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Palatka, Fla. – Think of the name Preston Clark and many things come to mind. Setting a Bassmaster Classic record with an11-pound 10-ounce largemouth bass on day one of the 2006 Classic. Using a fiberglass pole-vaulter’s pole as a push pole in the Classic. Breaking Dean Rojas’ heavyweight record at the Santee Cooper Showdown from March 30 to April 2, 2006 with a winning weight of 115 pounds, 15-ounces.
Along with those angling accomplishments, Clark is also known for his wife, Katrina, being pregnant with triplets throughout 2006. He is a jovial and personable pro who flies the colors of a family sports grill known as Beef O’Brady’s. He has a fear of flying that kept him from flying to the secretive 2006 Busch Shootout, Bassmaster Tournament Director Trip Weldon installed a GPS tracker on his truck, and relayed directions to Clark as he drove towards the event.
All of these things give him an air of simplicity, a man who is simply human, in victory or defeat, and he is one that makes the fishing fan feel at home. He almost makes people feel that if Preston Clark can do well at this, then so could they. He is a fan favorite who makes people cheer for him, and with good reason.
But, his 2007 season has not been a banner year, but you wouldn’t know it from talking to him.
2007: Starting to Recover
While his career he has seen the highest highs of victory; Clark’s 2007 has been frustrating. He is mired in 81st place in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race, and while he has no chance of qualifying for the 2008 Bassmaster Classic, and is fighting to automatically requalify for the 2008 Elite Series Roster; he sees many bright spots in 2007.
The turnaround has been significant, and the result is that when you talk to him about the last part of the season, you can hear the smile in his voice as he talks about it. Clark has weathered a storm in his career, and after two top 20 performances in the last three tournaments, Clark appears to have turned a corner.
“There was just so much going on this year that I really couldn’t completely focus on the fish,” Clark said. “The triplets were born last August, and were growing fast,” but while having three infants at home is tough enough, his wife had a health scare. “Katrina was facing some challenging medical issues, and we just weren’t sure which way things were going to go; I was scared I might lose my wife, and totally distracted this year.”
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Mrs. Clark’s health concerns were solved, and with the knowledge that things would be okay, Clark found himself able to focus again. The result was an 18th place finish at Lake Champlain, and a 19th place at The Potomac River. He also said that he was on the right pattern at Lake Erie, but mechanical issues kept him from weighing his fish on day one, or he could have done well there also.
“I feel a lot better about things now,” Clark said smiling. “And, I have one more tournament to go, and I plan on getting on ‘em good a t Toho.” He said his goal in the final event in the 2007 Bassmaster Elite Series schedule was to finish high, saying, “anything less than a top 12 will be disappointing to me.”
On Sponsor Support
With all of the difficulties on the water this year, Clark said that his sponsors have remained supportive, and that he turned his attention to helping them achieve their goals off of the water. “I really enjoy my relationship with Beef O’Brady’s,” Clark said of the 220-restaurant company. “I’ve done 20 promotional appearances at their stores and other promotional events this year, and I’ve enjoyed them.”
In fact, while Clark was talking to The BASS ZONE for this article, he and his Beef O’Brady’s wrapped rig were at the Kissimmee store doing a promotion in preparation for The Lake Toho event.
Clark said that the company has stores all over the Southeast and the Midwest, and that the company is heavily involved in supporting youth sports, and some of his appearances this year have been around games and other youth functions. “Aside from the fact that they’ve been a big part of helping me be out here achieving my goals, I am proud to represent Beef O’Brady’s,” Clark said. “They stand behind me, run a family friendly business, and I feel at home working with them.”
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Not a Season Without Memories
Clark said that he was able to take his father,
L.E. Clark, a renowned tournament angler in Florida with him on his trip to California for the Western Swing, and it was there that he had one of his life’s most cherished memories.
“We went to a Lake called Los Banos Creek Reservoir between Amistad and the Delta for four days,” Clark said. “In those four days we caught in the neighborhood of 500 fish up to 9 pounds together; it was a blast, I will never forget it.”
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He also said that watching Steve Kennedy break his heavyweight record at Clear Lake was another memory, but not like one might think. “Clear Lake was amazing,” he said. “There would be 14 or 15 fish over eight pounds under one dock, and the next one would be the same. I couldn’t figure out how to catch those suspended fish, but Steve did, and my hats off to him, I don’t think that record will be broken again.”
“But, if we would have hit that lake a week later, I bet the record would have been 150 pounds, those fish were about to climb on beds, and they were catchable.”
On the Horizon; Redfish?
Clark said that he is looking forward to Toho, but that he has no plans to have a lot of down time in the off-season. “I will fish in some charity tournaments, take my sponsors fishing, and help some of my friends take their sponsors fishing,” he said. “Our success as an industry is so intertwined throughout the sport, helping the other guys support their sponsors is good for everyone; so, I help where I can.”
He said that he also might look at fishing some of the Oberto Redfish Cup tournaments, saying that he and his father fished one of them during a family vacation to St. Augustine’s. “We had a blast fishing that tournament,” Clark said. “We didn’t do very well in the tournament, but we caught enough other species to have a serious fish fry for dinner that night.”
Clark said that competing in a Redfish event is a different experience. “We’ve all spent our lives trying to catch the biggest fish,” he mused. “In these things you have to catch them between a slot limit, and I could catch them bigger, and smaller, but finding fish to weigh was difficult.”
He also spoke about Greg and Bryan Watts, who lead the 2007 Redfish Cup All Stars division. “Bryan and Greg were so cool to us in that event, they wanted us to come in on their water,” he continued. “But, they were fishing to make it to their championship, and I couldn’t do it.” Clark said that the Watts brothers qualified for the Redfish Cup Championship.
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The Future
After the year that the Clark family has had, Preston decided that life on the road without them is not something he wants to do anymore, so he is making plans to have them accompany him. “I told Katrina that if she and the kids didn’t go with me next year, I wasn’t going either,” Clark said. “I recently bought a 35-foot travel trailer, and we are going to go together next year, so I am looking forward to that.”
He said that his wife, and fellow Elite Series pro Chris Lane’s wife are good friends; so being from Florida, they will travel together so they can help each other with the kids. “Chris and Holly have three kids, so if mine and his grow up playing and fighting with each other, I’m good with that.”
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What about Toho?
“The weather has been cooler than normal, and like so many summer days, it has been raining a bit,” he said. “If the rains keep coming, it will help the bite a little, and if it holds we could get on some decent topwater action. But, if the rain stays away, it could be the toughest tournament of the year.”
He said that a flipping bite might very well be the key if the bite gets tough, and while so many guys will have flipping rods in their hands, local knowledge might help. “There is a lot of grass out there,” he said. “But Florida is not a place where you can run a patter very well, you have to pick areas, and it is what is under the grass that matters.”
The final event of the 2007 Bassmaster Elite Series season is upon him, and like a true optimist, Clark is ready. “It has been a tough year, but I’m ready to smoke ‘em at Toho, I can tell you that.”
For more about Preston Clark visit his website:
www.prestonclarkfishing.com
To visit his main sponsor, Beef O’Brady’s, visit
www.beefobradys.com
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