It’s easy to understand David Walker’s burning to desire to win a CITGO Bassmaster tournament.
None of the current class of Bassmaster pros has flirted more closely or more often with victory than the 39-year-old Tennessee pro. His record is one that most anglers would envy. In six seasons in the BASS wars, Walker has cashed a check in 30 of 49 events, posted a second- and two third-place finishes, scored nine top-10 showings, qualified for four CITGO Bassmaster Classics presented by Busch Beer and earned $262,000.
Just as impressive is a pair of third-place finishes in the 2001 and 2002 Classics.
“It’s been a good career, but I still don’t have that win yet,” Walker said. “I’m waiting on that win.
“It’s been a good season. I’ve probably won as much this year as I have any year, even though my highest finish was fifth. I’ve had quite a few top-10s, which is where you want to be because those top 10s are really worth something now with the money changing the way it has over the last couple of years. As a matter of fact, I may have finished higher in past years and not won as much as I did this year.”
Walker is on Lake Okeechobee this week searching the big lake for enough quality bass to get over the hump by winning the CITGO Florida Southern Open presented by Busch Beer. It could be the tournament that gets him over the hump.
“It’s a roller-coaster with me,” he said. “I have days when I’m just so furious that I can’t put it together in tournaments. I start thinking, ‘What am I doing wrong here? What is it that I need to change?’ Then I’ll go a couple of weeks thinking, ‘Whatever is going to happen, is going to happen. I have to quit trying to force it.’
“Once some guys break through and get that first win, they seem to get another one or two right after it. I fully expect that to happen to me. I just don’t know when.”
After the final Southern Open of the year, Walker will begin preparing for the 2005 CITGO Bassmaster Tour where he has high hopes for another strong season.
“I really like the schedule,” he said, “but I never look at a schedule and think I’m going to do bad here or there. You can’t allow yourself to do that because you can hurt yourself by thinking you don’t need to put much effort into a lake since you usually do well there.
“The schedules are fine no matter where the tournaments are scheduled. I don’t even care. Wherever they want to send us is fine with me. I like when we go to new places, but I also like it when we go to some familiar waters — some places where you have some confidence that you can catch some fish.”
ANOTHER HAPPY JAPANESE PRO. Reigning CITGO Bassmaster Classic champion Takahiro Omori isn’t the only happy Japanese pro these days.
Yusuke Miyazaki is happy because he recently finished 13th in the point standings for the 2004 CITGO Bassmaster Central Open series presented by Busch Beer — a finish that will send him to next month’s season championship and a shot at an early Classic qualification. After years and years of quiet success in BASS events, he’s also excited because he and other talented Japanese pros are getting attention for their skills and success and not just their nationality.
“I’m still Japanese, but I don’t think much about other Japanese pros,” he admitted. “I think it’s good for BASS, worldwide, if we show up for the Bassmaster Tour. To see our names makes it more international. The Bassmasters is the best of the best, that’s why we want to fish it.”
A friend of Omori, Miyazaki said the impact of having a Japanese world champion is mixed.
“[In Japan], they see The Bassmasters on TV and they’re really proud of it,” he said.
When Miyazaki came to the States, he said it required some adjustments that have recently begun to pay off.
“I was in ninth place four years ago on the Western circuit, so I moved to Texas four years ago, and I tried to get the highest finish possible on the Central circuit,” he said. “I don’t know much water here, but I tried to test my ability. I’ve had some success coming to the Central division. I got a check at all the tournaments, so that’s something.”
And even though the Japanese hype may be dying down somewhat, there’s definitely camaraderie among some of the guys who have traveled halfway across the world to fish in a foreign country.
“After the Classic Takahiro and I went to the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners game because he wanted to relax,” Miyazaki said. “He’s a fishing machine, you know. He influenced me, teaching me a lot of things – not fishing stuff, but mental stuff. It was incredible. I was really proud.”
DID YOU KNOW? Although he kind of flew under the radar, Arizona pro John Murray has had a strong last 12 months. In addition to winning the inaugural Open Championship and Busch Shootout, he collected nearly $160,000 in prize money.
PRO BIRTHDAYS. North Carolina’s Guy Eaker will be 64 on Nov. 23rd, while Randy Blaukat turns 43 a day later. Jim Bitter (62) and Terry Baksay (44) share Nov. 28th as their birthday.
IF I HADN’T BECOME A BASS PRO … Former Classic runner-up Jim Bitter would likely have made a career out of working as a field researcher for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
THEY SAID IT. “Of course, he’s kind of a hero to the Japanese. It’s kind of like the Olympics. From the time Takahiro won, the Japanese have been paying attention to other Japanese pros who are attending US tournaments. Seeing a Japanese angler reach the top, makes more of them dream.” Southern Open competitor Norio Tanabe, the first Japanese pro to win a BASS tournament, comments on the popularity of Takahiro Omori’s Classic victory in his homeland.
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