|
|
Lake Champlain, NY
2002 FLW Tour Season Finale
FLW Tour Angler of the Year
07/02/2002 - One of the greatest things about sports is that outcomes are never inevitable. A big lead is never an assurance of victory, even for the very best athletes. Every now and then you see an underdog come from way back to win. It doesn't happen often, but it sure makes for some thrilling excitement for the fans.
Fans following the 2002 FLW Tours' season finale at Lake Champlain were in for a thriller (especially if they were my fans!). Kevin Van Dam had a seemingly insurmountable 28 point lead going into this last tournament, and the Angler of the Year title was his to win or lose. Kevin had such a big lead that I had virtually thrown in the towel and dismissed my chances of winning as non-existent. Up until this tournament, Kevin had a perfect record as a closer. Every time in his career that he had led a tournament or an Angler of the Year race going into the last day or last tournament, he had always won. That is a phenomenal track record. He is not considered the worlds top bass fisherman for nothing.
I am a realist, and I don't like to build myself up for something if I dont think I have a good chance to win it. The pain I experience from wanting something really badly and not getting it really hurts. I don't like really wanting to win something, and not getting it. The pain aint worth it. I had really agonized over the previous FLW tournament at Old Hickory Lake, when my amateur caught a huge bag behind me (read my summary). That really hurt. I was ahead of Kevin for Angler of the Year going into that tournament, I found the fish to win the event, and I did not catch them. My amateur did. I thought an Angler of the Year title just wasn't in the cards for me after that extreme let down.
So I came into the Lake Champlain tournament totally loose and relaxed. In my mind, Angler of the Year was out of reach, and I was just going to enjoy the week and try to win the tournament. I felt absolutely no pressure.
I didn't get much going in practice other than sightfishing. The bass were spawning in droves in certain parts of the lake. The first day of the tournamet I had 16# 7oz. and was tied for 19th place. Kevin had about 15# 12 oz. and was in 30th place. A glimmer of hope appeared. But it was just a glimmer. In 90% of the tournaments he fishes, Kevin does better as the tournament progresses. One thing was going in my favor though: everyone was catching fish, and that really spread the points out.
That glimmer of hope turned into a blazing inferno after the Day 2 weigh in when I caught 17# 8oz of smallmouths, and Kevin had 13# 14 oz. He dropped to 44th, I rose to 4th. Because of the FLW cut system, I had to finish 15th or better the third day to win Angler of the Year. I couldn't believe it. I went from having no pressure at all, to all the pressure on me for that third day. I was able to scrape together 12 more pounds off beds the third day to finish 10th and clinch the title. What a thrill!
There are a few valuable lessons to be learned here that I am compelled to pass along: Unbenounced to me, my wife had about 100 of our committed Christain friends praying for me to win Angler of the Year for Gods glory that week. And I am not talking about the half-hearted prayers of a cultural Christian. The people she had praying are rock solid pillars of Christianity, many of them in full time ministry. Since winning, I have had many other friends and fans come up and tell me how hard they were praying for me to win that week. I firmly believe that their prayers moved the hand of God, for His glory. Remember, I had already thrown in the towel and written off my chances for Angler of the Year. But through Gods grace....all things are possible!!
Secondly, in winning, I believe God honored some decisions I had made years earlier. Let me expalin: I fished some FLW tournaments in 1997, but after that season, FLW adopted a "no logo" rule that prohibited an angler from wearing any logo that conflicted with FLW Tour sponsors. At the time, none of my great sponsors were involved with the FLW Tour. So I had a decision to make. Going forward, I wouldn't be able to promote any of my sponsors on the FLW Tour. But FLW was waving a lot of money in my face with their lucrative purses. I could continue to fish FLW just for the money. Or I could drop off the FLW Tour and concentrate my efforts in the BASS tournaments that let me promote my sponsors. I prayed long and fervently about it. God showed me that I was already making a good living without the FLW Tour, and I didn't need to be greedy and chase the almighty dollar. He gave me the courage to make the noble decision, and do the right thing by only fishing tournaments that allowed me to promote my sponsors. So for years I watched my peers rake in all that FLW money, but it never bothered me that I wasn't fishing. I was content, and had peace that I made the right decision not to fish.
Fast forward to 2002. Yamaha, Berkley, and Lowrance, three of my sponsors, all joined on as FLW Tour sponsors for this year. They now wanted me to fish. The president of Yamaha personally asked me to fish the FLW Tour over lunch last summer. A new era was being ushered in for my career. I was flexible, open to something new. I made the decision to fish FLW, and immediately I heard the Holy Spirit whisper "you will be blessed on the FLW Tour for making the righteous decision not to fish in the past. Your time has come to fish, and you will be rewarded now for doing the right thing in the past". I had no idea I was going to win Angler of the Year, only that something good would happen on the FLW Tour this year. God honored my faithfullness to doing the right thing. Remember that next time you are posed with a difficult decision to make. Seek His advice. In due time He will lift you up, and honor you for doing what is right.
This is such a great testimony about the power of God. In His perfect timing, he honored me for my obiedience. But I had to trust Him and be patient. It was all Him. Shoot, I had already given up! Notice I don't have some pompously concocted tale about how I won the title, how I did it, and how I am just so awesome and victorious. I know better. I know Gods grace. I know that He made it happen, and that is why all the glory, honor and praise goes to Jesus Christ and not to me. If you don't know Gods amazing grace or don't know His Son Jesus, please start seeking Him. There is nothing better than knowing God through His Son Jesus Christ.
|
|