BASS isn't averse to making changes to the Bassmaster Elite Series whenever it feels that an alteration is warranted, so I'd like to suggest one that involves just a single word: Change the Rookie of the Year (ROY) race to the Newcomer of the Year race.
Matt Herren's going to win that thing this year, following in the footsteps of Bobby Lane last year and Steve Kennedy in 2006. All three came to the Elites with substantial experience on the FLW Tour that included track records of success against many of the same anglers they're competing against now.
In the 3 1/2-year history of the Elite Series, the only true rookie who's copped that award was Derek Remitz in 2007. One out of three (and soon to be four) is a ratio that cries out for change.
From a fishing perspective, the term "rookie" fits Herren about as well as a tortoise shell on a rattlesnake. In six seasons on the FLW Tour, he finished 11th or better in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race four times. He knows full-well how to prepare himself to fish against the best in the world and he's entirely familiar with the various off-the-water issues that confront every tour pro. It's no surprise to most that he goes into this week's event at Guntersville at No. 7 in the Elite Series points.
Matt Herren is the top first-year competitor on the Bassmaster Elite Series, but there's nothing rookie-like about him.
Kennedy had won an FLW Tour event before he ever fished an Elite tournament and bagged another victory on the other circuit the same year he was tabbed the Elite Series' top rookie. Lane's prior resumé included four Top 10s on the FLW Tour.
There is precedent from other sports, sort of, for keeping the qualifications as they are. Quarterback Warren Moon was the NFL Rookie of the Year for the Houston Oilers in 1984 after he'd spent his initial post-college years tearing up the Canadian Football League, and Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki was bestowed that honor by baseball's American League in 2001, long after he'd established himself as a superstar in his native Japan.
There's a difference, though – those guys were previously playing in other countries, in entirely different venues and against entirely different competition. The Elite Series and FLW Tour both exist right here in the good ol' USA and visit many of the same bodies of water. And as recently as 3 years ago, a lot of guys were fishing both leagues on a full-time basis.
And the simple truth is that today's FLW Tour possesses some of the top anglers in the world. A few made their bones on the Bassmaster side long ago and others would be capable of a Herren-like transition. It's not a minor-league circuit.
None of the Top 3 in the current Elite Series ROY standings are truly rookies. Greg Vinson (2nd) has a full FLW Tour season under his belt and J. Todd Tucker (3rd) fished half of a Bassmaster Tour campaign in 2003 and logged an 8th-place finish. The real rookie leader is Arkansas' Billy McCaghren, who's 55th in the AOY race.
If "newcomer" were substituted for "rookie," then there'd be no need to have this discussion. It would save BASS emcee Keith Alan a lot of hassle, too – he'd no longer have to explain at some point during each weigh-in that ROY leader Herren is not a rookie by pro fishing standards, but is one under the current Elite Series qualifications.
The $25,000 ROY bonus has been eliminated this year under the economy-induced restructuring of the payouts, but Herren could still reap whatever additional benefits come along with being the top first-year performer on the circuit. And he could completely shed a tag that hasn't applied to him since 2003.
