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Nashville,
TN – With three tournaments left in the 2008 Elite Series season, Florida’s
Bryan Hudgins is in an enviable position, both financially and in terms of his place in the Angler of the Year standings. Not only is he one of the scant few pros who have earned a check in each of the eight concluded events, but he currently sits well within the Classic cut-off, in a solid 14th place overall.
He’s no stranger to being in the teens in the AOY race. Last year, after the Blue Ridge Brawl at Smith Mountain Lake, the rookie was in heady company, in 18th place for AOY, and everything seemed to be on track for him to compete in the Hartwell Classic against a field that went on to include other rookies like Derek Remitz, Casey Ashley and Matt Sphar.
But then the wheels fell off and he watched his stock plummet over the latter half of the 2007 season. After Grand Lake, he was 39th in the AOY race. After Champlain, he’d dropped to 41st. A poor performance on Erie moved him down another 11 spots to 52nd. The Potomac proved tough and left him at 66th.
He figured to at least regain some of his pride at Toho, near his Florida home, but a forgettable 107th place finish left him 78th overall, barely requalifying for the Elites.
New Year, New Results
His rookie season wasn’t a complete loss – he earned four checks, including a season’s-best 23rd place finish at Smith Mountain Lake, but overall it left him disappointed.
“Last year it seemed I always had a good prefish, but I just couldn’t adapt during the tournament,” he said. “I also dropped some fish at Champlain and Erie. I had never fished for smallmouths before. But this year, I’m patterning the fish better. Even during the tournaments I’m fishing new stuff.”
Whether things are going right or wrong, the effects tend to snowball, and his performances are a perfect example of that. Last year, he had two finishes just below 50th place, a 58th place at Clear Lake and 57th at Champlain. In either tournament, a few more quality fish in the boat would have earned him an extra ten grand. On the other hand, this year he’s finished 50th at Amistad, 50th at Murray, 46th at Wheeler and 45th at Kentucky Lake. Just the opposite is true this time – in each case he’s failed to have an exceptional tournament, but he’s done just enough to make it to Saturday.
He characterized 2007 as a learning experience: “It was just a matter of getting last year under my belt. I had never been out of the southeast. I had never used Navionics. I was learning a lot of techniques. “
Not Just Florida
In contrast to last year’s Toho disaster, this year his home state was kind to him. He started 2008 with a 21st place finish at the Harris Chain, then followed it up with his first Top 12 showing, a solid 8th place during the KVD show at Kissimmee.
His results this year show that he can do well away from home, but he also claimed that anyone who believes him to be a classic Florida style angler would be mistaken.
“I like the style of fishing better outside of Florida,” he said. “In Florida fishing you really can’t pattern the fish. It’s spot fishing. This year at Falcon, I was catching my fish in 35 feet close to deep water. Same at Amistad. I really like the clear water lakes.”
He noted that he grew up not on one of the Sunshine State’s shallow grassy bowls like Toho or Okeechobee, but rather on the St. John’s River. “It’s real tough,” he said. “It’s tidal. When you look at some of the fishermen who grew up there – Peter T., Bernie, Preston and Scroggins – they’re some of the most versatile fishermen around.”
He prides himself on similar versatility, and noted that he can “adapt to whatever style” confronts him, although he particularly likes to dropshot and Carolina Rig.
Weaknesses?
“I don’t like to fish a jig or a deep crankbait,” he answered. “I’m on Percy Priest right now throwing a DD22 and I hate it.”
Getting Nervous?
With three events left in a marathon season, he’d seem to be in the catbird’s seat, but surely the memories of last year’s precipitous drop are weighing on him. With two of the three remaining events in New York, where his drop really crystallized, is he weary of another letdown?
“The smallmouth fishing there is really amazing. Last year, I didn’t really know what water clarity to look for what kind of movement they’d make, or how things would change.
“On Champlain the first day, I ran around until I found some fish. Then on the second day I went back to them and that burned me. I needed to keep moving around until I found them again.
“I can’t wait to go back to New York. I want revenge. The end of last year was a disaster the way everything played out, but it has been motivational for me. I want to come back and have a better finish this year.”
But before he gets ahead of himself in considering New York’s prolific fisheries, he’ll likely have a stingy Old Hickory to deal with, and he’s taking a methodical approach to that one, too.
“What I’ve learned this year is that you cannot fish too deep,” he said. “I’m going to go out with a clear head and dissect it.”
Conclusion
With a first Classic berth staring him in the face, Hutchins is understandably excited.
“It has been a dream of mine for a long time,” he said.
But that’s not his primary goal. After last year’s free-fall, he’d like t spend the last portion of this season climbing the ladder. While he believes that a serious charge at the AOY crown would take a perfect storm of factors, he set a top ten overall finish as a reasonable goal.
He believes that his ascension from part-time contender to consistent competitor is a reflection of his increased maturity: “Last year I was hanging out with a lot of the guys, playing cards. This year I stay by myself or with one or two guys. I get a lot of sleep the night before the tournament so I can concentrate on the tournament at hand. A lot of the younger guys don’t do that.”
In addition to his on-the-water changes, he is also focused on the business aspects of his career, and views his 2008 campaign not only as a means to solidify his existing sponsors, but also to seek out new opportunities. He signed on with Pure Fishing at the beginning of this year and furthermore credited existing sponsors such as Power Pole, Optima Batteries, Git Em Baits and Costa del Mar with allowing him to fish without worrying about performance. That has freed him up to take risks and cleared his mind.
“What I’ve learned is that it takes more than a year,” he said. “This is opening new doors. Next year it’ll be a lot easier to pursue a big sponsor.”
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