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Goodyear,
AZ. – Winning the first pro-am tournament an angler entered would do a lot for his professional psyche. Depending on the man, that angler could see that victory as a blessing, or a major curse. In the case of Gabe Bolivar, a victory in a WON Bass Pro-am in 200 set him up to pursue his dream, gave him a chance at a dream career, but may have also launched his pursuit a little too quickly.
“After winning that event I fished a couple more years of WON Pro-ams and some Bassmaster Opens,” Bolivar said. “But after only two years in the front of the boat, I qualified for the Bassmaster Tour, and made the leap too quickly.” Bolivar said that he spent the 2002 season on the Bassmaster Tour with his highest finish being in the 80’s at Toledo Bend.
Most anglers would find that kind of discouragement a major detractor toward fishing for a living, but the Ramona pro took a step back, realized he wasn’t ready, regrouped, finished 2006 in 7th place in the FLW Tour Angler of the Year Standings and is currently in15th place for 2007. “That first national experience was a horrible year,” Bolivar exclaimed. “But, it was a great learning experience; one that I’ve used to help me move forward.”
Bolivar said that the 2002 expedition was marked by late nights, breakdowns and disorganization. “I use those memories to help focus me now,” he said. “I travel with Brent Ehrler, and the two of us use our experience to help us succeed. We carry spare parts of everything, and now we go to bed early and fish hard all day; the results have been worthwhile.”
His maturing process, a lot of hard work as well as a flexibility earned from years of competing in Western waters are responsible for his place in the standings, and the recent FLW Tour Event at Beaver Lake is a testament to that. “I set my mind to throwing a shaky head and a Canyon Plastics Skin and Bones at Beaver,” he said. “But my approach placed me somewhere in the 70’s after the first day, and I knew I needed to make a change.”
Like most professionals, Bolivar knew what changes he needed to make, and he went about executing. “I picked up my Lucky Craft Sammy 100 topwater bait and spent the first three hours looking for better bites,” he said. “I got three good bites the second morning, I landed two of them, and ended up finishing 27th; if I landed the last one, I think I would have made the cut.”
While Bolivar spends a lot of his year competing on Tour, as well as in the FLW Series National Guard Western Division, However, his real job is as an assistant representative for Ranger Boats in the Western United States. Bolivar works closely with Keith Tripp, Ranger Boats’ Western Manufacturer’s Representative.
“I am really grateful for my involvement with Ranger,” he said. “Ranger has helped me learn a lot about what manufacturers expect from a pro-staffer, it has helped me handle myself better on the business side as an angler, I really appreciate it.”
He said that learning on the job has been something he has taken a lot of pride in. “I am really proud of how things are going this year on the business side,” he continued. “Ranger’s sales are strong; Evinrude is making good progress throughout the territory, it’s been good this year, and we will keep working to make it better.”
His schedule as a tour angler and his job as a rep keep him busy, and he said that 2007 has been hectic. “It has been a juggle this year between the two tournament schedules and the show season,” Bolivar said. “The one place that it has affected me has been in the FLW Series National Guard Western Division, I haven’t been able to practice as much for those because of the rest of my schedule.” [BZ Note: Bolivar is currently in 47th place in the Western Division standings].
In looking forward, Bolivar said that he is focused on what it will take to make the FLW Tour Championship, and even though he has little knowledge of the next two FLW Tour stops, he feels good about his chances. “I don’t know much about the next two stops, but I’ll just focus on letting the fish tell me what I need to do and establish my game plan when I get on the water.”
[BZ Note: After day one of the FLW Tour Event at the Potomac River, 6/14/07, Bolivar’s five fish limit of 15 pounds, 15 ounces put him in 18th place – follow the event at www.flwoutdoors.com].
For more on Gabe Bolivar check out his website at
www.gabebolivar.com
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