Big movers in AOY points

With a fourth-place finish at Lake Guntersville, David Walker jumped 58 places in the Angler of the Year standings from 107th to 49th.

David Walker came to Lake Guntersville two weeks ago feeling like his entire season was on the line.

After finishing 107th in last month’s Elite Series event on the Sabine River, Walker knew another poor showing would make it hard for him to reach the 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic in Tulsa, Okla. And if his 11th career Classic berth was off the table, he worried the rest of the season would be a long, miserable ride.

See the full Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings.

But Walker returned to his Tennessee home with new hope after finishing fourth in the Diet Mtn Dew Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville and jumping 58 places from 107th to 49th in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) standings.

A black Sharpie helped him pull it off.

“I was using a 3/8-ounce Chatterbait in a color pattern called ‘bold bream,’” Walker said. “I had a couple with black blades, and all the black wore off. So I was trying to keep them black by taking a Sharpie and just coloring them.”

Walker said the black blade was a big key to catching Lake Guntersville spawning fish.

“The flashy, shad-type color wasn’t working as well,” he said. “These were bed fish, and they weren’t worried about chasing shad. They were worried about keeping bluegill off their beds. That’s why I think the black worked better.”

Since the top 37 anglers (plus or minus depending on several factors) in the final AOY standings earn Classic berths, Walker feels much better about his chances now, sitting in 49th place with most of the season ahead.

“Qualifying for the Classic is the biggest reason why I fish,” Walker said. “If I know I can’t make the Classic, then what am I fishing for?

“Good events like this really boost you up and make you want to go to the next event. This couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Texas pro Byron Velvick also made a big jump in the AOY standings, rising 54 places from 110th to 56th. A second-place finish at Guntersville helped him overcome his 110th-place showing on the Sabine.

Australian rookie Carl Jocumsen made the same 54-spot jump as Velvick, rising from 105th to 51st. Jocumsen finished sixth at Guntersville, making an Elite Series Top 12 for the first time in his career and moving into sixth place in the race for Rookie of the Year.

Other anglers who made big jumps from 80th place or lower after Week 2 were: Chad Morgenthaler 44 places (80 to 36); Jason Christie 47 places (81 to 34); Brent Ehrler 45 places (87 to 42); Brett Hite 43 places (88 to 45); Alton Jones 36 places (92 to 56); Edwin Evers 36 places (95 to 59); and Jason Williamson 44 places (104 to 60).