Photo: Lucky Craft

Joe Thomas has an improvement plan: finish his promotions before the Bassmaster Elite Series starts.

Week 1 – New Year's Resolutions
New Year's Resolutions 1/2/2006

As the 2006 BASS and FLW Outdoors seasons get underway, each tour will see dozens of anglers in pursuit of improvement. The intense level of competition means that no one can rest easy – not even defending champions. With increased entry fees and operating expenses, it's become even more critical to capitalize on every opportunity to cash a check.

Lucky Craft has assembled a pro staff second to none, but both seasoned veterans like Joe Thomas and hotshot newcomers like Brent Ehrler have to stay hungry to remain in the hunt. So whether it's a conscious decision or not, they all set New Year's resolutions to improve their angling success.

Young Gun

While he may not be a household name like Thomas, Gerald Swindle or Takahiro Omori, Brent Ehrler burst onto the national scene in 2004 with a victory in the EverStart (now Stren) Championship. In 2 years at the AAA level, the California native finished 1st and 3rd in the Western division.

He beat out top national competition at the Championship, held at Kentucky's stingy Lake Cumberland, and earned his win by the narrow margin of 7 ounces over a tough local stick. In 2005, he made the leap to the big leagues – the FLW Tour – where he posted an inconsistent record but finished out the year with consecutive Top 25 finishes in two of the last three events.

Ehrler's had a chance to reflect on his rookie FLW effort and contemplate how to improve in 2006. He doesn't necessarily want to swing for the fences this year. Rather, he seeks steady improvement. "Basically, I'm going to fish the same as I did last year," he said. "I got some good checks. Now I want to make it to the championship. I want to finish all six tournaments under 100th place. Last year I had a couple under, a couple over.

"I also want to get four Top 50s. I had a chance for it last year, but I ended up with two and a 53rd."

He doesn't intend to radically change his approach, but does want to refine his practice efforts. "I need to narrow my areas for prefishing," he noted. "I need to pick an area based on my experience and my research and work on honing it down from there.

"Last year, I spent a lot of time running this way and that – from one end of the lake to the other. This year, I'm going to pick an area and stick with it."

Renewed Focus for Thomas

Thomas had an uncharacteristically tough year on the Bassmaster Tour in 2005. After a couple of Top 5 finishes in 2003 and some Top 25s in 2004, he was consistently in the middle of the pack in 2005. That's an unfamiliar zone for the 21-year pro and four-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier.

Photo: Lucky Craft

Brent Ehrler won't totally rewrite his style this year, but plans to focus more during practice.

But like Ehrler, he doesn't see the need for a radical change in strategy. "On the water, I'm not going to do much different than I did last year," he said.

Thomas intends to rededicate himself to the tournament trail by limiting his in-season extracurricular activities. He's one of the busiest anglers on tour, with a top-rated TV show on The Outdoor Channel and a datebook that overflows with speaking engagements and teaching opportunities.

"My effort this year will be focused on the tournament trail," he said. "I like doing the TV show and the personal appearances, but once the Elite Series season starts, I'm going to focus full-time on the events.

"Last year, I'd fish an event, then go to a promotion, do another promotion, and fly to the next lake. This year, I'll get all of my promotions out of the way before March."

He'll work boat shows throughout his Midwest stomping grounds. Look for him at the National Boat Mart in Indianapolis (Jan. 7), the Cincinnati Boat, Sport and Travel Show (Jan. 19-20), the Columbus Boat, Sport and Travel Show (Feb. 9-10) and at the Memphis Bass Pro Shops (Feb. 25).

In-between the sportshows, he'll work 14 Bassmaster University schools all over the South and Midwest. He's particularly excited that the organizers of those events entrusted him to regularly lead the advanced-level courses. "I'm very proud of that," he said. "They've only asked a few guys to do it consistently."

Notable

> Ehrler added Roboworm and Tru-Tungsten to his sponsor list during the off-season.

> About his own sponsorships, Thomas said he's "working on a couple of things (and) should be able to announce them soon."