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Jasper, Tex.
– The Elite Series format has been a boon for Bassmaster pro Todd Faircloth. While the Skeeter pro is leading the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Points Standings; his current position has been in the making since the Elite Series format began in 2006.
In a career that has included 77 paydays in 115 entries and a total of $801,632.30, Faircloth has seen much of his consistent success since 2006. In regular season Elite Series competition Faircloth has cashed 21 paychecks in 27 entries; including a current streak of 10 paychecks in a row, for a total of $445,450 in Elite Series earnings.
Faircloth has converted his efforts into a paycheck 77 percent of the time in the past three seasons, including his two wins; Table Rock in the final event of 2006 and Lake Amistad this season. All of this world class success has been largely overshadowed by the likes of VanDam, Reese, Iaconelli and McClelland who have won tournaments or Angler of the Year titles while Faircloth has remained mainly under the radar.
Faircloth said that the secret to his increased success has been his own maturation process as an angler. His process begins with practicing efficiently, something he hadn’t always done. “I used to go about my practice as I had seen others doing it,” Faircloth told The BASS ZONE. “But when I began to realize that I had to fish to my own style and strengths, I began to find more fish that I had been running over the top of in practice.”
He said that what triggered him looking at how he practiced was seeing how his competitors finished and finding that often times he had practiced in the areas that many of the high finishers had used. While he had been in the area and had actually caught fish there many times, he hadn’t been as thorough as he should have been.
“I can’t move as fast as VanDam can, and I can’t fish like anybody other than myself effectively, so I had to make changes,” Faircloth remarked. “What I figured out was that I have to start with a plan that separates the lake into sections and work them more carefully to establish my game plan for the event.”
While his process might include switching through the 20 to 25 Castaway rods he carries in his boat, Faircloth strives to have that number down to five or six by blat off on the first morning. However, establishing a pattern and an efficient strategy is a major part of any tournament angler’s game plan; it is only part of the equation for Faircloth.
“A program can change quickly, especially if it is something I found on the first day of practice,” he said. “So I have found that being able to make good decisions on the water and executing when the fish bite is equally as important as practicing and starting with a good plan.”
His approach has produced what he called “five real good tournaments this year.” His best finishes this year have been an 8th place finish at the Harris Chain, his win at Amistad and most recently his 7th place finish at Clarks Hill. His lowest finish has been his 41st at Falcon Lake and a 23rd at the Kissimmee Chain.
Those finishes have been a result of his approach to practice, as well as two other components he said are equally as important as the strategy and executing on the opportunities he has to put quality fish in the boat. “With the caliber of anglers on this tour it takes quite a bit to finish in the money and you have to be able to make decisions quickly and you can’t get away with making mistakes.”
That has been exactly the way that Faircloth has fished thus far in 2008 and while he has a reputation for being a grass specialist, he has not relied on any one program or lure to place at each event. “I’ve used several different lures this year,” Faircloth reported. “At Harris Chain I flipped a Yamamoto Kut Tail Worm on a light tungsten sinker around lily pad stems; at Amistad, it was a swimbait and a 7-inch Yamamoto Senko while I threw a Sebile Magic Swimmer, an All Terrain football jig and a Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm on a drop shot at Clarks hill; it’s been a lot of different approaches that have been responsible for the finishes.”
Despite all of his good finishes, Faircloth said that he does feel that he could have done better at Falcon Lake. “I practiced in the same creek that a lot of the high finishers fished in,” he said. “I even got on the deeper offshore bite, but didn’t fully develop it, so I missed an opportunity there to have a higher finish; but it’s hard to complain about anything this season.
One other reason that Faircloth said he has been able to fish so well is that his wife, Angie and his two sons Hudson and Harrison. “I can concentrate so much more effectively knowing that they are here with me and I don’t have to worry about being able to help them if they need me,” he said. “The other part of that is that we have started to see quite a few more families who have chosen to camp, and we are all in the same campgrounds, so there is community around as well.”
One of those anglers who camps near the Faircloths is Aaron Martens, his wife Lesley and their daughter Jordan and son Spencer. “Aaron and I became friends as a result of Angie and Lesley developing a friendship,” he said. “We have dinner together in camp frequently; sometimes we cook, and sometimes they do, but we have become close to them, and Aaron and I talk about what’s happening on the water.”
He said that their working relationship works because they generally fish different styles, and they keep things general. “We don’t ever talk about specific spots that we are fishing at, but we talk about general patterns and how we are catching fish,” Faircloth said. “It helps to have another set of eyes on the water that can help eliminate inefficiency and make things easier.”
He also said the trend towards camping has created a community feeling amongst the anglers and their families that he has enjoyed. “Take this week for example, Sunday is Mother’s Day, and we will probably have a picnic type gathering to celebrate all of the mothers,” he said. “Alton Jones and his family will be there, as will Brent Chapman’s, it’s pretty neat.”
As for the Angler of the Year title goes, Faircloth said that it is too early to get excited about it. “We’re not even half way through the season yet,” he said. “If we get down to the last event and I’m still in the picture, I’ll think about then, but until then, I’m just going to go about things as I do, and see how it ends up.”
If things continue like they have for Faircloth, there’s a good chance he will be.
For more about Faircloth and his sponsors visit his website at:
www.toddfaircloth.com
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