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Paducah, Ky. – Instead of being like John Travolta’s character in the movie; ‘The Boy in the Plastic Bubble;’ Skeeter pro Mark Menendez is the boy ‘on’ the bubble, and he is holding on until October 20 to see if he will move inside or remain on the outside. The 43-year-old Bassmaster veteran is looking to qualify for his fifth Bassmaster Classic, and he needs the help of another Elite Series pro to do so.
By the numbers, the top 36 pros in the Bassmaster Elite Series earned qualification into the 2008 Bassmaster Elite Series at Lake Hartwell in South Carolina. Boyd Duckett, the reigning Bassmaster Classic Champion finished the season tied for 17th place with Peter Thliveros, but has an automatic birth in to the 2008 Classic as the reigning champion.
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That means that BASS awarded the next man in line, Kotaro
Kiriyama, who finished with 1986 points the final Elite Series birth into the Classic. That is until October 18 through 20 when Terry Scroggins, who finished the 2007 Elite Series season in fourth place in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Points Race, finishes his Southern Open
Schedule as Lake Wheeler in Alabama.
Scroggins has won both of the Southern Open tournaments thus far in 2007 and leads the points standings in that Open Division by a 25 point margin over fellow Elite Series pro Charlie Hartley and 90 points on 5th place in the standings. BASS will take the top five finishers in the Southern and Central Open Series to the Classic.
If Scroggins can hold onto at least
finish in a top three points position in the
Southern Opens, Menendez will qualify for his fifth trip to the Bassmaster Classic. |
“I’m not really thinking about it at all,” Menendez told The BASS ZONE. “Of course, I’m lying to you about that; I think about it all the time.” Menendez said that he feels fairly confident that Scroggins will do well enough to stay in the top five, but he doesn’t want to get too confident.
“I’m fairly practiced at this kind of situation,” Menendez said. “I always seem to be at this point when it comes to qualifying for the Classic; fortunately I seem to come out on the uphill side of the equation. So, while I’m thinking about it, I’m not really worried about it.”
Menendez said that he can trace the six point deficit to two lost fish, one at Grand Lake and one at the California Delta. “Each of those fish cost me a 50 cut and a paycheck, but the fish in the Delta probably cost me the most in the points,” Menendez said. “I hooked her on a Red Tomato Series 4s crankbait, and she just came off; she was a five pound class fish.”
Menendez said that he feels like he had a solid season other than taking a gamble at Lake Champlain that cost him a good finish, and a bad first day at the Potomac. “Other than those two tournaments, I had a solid year,” Menendez told The BASS
ZONE.
While
he is waiting for the end of the Southern
Open schedule, Menendez said that he had
plenty of things to help keep him from
focusing on the tournament. “Donna and I
are remodeling the house, and I have some
promotional appearances to attend,”
Menendez said. “I am also having some work
done on my shoulder by the Orthopedic Center
in Huntsville, Ala.”
Menendez said that he has been dealing with a painful bone spur in his shoulder that has been causing him difficulty throughout the season. He said that he is set for an off season procedure thanks to the commitment of Strike King to its National pro staff. “Strike King hired TOC to be our team doctors, and they help to cover the costs of our medical care for us,” Menendez exclaimed. “Strike King is very good to us, that’s why the team members have stayed for so long; we’re very loyal to them because they care about us so much. Strike King really understands us, they work with us to develop the lures, and listen to us when we have input about a given product; they really respect us, and the feeling is mutual.”
As for the rest of the Southern Open schedule, Terry Scroggins and his final chance at being in the field for the 2008 Bassmaster Classic, Menendez might find his way to Lake Wheeler in Alabama for the finale, but not for the obvious reason.
“A good friend of mine, Luke Estell from Illinois, is in position to qualify for the Elite Series, with a long shot at making the Classic,” Menendez told The BASS ZONE. “I might go to cheer for Luke, but I could also offer to be Terry’s caddy, wash his truck, or just anything I can do to help him do well,” Menendez said jokingly.
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