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Inspira = Inspration
As the 2015 Elite Series came to a close on Sturgeon Bay, we were able to watch the best anglers in the world battle the elements and moving schools of bass to lock up Bassmaster Classic bids, tournament titles, and attempt to end the year on a positive note. read more…
Keith Combs 2015 Year End Review
The 2015 Bassmaster Elite Series has come to a close , Keith Combs posted a solid 14th place finish in the AOY points race. Here is a look at his year and the lures he used to get it done.
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Keep up with Keith on his Facebook page.
Get all of the product Keith uses here.
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David Walker’s Runner-Up Finish Puts Exclamation Point on 2015 Elite Series Season
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DOOR COUNTY, Wis. (Sept. 20) — Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat pro angler David Walker closed the Bassmaster Elite Series season in spectacular fashion, charging to a second-place finish in the Toyota Angler of the Year event on Sunday on Sturgeon Bay.
Walker landed a monster bag Sunday, catching five fish weighing 20 pounds, 10 ounces, the highest total on the day. He climbed from ninth place to finish less than 3 pounds out of the lead.
“It went awesome today,” Walker said. “I went back out there with a boatful of confidence, and it showed. It was just one of those things that when you get that confidence flowing, you feel good about what you’re doing, and it normally comes with some good results.
“The fish were bigger than I thought. I was thinking I’d have 19 pounds, and I had almost 21. Having a little bit more than what you thought is a good problem to have. It was fun.”
It was so much fun that Walker came within 2 pounds, 9 ounces of tying winner Chris Zaldain.
“To be honest, I really didn’t think winning it was a possibility,” Walker said. “I came into the weigh-in, and I was kinda wrong because there was a flood of people coming around me, shaking my hand, and taking pictures. I’m thinking, ‘Boy, this must be good.’
“What a great way to end the season. To just slam the door on a season that had a whole lot of ups and downs and finish it off on a high note like that it was the best-case scenario.”
Walker finished 23rd in the Toyota Angler of the Year points standings and clinched a spot in the 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic. That alone made his 2015 season a successful one.
“When you go to the first event, No. 1 on your checklist of goals is to qualify for the Classic,” Walker said. “That’s our focus because obviously you can’t win the Classic if you’re not in the Classic. Winning the Classic is a career-changer. That solidifies you and validates you. That is the tournament to win.
“For me to know that I’m in there, now I can start focusing on that. I’ll take a little bit of time off, regroup, and get ready for the GEICO Bassmaster Classic. That is the premier event.”
The way Walker closed the Elite Series season, with three top-25 finishes in the final four events, one would think he’d like the season to continue, but the AOY tournament took a lot out of many professional anglers, including Walker.
“I’ve got all this momentum going, so let’s fish another one,” Walker said. “But honestly, this tournament has been a tough one. We’re dealing with these Great Lakes, and I was on a long run. It took me over an hour to get back, and that was an hour of constant beating because the waves were rolling four-foot waves that were pounding.
“I don’t even want to look inside my boat to see what is pulverized because I know as sore as I am that the boat is beat up, too. I’m kinda glad it’s over with, to be honest.
“It’s one of those bittersweet deals where everything is going well but it’s the end of the season. We’ll see you in six months.”
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Swindle Focused on Lure Colors and PMA
Study the bracelet on his wrist, or the back of the black and white Toyota/Quantum hat Gerald Swindle often wears, and you’ll see three letters – PMA.
PMA stands for Positive Mental Attitude – a motto that consistently carries bass fishing’s funniest angler to a Bassmaster Classic qualification each year, and to remain humorous even amid life’s biggest frowns.
This year, Swindle’s been carried on a rollercoaster mix of highs and lows plentiful enough to make Six Flags proud. He finished 94th at the St. Lawrence River, an impressive 4th on super stingy Chesapeake Bay two weeks later, then two weeks after that, ended with a gut dropping 94th on Lake St. Clair.
A ride like that, and a little mathematical figuring, will leave you near the middle of the pack in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, and your stomach churning, entering the final day of the season, as you claw to climb high enough in the final standings to make the Classic.
Or at least it would leave the stomachs churning of most people – but Swindle’s not ‘most people’ – he’s one of the greatest anglers in the world – and he prepares his mind and body constantly for days like this.
“I’ve trained my whole life for today – let’s get it on,” grinned Swindle, but only after spending five minutes rooting through fellow competitor Chris Zaldain’s tackle tray of jerkbaits.
“Gerald knows that Brand Palaniuk and I are roommates at tournaments, and when he realized he needed more of a certain color of Megabass jerkbait, he sent a text to Brandon asking for my help,” grinned Zaldain. “We started sending photos to him of different colors trying to figure out which one he wanted, but ultimately he had to root through my tackle tray this morning to find the one he had the most confidence in.”
Can you imagine the Seahawks’ Richard Sherman asking Aaron Rodgers to loan him one or two key offensive plays minutes before kick-off?
No, and neither can anybody just down the road in Green Bay. But on the Bassmaster Elite Series trail, short term assistance to a fellow competitor is assurance of long term career success in a game where ‘what comes around, goes around’ seems to have an uncanny way of surfacing on bass fishing’s most competitive waters.
Zaldain, who has serious a shot to win the Toyota Angler of the Year tournament, never hesitated to lend Swindle, sitting in 28th entering the final day of competition, the lure color that would give him the most confidence, and a chance to earn just enough pounds, and subsequent points, to squeak into the 2016 Bassmaster Classic.
Swindle could only offer Zaldain a grateful grin – knowing that while there’s seldom a magical lure color – confidence – and a positive mental attitude – are everything.