anglers from Florida that make up the Top 20 in each tournament: 48.7%
Average number of anglers from Florida finishing in the Top 20 of each tournament: 9.5

A Timeline of Dominance
2010 FLW Everstart Southeast Division: Lake Okeechobee - February 25-27
Winner: Marty Brown (Georgia)

Field size: 147

Anglers from Florida: 68 (46% of the field)

Number of Florida anglers finishing in the Top 20: 15 (75% of the Top 20)

2010 Bassmaster Southern Open: Lake Seminole - October 7-9 (Located on the Georgia/Florida line)
Winner: Trevor Fitzgerald (Florida)

Field Size: 138

Anglers from Florida: 37 (26% of the field)

Number of Florida anglers finishing in the Top 20: 9 (45% of the Top 20)

2011 FLW Everstart Southeast Division: Lake Okeechobee – January 6-9
Winner: Brandon Medlock (Florida)

Field Size: 164

Anglers from Florida: 36 (22% of the field)

Number of Florida anglers finishing in the Top 20: 10 (50% of the Top 20)

2011 Bassmaster Southern Open: Kissimmee Chain Of Lakes – January 20-22
Winner: Gerald Swindle (Alabama)

Field Size: 194

Anglers from Florida: 48 (25% of the field)

Number of Florid Anglers finishing in the Top 20: 12 (60% of the Top 20)

2011 FLW Tour: Lake Okeechobee – February 3-6
Winner: Brandon McMillan (Florida)

Field Size: 160

Anglers from Florida: 30 (19% of the field)

Number of Florid anglers finishing in the Top 20: 10 (50% of the Top 20)

2011 Bassmaster Elite Series: Harris Chain Of Lakes – March 10-13
Winner: Shaw Grigsby (Florida)

Field Size: 100

Anglers from Florida: 8 (8% of the Field)

Number of Florida anglers finishing in the Top 20: 5 (25% of the Top 20)

2011 Bassmaster Elite Series: St. Johns River – March 17-20
Winner: Edwin Evers (Oklahoma)

Field Size: 100

Anglers from Florida: 8 (8% of the field)

Number of Florida anglers finishing in the Top 20: 3 (15% of the Top 20)

2012 FLW Everstart Southeast Division: Lake Okeechobee – January 19-21
Winner: Brandon Medlock (Florida)

Field Size: 168

Anglers from Florida: 50 (30% of the Field)

Number of Florida anglers finishing in the Top 20: 13 (65% of the Top 20)

2012 Bassmaster Southern Open: Harris Chain Of Lakes – January 19-21
Winner: Chris Lane (Florida native)

Field Size: 197

Anglers from Florida: 37 (19% of the field)

Number of Anglers finishing in the Top 20: 9 (45% of the Top 20)

The 2012 Money Trail
With the first FLW Everstart of the year on Lake Okeechobee ending on the same day as the first Bassmaster Southern Open of the 2012 season on the Harris Chain (January 21st), Florida anglers in both tournaments cashed in big time when the checks were handed out. 

At the Everstart tournament, the Top 10 finishers earned a combined $99,000.  Of that money, $77,000, or 78%, was paid to anglers who live in Florida. 

At the Bassmaster Open, Florida anglers who finished in the Top 10 banked a combined $104,494 out of a possible 142,318, or 73% of the total Top 10 payout. 

Even though they only made up around 24% of the total field between the two tournaments (84 Florida anglers out of 365 anglers), Florida anglers finishing in the Top 10 in either the FLW Everstart or Bassmaster Open combined to bank an incredible $181,494 out of a possible $241,318 – just over 75% of all money won by Top 10 finishers in the two tournaments. 

This past weekend, Florida anglers competing in the PAA Tour Team Challenge on Lake Toho also dominated.  Four of the teams that finished in the Top 5 were comprised of at least one member who lives in Florida, including the winning team of Bobby Lane and Gerald Brown.  

Looking Ahead
Florida anglers have three more chances to cash in on fisheries in their home state this year.  The 2012 FLW Tour Open season kicks off on Lake Okeechobee on February 9-12, and the Bassmaster Elite Series makes back-to-back stops in Florida to kick of the 2012 season at the St. Johns River and Lake Okeechobee in mid March.