The 2005 National Boat Mart-TVA Tournament Series will kick into full gear in April after the “Winter Break”. The “Opens” really heated things up in the Fall of 2004 before the series went into “Winter Break”, with Wade Cohagan atop the series point standings. But the lakes in the series froze over, and everything will start fresh as only the Top-7 finishes of each angler is used to calculate the standings for Angler of the Year, and NBM-TVA Tournament Series Championship qualification. Some anglers don’t fish the “Opens” other fish one, and some fish both as these anglers wishing to take full advantage of every cast and not give up any scratch tournaments.
Angler of the Year and the National Boat Mart-TVA Bass Championship are the two highest honors one can get.
Angler of the Year is a series points championship that says over the course of the year you were “the best” in the series. Quite an accomplishment when you consider you are fishing against anglers that have past experience fishing Bassmaster or FLW at sometime in their careers. While other anglers are simply waiting for a “break” to crack into the big league bass ranks and devote all their spare time on the water while holding down their full-time jobs during the week.
The National Boat Mart-TVA Bass Championship is another honor that makes a statement, because the field has to re-qualify annually for the event. This is virtually an “all-star event” that features only the “best of the best” from the point standings. Even the defending champion isn’t given a “bye” to defend their title. This seems a little tough but it adds to the level of difficulty. It makes quite a statement too, because nobody has ever won this event in back to back years, as only one man or woman has the chance to make it happen or have won it twice. These records may go by the wayside eventually. If they do, it will say even more about that angler ability, and the level of competition in the series.
Let’s analyze the 2005 schedule and see what some former Angler’s of the Year and NBM-TVA Championship winners as well as one tough Rookie of the Year standout think of the 2005 season.
In 2005 Don Deerwester was definitely “the man” as he won three series events in one season (tying Marty Yoder’s record) and racking up three second place finishes and a third place finish for his Top-7 events. Deerwester and his team partner also won the team Angler’s of the Year in the Kankakee River Team Circuit in 2004. If any person has a feel for the 2005 season it’s probably Deerwester as he’ll be defending two angler of the year titles. Make a quick note: Deerwester won the “Lake Freeman Open” in October so he’s well on his way. Here’s what Deerwester had to say when we interviewed him last month:
“I believe the key to 2005 and any year is being versatile. Since most of us have fished all the sites more than a few times, keeping an open mind and fishing to what the current conditions are is very important rather than just fishing based on past tournaments. It worked rather well for me in ’04 and I am raring to go for ’05” said Deerwester with excitement.
“Weather is a major factor and has to be one of the biggest keys to success in 2005. As always, the level of competition is high and it should be an interesting race for the 2005 Angler of the year. I am going to have the same game plan as I did last year. Fish hard each tournament and just try to get my 5 fish limit each time” commented the 2004 Angler of the Year. “Whatever happens after that, I still know I fished as hard as I could and that is enough for me” said Deerwester with a smile. Deerwester has a lot of things going on in 2005. A new boat on the way, and plans for fishing the NBM-TVA Series as well as both BFL and Everstarts Series. Deerwester also has added a couple more sponsors adding to his busy schedule and duties of his full-time job.
Another angler to be watched will be 2004 NBM-TVA Bass Championship Winner Rod Coffing. Coffing will be concentrating with fishing both the National Boat Mart-TVA Tournament Series and the Indiana Division of the Anglers Choice team circuit in 2005. When we sat down with Coffing, his thoughts about 2005 were centered solid decision making. Here’s his thoughts.
“Since no one has won the championship twice, the thought of doing it again is not entered in my mind. I am extremely thankful and very proud to have done it once. To win the championship I think you need to have a good idea of what is going on with the fish that time of year. With the off-limits period an angler needs to figure something out quickly and be able to adapt to be successful” said the 2004 Champion. “There are always 3 or 4 fisherman every tournament that are on their “A” game and it comes down to boating kicker fish in order to win” commented Coffing.
“Being at the right place, at the right time, and making that one winning presentation is the difference in winning the tournament. I believe it boils down to making the right decisions at the right time, and a whole bunch of luck” he remarked. “With the group of fisherman that fish the TVA Series, the championship could be won by anyone. Good luck, it should be another fun season on the water!” said Coffing.By: TVA Staff
