|
Mayflower,
AR. – Elite Series rookie-to-be Billy McCaghren was hesitant to identify a particular tactic or skill that led to his 5th place finish in the 2008 BASS Central Open points race. Instead, he believes that it’s his demeanor that carried him this far.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m particularly good at any one technique,” he explained. “It’s mostly that I’m able to stay calm. That’s the biggest thing for me. Once I’m on the water I’m able to fish without feeling any pressure.”
But will he be equally unflappable at next year’s season-opener on Amistad should he find himself rubrail to rubrail with the likes of Kevin VanDam?
“I’m sure it’ll be a lot different,” the 36 year old McCaghren said. “But I’m going to go into the Elites with the same attitude. I can’t control what Kevin or Dean Rojas or any of them do. All I can do is fish.”
The Learning Process
McCaghren’s initial foray into Triple A level tournaments in 2007 was decent but undistinguished. He notched 28th and 47th place finishes at Texoma and the Red River, earning a small paycheck each time, before an out of the money performance at Amistad. That 79th place finish positioned him at 24th at the end of the season, which showed him that he could compete, but earned him little more than a firm handshake and an opportunity to try again in 2008.
This year he came out of the gate with a vengeance, outlasting fellow Arkansan Jerry Williams for the winner’s trophy in the season-opening Central Open on Louisiana’s Red River, site of the upcoming Bassmaster Classic.
The win reflected the lessons he had learned the year before. “I was realizing that everybody was going to find almost everything,” he explained. “So I decided to look for more non-obvious stuff. On the Red River, a few other people found the area I was fishing but they were all fishing shallower than me. I looked a little bit deeper. I watched the other guys and I found something that the majority of them didn’t.”
That effort stood in marked contrast to a 2007 Open in which he thought he’d found a honey hole that he’d have all to himself, only to find “20 or 30 boats in that one creek arm” when he arrived on tournament day.
Once he had the win under his belt, he realized that he could be competitive in multi-day events at the Open level and carried that confidence with him the rest of the year. He finished in the money in the second and third tournaments as well, ending up 33rd at Kentucky Lake and 23rd at
Texoma.
Bittersweet
McCaghren’s three money finishes positioned him in 5th place in the standings at season’s end, a substantial improvement over his 2007 performance – and enough to qualify him for the 2009 Elite Series – but he narrowly missed out on one achievement that he coveted, a berth in the 2009 Bassmaster Classic on the Red River. He had hoped to be able to earn his second win there in a 12 month period.
He had a top three overall point finish in hand through the second day at Texoma, but only managed to weigh in three keepers on the final day and thereby fell to fifth overall. It was only a difference of a few points, but he said that the gap felt much greater
“It was probably the most disappointing tournament day of my life,” he said. “I went into that last day 2nd in the points. I didn’t have a strong pattern going, but I fished well. But the last day it didn’t happen. It just wasn’t meant to be. If God had meant for it to happen, it would have happened.”
Despite that setback, he still had a decision to make – should he commit to the 2009 Elites? With only nine total BASS events under his belt, three of them as a co-angler, he had an opportunity that many others had not attained despite years of effort. Ultimately, he decided it was an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up.
“I know how hard it is to be one of the 110,” he said. “It happened a little quicker than I thought it would, but with the opportunity being there, I decided to take it.”
Finances and Fisheries
With $55,000 in entry fees (along with the associated expenses) staring him in the face, McCaughren said that he’s put a lot of thought into how to make the decision to become a full-time Elite Series pro financially viable. That involved a fair amount of queries to anglers who’ve already been there.
“Ken Cook helped me to make the decision,” he said. “And luckily I live about four miles from Kevin Short and I talked with him a lot. Fortunately, I work in a family-owned business so I don’t have to give up a job to do it. That all helped me to make my decision. And my wife has been very supportive. She is going to try to travel to as many of the tournaments as possible next year.”
His existing front-line sponsors include BassCat Boats and local marine dealer H2O Sportz and he recently added Powell Rods to the list. He also wanted to thank all of his local supporters, who are helping him reach his goals “a nickel and dime at a time.”
The reality of the Elite Series schedule has begun to sink in, and McCaghren has realized that he’s only been to three of the eleven bodies of water on next year’s slate. While he’s looking forward to the tournament on Dardanelle, the one of those three he knows the best, he’s also excited “about going up north where those big smallmouths live.”
But while he’s thrilled to have the opportunity he’s dreamed about since he fished his first tournament at age 18, half a lifetime ago, he continues to be calm where others would be frantic.
“I’m just an average Joe trying to fish on the big screen,” he said.
|
