Making a final charge Sunday at the Bassmaster Elite tournament on the Sabine River, Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat angler Mike McClelland brought in the day’s biggest bass, a 4-pound, 2-ounce whopper that put his five-fish limit at 13 pounds, 1 ounce and his total tournament weight at an even 46 pounds. That amount was good enough for a stout second-place result overall.
"It feels really good to finish second after I was taking such a gamble," McClelland said, referring to the lengthy trips he made each day to his preferred spot. "To take the chances I took, running over two hours every day or longer when the conditions were bad, and having only two or three hours at the most to fish, it’s a good deal to come away with a second-place finish.
"Every now and then somebody does something crazy like I did to get a win, and it was really close to happening for me this weekend."
Fighting to the end, McClelland sported his biggest bag of the weekend and the largest among the other Elite anglers on Sunday, pulling ever so close to event winner Chris Lane.
"With GEICO, Cabela’s, Stratos, and Mercury supporting me I feel like I can’t be stopped at times," McClelland said. "Once you get momentum going it’s easy to carry it. I’ve always said that the biggest goal in my career was to win an Angler of the Year title, and this is how I have to start the year to put myself in a place to make a run at that title.
"I know the season is long, but to start the season off second on that list you know you have a real chance; you aren’t trying to dig yourself out of a hole from the get-go.
"I feel like I’ve been really blessed. When you take a chance like I did this week and come away with the results I did, I feel like I have the momentum I need and the good Lord on my side. If it’s meant to be, maybe this is my season to be Angler of the Year."
By: Rob Geiger
