Yelas has a chance
Category: Tournament
Apr 16th, 2014 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Apr 16th, 2014 at 12:00 AM
Former Bassmaster Classic Champ and multi-tour Angler of the Year (AOY) winner Chevy/Mercury pro Jay Yelas is in a tough spot this season. No worries, everything is fine personally and professionally. It’s his position in the FLW Tour AOY race, 77th, heading into the last two events of the 2014 regular season that is the issue. Only the Top 35 pros in the AOY point standings at the end of the season qualify for the year-end championship, the Forrest Wood Cup.
Odds are against Yelas. If he doesn’t make it this year, 2014 will be the first year in Yelas’ last 24 seasons of fishing a pro tour, where he did not qualify for the year-end championship of the tour.
Yelas can come back.
“I can make a comeback,” said Yelas. “I am in a precarious spot sitting in 77th in AOY going into the last two events of the FLW Tour. This is the worst year as a pro I’ve ever had. I haven’t missed a year-end championship in the last 24 years. I have a small chance. I need a couple of Top 10 finishes and, if my math is right, I can get in.”
Even though Yelas is down, he is not out. Frustration is filling his mind a bit, but a once-in-a-career incident on Lake Okeechobee is what really has him down, mentally and in the AOY point totals.
“I’m feeling a good bit of frustration,” said Yelas. “I’ve struggled more this year than any other year I can remember. It’s not the lakes we’ve been fishing, it’s me. A lot of it is mental. Fishing too much in the past based on previous experiences on these bodies of water. I’m not fishing enough in the moment. I need to approach places I’ve fished before with an open mind.
“Though my biggest issue this year was not necessarily mental. It happened at the first event of the season, Lake Okeechobee. It was a first for me ever in my career.
“I had one of the best practices ever on Lake Okeechobee. Unknown to me, my prime area that was loaded with good fish was sprayed with herbicide the day before the tournament started. I went to that area on the first day and caught 13 pounds. Not great, but enough to keep me there. Especially based on practice. Then on the second day the fish were all gone. I scrambled, found fish in my secondary areas, but I lost everything that bit. There were plenty of fish on to get me in the money, it just turned into a train wreck.
“I finished 164th there and followed that up with three low-money finishes…. you can see why I am where I am.”
The famous Yelas optimism isn’t running high heading into the last two FLW Tour events, Pickwick and Kentucky Lakes, even though he finished in the Top 5 at the last two events he’s fished on Kentucky Lake.
“Both Pickwick and Kentucky Lake are great fisheries,” said Yelas. “I’ve had two Top 5 finishes on Kentucky Lake, fishing shallow on Barkley. However, the Tennessee River impoundments have always been my Achilles heel.
“My top finishes on Kentucky Lake all happened earlier in the season when the fish are up shallower. Plus in those tournaments, the lake had high water. Most likely the fish will be in deeper water at both events and I’ve never been that good fishing the ledges on those lakes.
“We’ll see. I still think a comeback is possible, even on those lakes.”