Mount Ida, Ark.
– The Decision that the fishing world has been waiting for has come. Mark Davis called The BASS ZONE
morning of November 13th to announce his decision that he is committing to fish on the 2008 Bassmaster Elite Series.
The announcement brings to rest months of speculation that began when Davis entered the 2007 Bassmaster Southern Opens. As the months carried on, Davis said that his main objective was to finish in the top three in the points and qualify for the 2008 Bassmaster Classic. When Davis finished fourth in the Southern Open points race, a determination needed to be made.
That choice was one that Davis did not take lightly. “This has been a decision that my wife Tilly and I have thought long and hard over,” Davis told The BASS ZONE. “It was after much consideration and a lot of prayer that we have made the decision to return to BASS.”
He told The BASS ZONE that he was excited about his return. “The main reason I am going back to BASS is that my sponsors have encouraged me to return where I established the majority of my titles and records,” Davis told The BASS ZONE. “I also see some very positive opportunities for angler marketing with being able to use our own boats; that was another big factor.”
The 45-year-old Davis said that the 2008 schedule excited him. “I am getting older,” he said. “At my age, and having been doing this for so long, being excited about where I’m going fishing is never a bad thing; it helps to have additional motivations from time to time.”
His decision is not without regret, and knows he is leaving behind some very positive experiences, and great people. “Charlie Evans, the employees and anglers of The FLW Tour have been tremendous to me and my family,” he exclaimed. “I am grateful for what they do for us, and the sport; they are a class organization,”
Davis said that the hardest part about leaving will be relationships he developed. “I will miss the friends I have made over the past two years greatly,” he said. “I will especially miss being a part of the ‘Meet the Pro’s’ ministry that Glenn Chappelear established; it has been a blessing to me.”
Davis’ 2008 schedule will be quite busy as he will be not only fishing the 11 events on the Bassmaster Elite Series, but he will also be fishing the three FLW Series Eastern Division events as well. “I know this year will be busier than last year,” Davis said. “I fished 10 events last year, including the FLW Tour Championship, this year will be 14 events.”
The announcement marks the return of one of professional bass fishing’s most decorated anglers to his roots. In a long career, Davis earned three Bassmaster Angler of the Year Titles, five BASS victories, including the 1995 Bassmaster Classic Championship and $1,153,521 in career BASS earnings.
His FLW Tour performance has been equally impressive, as he has earned $364,750 and a win at Fort Loudoun – Tellico Lakes in Tennessee in April of this year. The majority of his FLW success came when he made the switch to FLW Tour at the beginning of the 2006 season.
“It has been a difficult decision, but one that I wanted to make sooner, rather than later,” Said Davis. “I owe it to my family to begin planning, and I owe it to our great sport to do it now, as opposed to stretching things out.”
He said that he knew that there was speculation that part of the delay was due to him working on a major non endemic sponsorship package that made his return possible, but Davis said that has not been the case. “I’m not sure what my boat wrap will be yet,” he said. “I still have to iron those details out, but it was time to make the decision.”
“We (Davis and his family) looked at all of the variables, and felt that God was leading us back to BASS, I don’t know yet what that means, but we feel like we’re going in the right direction.”
Davis’ will be a guest on The BASS ZONE on XM
Satellite Radio this Sunday as the program airs on XM Sports Nation channel 144 at 6:00 and 8:00
AM EST, but an excerpt is now available.
To here part of the Mark Davis interview,
just click play on the media player below.
