LeftCoastBass.com 2009 Awards
From Nov 23 - Dec 31st we will be announcing the winners of the first annual 'Lefty' Awards for 2009
Also, be sure to vote for the innaugural 2009 LeftCoastBass.com Hall of Fame inductees. <VOTE NOW>
Angler of the Year
Skeet Reese couldn't have been much closer to a perfect season. To start the year he won the most prestigious tournament in all of fishing, the Bassmaster Classic, and going into the final postseason event he was leading the angler of the year race. In any previous season Skeet would have been crowned angler of the year. With BASS' new post season format Skeet fell just short of accomplishing his ultimate goal of winning the Bassmaster Classic and the angler of the year award in the same season Skeet's year was still a great season by anyone's standards. At the young age of 40, Skeet Reese has quickly become the best and most accomplished angler nationally that has hailed from the west coast. Skeet has stayed true to the left coast by continuing to live in California. To travel back east each year takes dedication and Skeet has proven to be dedicated.
Skeet still has many years of dominating the Bassmaster Elite Series and might be the only guy who is good enough to challenge KVD year in and year out for the Angler of the Year award. In fact it may be only KVD that can challenge Skeet for the title moving forward. After a stellar season and what has been an outstanding career the obvious choice was to give the Angler or the Year Lefty award to Skeet Reese for 2009.
Angler of the Year
Skeet Reese
Website of the Year
When it comes to fishing websites hundreds have popped up over the past 10 years. There are fishing forums, tackle shops, instructional sites, Tackle review sites, e-zines and many with combinations of those. This award is for 2009, but it might as well be for the decade of the 2000's because no site has ever come close to doing what Tackle Tour does for the fishing industry. They've even given us our own spokesmodel - Miss Casey!
Tackle Tour offers anglers true unbiased reviews of hundreds of products each year. Tackle Tour often is the first place any regular angler can see most new products. Tackle Tour offers fishing manufacturers, distributors and tackle shops free publicity for products. If your product is really what you want it to be, then Tackle Tour is the site you want to review it. They'll find the flaws if there are any but, they'll find the features too. They don't toss a bait a few times in a pool and write about it, they take the time to fish it and fish it hard. They'll work hours and hours on reviewing a single product so they don't miss any of the good or bad of it. Over the past 10 years they've developed their own testing methods, charting methods and more to bring us the information on fishing products that is not available anywhere else. When it comes to fishing related websites, Tackle Tour is in a class by itself!
Website of the Year
TackleTour.com
Most likely to succeed nationally
The national tournament scene has long been run by the good ole' boys of the southeast who have national tournaments held on lakes that are a few hours drive from home. These anglers have lobbied to keep the national scene, well not national, instead it has stayed a local game for the guys in the southeast and excluded some of the best anglers in the world from competing. Without a national tour that travels out further than Texas most years the best fishermen from the west have been forced to make the long journey back east in order to pursue their dreams. Not just any angler can make that trip and really truly compete on bodies of water that are new to them, but the ones that do have become legends. Skeet Reese and Brent Ehrler have both won championships on their respective tours and have established themselves as two of the best on their tours while still maintaining residence on the west coast. It takes a special angler to succeed nationally and this year the guy that stands out as someone who can compete back east is Jackall Pro Cody Meyer.
Cody finished this season as the Western Stren angler of the year and finished 13 th in the points for the National Guard Series. This year was great for him, but looking back on past results might be even more impressive. He has finished 2 nd in the Stren Series points in 2008 and 2007 and in 2008 he finished 7 th in the National Guard points. This year he made a name for himself in the Forrest Wood Cup finishing 3 rd bested only by two BASS Elite Series pro's.
Cody can compete on any body of water because he is the kind of angler that can quickly put together a pattern and find the size of fish necessary to give him a chance to win. He is equally deadly on largemouth or spot lakes and get him near some smallmouth and you might as well give him your money. The FLW tour is really a tour where versatile fishermen do well and Cody exemplifies versatility on the water. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I'm not gonna leave him off my fantasy team.
Most Likely to Succeed Nationally
Cody Meyer
New Website of the year
There's always that one person in any field who thinks a little bit differently than the rest of the crowd. He's usually labeled a genius or a lunatic, for whatever reason there seems to be a fine line between the two that is often blurred. This rings true when talking about Josh St. John the creator and author of the website of the year - Thewiredangler.com.
Those who know Josh are aware that he is an incredibly smart guy who uses his talent for the good of all fishermen by posting helpful articles on everything bass fishing. What's so great about the site is that Josh never writes a dull article, nor does he settle for relaying the same old tired information over and over again. Josh has also begun working with some of the best big bait makers and angler's in the country. One in particular Matt Allen, a top trophy hunter, has started adding some additional great content to the site. TheWiredAngler.com has quickly become one of the premier sites for new bait releases.
Josh St. John is also the baitmaker behind JSJ baits where he takes bait concepts most guys can only dream of and turns them into reality. If you haven't taken the time to visit the site you really should, but be aware it will become a site you'll spend a lot of time on.
New Website of the Year
TheWiredAngler.com
Comeback Angler of the Year
“Everybody loves a comeback,” a phrase coined by Ari Gold of Entourage which rings no more truly than in the world of fishing. We are a country that roots for the underdog, who is inspired by overcome obstacles, and who loves a big last day sack in a tournament; well maybe just us fishermen.
For all intensive purposes this angler was once the best we had out west, and don't tell him he ever fell from that spot because he'll have something to say about it. Over the past several decades, we won't count them as to not ruffles any feathers, Gary Dobyns has become the Left Coast's leading money winner. Over the last few years he has stepped back somewhat from the fishing side of things in order to continue to grow his rod company business and heal from a very serious boat accident in mid 2008. In 2009 Gary Dobyns came back with vengeance having himself a great 2009 season with two 7th 's and 12th in 3 Anglers Choice pro-ams and of course the big win at the Won Bass U.S. Open on Lake Mead. The U.S. Open was a win we know Gary wanted badly and it is a great addition to an already stellar career. Gary Dobyns although one of the best Western Professional bass angler's of all time is this year's comeback angler of the year.
Comeback Angler of the Year
Gary Dobyns
Bait Of The Year
On the Left Coast swimbaits are king, so the bait of the year would naturally have to be a swimbait. Swimbaits range in size from 4 inches to 12 inches and beyond, but it seems like the "go to" size for swimbaits is 6 inches. There are some great baits in the 6 inch size including Baitsmith, Rago, Top Shelf, California Swimbabes, Optimum and more. One would be hard pressed to find any bait on the market that has caught more fish in 2009 than the Osprey Top Hook.
The Osprey Top Hook took the world by storm in October of 2007 when FLW National Guard Pro Tim Klinger used it to bring a 32 pound 8 ounce bag to the scales on the final day of the FLW Clear Lake NG event. Since that day no swimbait has sold faster or caught fish better than this 6 inch jewel. Osprey offers the bait in over 50 colors and it has been known to catch fish in just about all 50 states.
The bait is simple in design, a paddle tail with a nice slender full body and of course a top hook, which gives it its name. It is referred to by some as the Tournament Talon or the Tournament Talon Top Hook as well. No matter what you call it this 6" bait is a must have for every angler from fun fisherman to tournament angler to trophy hunter.
Bait of the Year
Osprey Top Hook
Rookie of the Year
When it comes to Rookie of the Year we had to do quite a bit of research to find an angler who was new enough to the professional scene to be considered for Rookie of the Year, but still had a year worthy of the award. The first ever "Lefty" Rookie of the Year is also the first resident of a state other than California to win a "Lefty." This angler finished 2009 ranked 33rd for the Angler of the Year on the FLW National Guard Western Series and 51st in the FLW Stren Western Series. He also qualified for the 2009 Stren Championship and placed 64th.
The winner of the 2009 Lefty for Angler of the Year is Ron Johnson of Chandler Arizona. Ron had two top 30 finishes in the FLW National Guard Western Series with a 24th on Lake Havasu in March and a 27th on Clear Lake in October. His Stren season was a bit less successful but, as a rookie to finish in the money in your first season on tour is quite an accomplishment.
Rookie of the Year
Ron Johnson
Company of the year
This year the tackle industry as a whole was really very unimpressive. We were given a lot of the same thing over and over again and as the saying goes, “Why reinvent the wheel,” or another favorite “If it ain't broke don't fix it.” With all the copy cat baits this year we believed it would only be fitting to reward a company that consistently strives to come up with new baits and even new techniques. We couldn't be happier to award Jackall company of the year.
Jackall came up with a completely new technique with a bait created solely for that technique. The flick shake worm has become the go to bait for anglers from California to New York and everywhere in between. The bait has proven itself for Pro's Cody Meyer and Kota Kiriyama who have both won the better part of a hundred thousand dollars solely on the flickshake worm. It has been especially good for co-anglers with many checks cashed from the back of the boat using the flickshake as their "go to" bait. Jackall also released a new swimbait, bedbait, and flipping craw that have all produced for anglers. Not to mention their cross-tail shad which has slowly become a staple in any finesse fisherman's arsenal. We look forward to many great things from Jackall in the future.
Company of the Year
Jackall Lures
New bait of the Year
If you fished the Delta this year you had one tied on, in tackle shops pegs were being cleared by anglers who sought after the bait like crack, and if you couldn't get them you were sure to have guys who did whoopin your butt in tournaments. We're talking about the punch skirt from Paycheck Baits. Early in the 2009 we were introduced to the punch skirt by Bub Tosh and Ish Monroe when they put a hurting on everyone in a FLW Stren event that fished tough. Slowly more and more came out about the magic bait and when it made its retail debut it was an instant hit. Sure, many companies claim to have made similar baits throughout the years but none had the quality of the punch skirt. The colors are dead on and to quote an angler who placed in the top ten of the National Guard event on the Delta, “If you're not punching a money maker punch skirt with the right trailer right now you might as well not be fishing.”
The punch skirt was responsible for a lot of big fish and a lot of tournament wins on the delta this year and with the innovative methods of fishing the bait it shouldn't be limited to just punching. With the recent imitations coming out its easy to see the popularity of the bait, but like in many cases the imitation still leaves something to be desired so if you want the best quality buy the Paycheck Baits products.
Bait of the Year
Punch Skirts by Paycheck Baits
Comeback of the Year
When the Comeback of the Year award came up in our conference call the obvious quick answer was Cliff Pirch's performance on Clear Lake in October. Pirch's 37 pound final day bag was enough to push him ahead of Randy McAbee by more than 10 pounds. There is no doubt that Cliff's comeback was fantastic, but when we took a closer look at the full season of events one performance stood out above Cliff Pirch's for the Comeback of the Year “Lefty.”
It happened almost exactly one month before Cliff's final day boat full of bass and it didn't even result in a victory. The California Delta NG event started out rough for this angler with a first day's weight of 9 pounds 7 ounces which landed this angler in 55 th spot out of 89 anglers and almost 15 pounds out of the lead. With the tournament nearly down the drain, this “Lefty” winner was able to make a huge move on days 2 and 3 to make the top ten cut. Then on the final day he caught the largest bag of the ten anglers and jumped all the way to 3 rd place for the event and cashing a check for over $32k.
The first ever “Comeback of the Year” Lefty goes to Chris Zaldain. Chris is one of the brightest young anglers on the west coast and his relentless determination to compete at the highest level will continue to put him on the podium for many years to come. Chris' comeback on the Delta during the FLW National Guard series event in late September is no shock to those who have been following his tournament accomplishments. Congratulations to Chris Zaldain for the Comeback of the Year Lefty for 2009!
Comeback of the Year
Chris Zaldain of San Jose , Ca
Co-Angler of the Year
The first ever "Lefty" awarded goes to the Co-Angler of the Year for 2009. The winner of the Co Angler of the Year for 2009 won over $23,000 in the 8 FLW events during the 2009 season. This angler finished 2nd in the co-angler of the year race in the FLW National Guard Western Series and 3rd in the FLW Stren Western Series in 2009. In the FLW National Guard Western Series he never placed below 24th place. In the FLW Stren Western Series he finished as low as 59th in one event but, finished in the top 9 in all of the other three events.
His consistency all year is a sign of his hard work and dedication to the sport of fishing. He did win one event, the FLW National Guard Series on the California Delta. He also finished 7th on Lake Havasu , 16th on the Columbia River and 24th on Clear Lake for the N.G. events. He had a 3rd on Oroville, a 6th on Clear Lake and a 9th on the California Delta on the FLW Stren Series and fell to 59 th at the Stren Lake Roosevelt event, his only event out of the money all year. He wrapped the season up by cashing a check and taking 35 th at the Stren National Championships in Alabama .
The first “Lefty” of the 2009 season goes to J.R. Wright of Truckee California . J.R. travels with his son Pro Angler Michael Wright and good friend and team partner Pro Angler Cody Meyer. Congratulations J.R. Wright on a fantastic season from the back of the boat and the first ever “Lefty” award!
Co-Angler of the Year
J.R. Wright of Truckee, Ca
J.R. Wright amassed over $23,000 from the back of the boat in 2009