As many of you know, Andrew LOVES to fish. He also happens to be pretty darn good at it. Last year he made the decision to start fishing tournaments and was highly successful to say the least. Although we do have two boats in the garage, they really aren't big and powerful enough for the types of tournaments he fishes. A lot of these guys are highly competitive and the water can also become pretty treacherous. Our little 18' with a 60hp, which we love, isn't exactly cut out for a high speed take off on a windy day at Sam Rayburn or Toledo Bend. It is perfect for us though! Anyways, all this boat talk was leading me to my point that since our boat isn't really "Boater" material, Andrew decided to fish his first season as a "Co-Angler." For those unfamiliar with how this works, Boaters enter the tournament with their boat and pay a higher entry fee because the pay outs are higher. Co-Anglers enter without a boat and are randomly paired up with a Boater on the Friday before the tournament. Boaters fish against other Boaters, and Co-Anglers are competing against other Co-Anglers. Generally, the Co-Angler is in the more disadvantaged position because they are fishing in the back of the boat behind the Boater and the Boater has full say over where they fish.
Last year in Andrew's Rookie season, he finished 1st in the points standings in the Louisiana/Texas Co-Angler division. He was Angler of the Year! Basically, this means that he was the most consistent fisherman out of 150 Co-Anglers. I'd say that was quite an accomplishment! If you want to check out his angler profile, click here.
He qualified for the Regional tournament on DeGray Lake in Arkansas last October and placed 21st out of 160 anglers... and these 160 Anglers represented the Top 40 from 4 divisions. So really, he was 21st out of ~600 anglers from all four of these divisions. To commemorate his accomplishment, he was given a jacket with his name and "2009 Points Leader - Louisiana/Texas Division" embroidered on the shoulder. Pretty sweet!
He debated whether he was going to fish this year or not since it is a 5-6 weekend committment, and with the baby coming, it might be hard to make all the tournaments. He was going to fish the first tournament to see how he did to help him decide on whether he should fish the rest. He got 11th out of 125 and finished in the money. So yes, he will keep fishing! Hopefully someday (sooner, rather than later), we can have the kind of boat he needs in order to fish as a Boater and really challenge himself. In almost every tournament, he has caught more weight than his Boater did. He has also had to show a Boater how to get back to the ramp and where to fish to actually catch some fish. I have no doubt that he will succeed when he is able to make the switch over to the Boater division. (Donations for "Andrew's New Boat Fund" can be send to us at home) :-)
Andrew with his check from the Regional
Monster Bass caught at Toledo in February 2009
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