Jeremy Starks

Starks says experience has taught him the longer you distance yourself from the rod and reel, the rustier you become.

"I've really struggled the last few years at the beginning of the year and finally come into a groove about the middle of the year.  I think a lot of that has to do with taking time off and this year I've really tried not to do that," Starks said.

Starks will have his work cut out for him in 2009.   He's planning to fish 13 bass events that will take him to all corners of the country.  It begins the weekend of March 12-15 on LakeAmistad near Del Rio, Texas. 

"Amistad is unique in that you're looking for giants.  You're not just fishing for three to four pounders, you're fishing for eight to ten pounders and that's really a different ballgame," Starks said.

Starks' 2008 performance was good enough to qualify him to fish the ten events of the Bass Elite Series in 2009.     Eight of those events are already scheduled, but in a new twist BASS and ESPN are keeping the final two locations and their dates under wraps.  The plan for this made-for-TV fishing drama is to spring those locations on anglers and see how they handle the mental pressure of attacking the waters with precious little time to prepare.    Starks is also registered to fish three BASS Northern Open events.

While most of us use fishing as a way to escape work, the competitive fishing circuit is a different animal.

"You know as well as I do there's nothing more fun than fishing,"  Starks explained, "But when you do it at the level we do it, it's a little different than going out there an just unwinding.  We go out there and think about the techniques and seasonal patterns.  Getting up at 4:00 in the morning and into bed at 11:00 at night is sometimes a lot of work." 

There are other pressures.  Pro fishermen travel thousands of miles between fishing tournament sites, deal with vital sponsorship obligations and coordinate equipment, booking lodging and arrange travel plans, and on top of it all try to learn the secrets to catching fish in a range of different waters.   When viewed through that prism, fishing for a living doesn't gleam with the same luster it might for those who haven't tried it.

Starks will again count the West Virginia Coal Association and Walker Machinery among his primary sponsors.    The send off at Walker Machinery was an opportunity for Starks to practice the message the industry has invested in his fishing expeditions. 

"We need good jobs in West Virginia, we need coal, and we need clean water," said Starks.  "It's possible to have all three."

His new Basscat boat is wrapped in a sleek and colorful scheme that includes a backdrop of

Hardware from the 2008 BASS Southern Challenge on Lake Wheeler, Alabama

The tournament trail will take Starks back to Alabama's Lake Wheeler, where he captured first place in the Southern Challenge fishing cast for cast with the legendary Kevin Van Dam.   Ironically, that's not the destination that Starks is most anticipating.

"Most people think it would probably be Wheeler, but probably Kentucky Lake or Smith Mountain (Virginia) are two of my favorite places to fish," Starks explained. "Both those events really set up to my fishing style.  I'm an off-shore guy.  I like to spend a lot of time looking at my depth finder and learning some off-shore stuff and looking for fish that other guys will go right past.  I've done well at both of those in the past."

JEREMY STARKS 2009 FISHING TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE 

* The final two Elite Series events, locations, and dates TBA

Field Looks Ahead to Lake Tohopekaliga

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — “Sweet” was the word of the day Saturday according to angler Andy Morgan
of Dayton, Tenn., who found his first ever BASS win in the CITGO Bassmaster Southern Open on Lake
Guntersville. Morgan fished three secluded spots during the tournament, going back to his Day 1 honey
holes on Day 3 to bring in 17 pounds, 10 ounces for a total of 56-6.