The 2019 Peteys
Posted by Pete Robbins on Dec 20th 2019
The 2019 Peteys
We’re a week away from the end of the calendar year, which likely means you: (a) weigh (at least) 10 pounds more than the upper end of your “acceptable” limit; (b) have one more Tackle Warehouse order on the way; (c) still haven’t heard of TikTok; or (d) (most likely answer if you’re one of my friends) all of the above.
This has been a tumultuous and confusing year in the world of bass fishing, and while there’s been some nastiness amongst our ranks, on the whole interest in the sport is high. Kids are getting involved. Lots of people are making a living somehow related to chasing little brown and green fish. And just when you thought swimbaits, electronics, soft plastics, motors and other consumables couldn’t get any better, sure enough they did.
We lost some important folks, like Jerry McKinnis, Berkley Bedell and Irwin Jacobs, but there were also positive moments of great import. One doesn’t balance out the other, but it shows that none of us are bigger than the sport.
Anyway, on to the awards.
Remember, no wagering.
Media Figure of the Year – Luke Dunkin
As intensity and rivalry among the tours has welled up (at least amongst the fans), Dunkin has consistently found himself in the middle of the scrum, even though he fishes neither one. He’s been willing to court controversy, reveal previously-unheard or unseen messages, and invite even his perceived nemeses on the show to air their thoughts. He’s admitted mistakes, an all-too-uncommon trait among our group. The respect he receives from those who disagree with him shows that he’s no pushover. I have the attention span of a cheese grater, but I’ve found myself glued to the screen for upward of two hours at a time.
Runner Up: The Ike Live crew. They cover much of the same ground, but they’ve been doing it longer and their personalities were better known. That doesn’t detract from their value, but Dunkin’s freshness to most of us was a welcome addition to the mix.
Product of the Year – The Trolling Motor
A handful of years back a friend ordered a new boat with two Power Poles, but wouldn’t get a 36 volt trolling motor because it would cost him too much. “You’ll spend $4,000 to stop, but you won’t spend a few hundred bucks to go faster?” the boat salesman asked. Now we have multiple options where we can spend much more, and they all seem to be worth it. We have four options that are better than anything available 10 years ago, and possibly another on the way. Usually we lag behind other industries like the automotive sector. Self-driving cars still aren’t allowed most places in full auto, but you can program your troller to take you to the next stop with no fear of the law.
Runner Up: Anything NED. It’s like a 12-step program. Macho power fishermen sidle up to one another and ask if they’ve tried “it.” It, in this case, is the Ned Rig, and the admission shows that they know it is deadly on both numbers and big fish. Everyone’s still trying to figure out the right setups, and that creates a great opportunity for savvy manufacturers.
Bassmaster On-The-Water Winner of the Year – Scott Canterbury
Canterbury hadn’t fished a full slate of Opens in several years, but based on his stellar track record at FLW he got the invite to join the reconstituted Elite Series and he made the most of it, finishing worse than 22nd only once, and in the top ten three times on the way to the AOY title and its hundred thousand dollar prize. Right place, right time, perfect performance.
Runners Up: Jamie Hartman and Brandon Cobb, both of whom overcame unknowns – for Hartman, how he’d come back from injury, and for Cobb, how he’d do on a different tour – and won two Elite Series tournaments apiece.
Bassmaster Off-The-Water Winner of the Year – BASS Live Engineers
Sanders, Zona, Sooch, Hite and even Ronnie Moore get lots of credit, and deservedly so, but whoever is doing the heavy technological lifting on BASS Live servers some love. In a year where the landscape was uncertain, a big part of the BASS success story was the fact that the live coverage was so compelling and comparatively glitch-free. I’m sure countless man-hours of fishing fans’ work were lost to the drama, but it was worth it, and these dudes should take a bow.
Runner Up: Canada. With three Canadians in the Classic, this could be a huge step forward for the country’s bass culture, as well as a huge feather in the BASS cap if one wins.
BPT On-The-Water Winner of the Year – Jeff Sprague
While Sprague had experienced some exceptional years at FLW, he was a comparative unknown to fishing fans at large. BPT could’ve made a play for a bigger name, with more star power, even if Sprague was perceived to be a better angler. However he got in, like Canterbury he made the most of his situation, winning $108,000 of entry-fee unaffected earnings, and finishing second in the AOY race.
Runner Up: Edwin Evers. The 2016 Bassmaster Classic winner won $493,000 in BPT winnings this year. If that’s what the runner-up for this category gets, I’m sure he’ll take that every year.
BPT Off-The-Water Winner of the Year – All owners not named Boyd Duckett.
Boyd took a bullet for all of the owners, all year long, whether intentionally or not. He’s the face of the organization and he’s served as a flak jacket for the rest of them. You never see a social media post denigrating most of the other angler-owners, and if they’re not already thankful for his business acumen, they should be appreciative of his willingness to speak for them.
Runner Up: Sqwinchers. I’ve still never seen it in a store or in person, but based on their embedded advertising, every time I’m parched I start to crave one.
