Terry Bolton waited 24 years to be an overnight success, but he finally became an FLW Tour champion Monday when he won the FLW tournament on Sam Rayburn Reservoir at Brookeland, Texas.
Bolton took 20 bass to the scales that weighed 91 pounds, 3 ounces to edge out Nick LeBrun of Bossier City, La., whose best 20 weighed 90-7. It was Bolton's first victory in 168 tries.
"I've had several close calls," Bolton said. "I lost one by four ounces on an 8-ounce dead fish penalty, and I've had a couple of second-place finishes. It felt really felt good to finally get over the hump. The money's great, but you'll spend it. The fact that you won a national tournament, they can't take that away."
Formerly of Jonesboro, Bolton returned to his hometown of Paducah, Ky., several years ago after a divorce. That was a bleak time in his life and career, Bolton said, but his personal life got a big boost when he married Dacy Bolton.
The professional part didn't right itself as smoothly, Bolton said, and he considered retiring because, he said, he simply did not enjoy fishing anymore.
"Last year I had a miserable season," Bolton said. "I didn't have any fun. I kicked around retiring back in early summer, but my wife said 'No, you're going to go out and fish another year.' "
Fun is the key ingredient to success as a professional bass angler, Bolton said. If you don't enjoy it, you won't succeed.
"I didn't get in it for fame and fortune," Bolton said. "I got in it because it's fun. I don't care what circuit you're fishing, we tend to lose the fun. Travel gets old, and the business side takes some of the fun out of it.
"If you enjoy it, you fish better. Things flow better, and you make better decisions."
Instead of changing fishing techniques, Bolton got his mind right.
"My motto this year is have fun," Bolton said. "Of course, when you're catching 80 bass a day, it's easier to have fun, but mentally I had to keep myself in the game and keep the enjoyment. Even when I had the lead I didn't think about it."
The 80-fish day actually happened. It was the first day of the tournament, when Bolton weighed in 20-5. Trailing LeBrun, his catch total fell to 45 fish on the second day, but Bolton surged ahead on the second day when he weighed in 33-9. That averages to more than 6 pounds per fish.
"Those days don't come around too often, and I knew good and darned well I'm probably not going to do that again," Bolton said. "After that, my goal was to finish out and not fumble the ball."
Bolton's catch rates and weights fell precipitously on the third and fourth days, but he said he got a break when FLW postponed the final round on Sunday to Monday. He said the break was partly responsible for him winning the $125,000 first-place check.
"I turn 49 in a few weeks, and my old rear end was feeling tired and wore out," Bolton said. "My hands were cut up from handling so many bass, and my legs were sore. The off day might have saved me. I was able to get my hands doctored up back to where I could use them, and I took some arthritis medicine."
Even with only one win, Bolton has earned about $1.2 million with FLW, and he's qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup 13 times. Bolton said his goal is to compete in the Forrest Wood Cup Aug. 9-11 at Lake Hamilton.
"If I'm not sitting in Lake Hamilton in August, this year is a failure as far as I'm concerned," Bolton said.
Sports on 01/20/2019