With the start of Bassmaster and Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit this week I thought I would mention some interesting stories to watch and see how they unfold.

John Cox fishing all three series. This is a lot of casts, a lot of wear and tear on yourself and will absolutely test your mental toughness concentrating for 8 plus hours a day over minimum of two days a week and likely three days a week.

Rookies and Comebacks.. Two rookies on the TW side of things will have my attention this season. Third generation pro Lawson Hibdon, son of Dion and grandson to all time great Guido and Cal Lane, son of Classic winner Chris Lane and nephew to MLF World Championship winner Bobby Lane. I suspect they will both have a learning curve and may struggle for the first four events, but when they settle down I think they will be somewhat competitive. They are both young and that is the downside. I suspect Cal will have a shorter learning curve because dad and uncle are traveling and fishing with him, and they are present day anglers. Just a couple seasons ago they were both 5 fish guys, and Bobby this offseason fished in some Opens. From what I understand the little Lane is a good stick and I wish him well. Lawson from what I understand is a very good stick. His dad making a comeback will help, though after a several year top level layoff I suspect he will have a little rust and thus Lawson’s learning curve will be a little greater because of this.
On the Bassmaster side, the guy I am looking out for to make a splash will be Matthew Robertson, known to most as On’em, the Kentucky pro qualified through the Opens in 2020, which may have been the hardest series to get through in recent years. With 2 wins in the last three of four years, you know that he is a special talent. With the Classic 0moving to a June time frame and more of an offshore event, I will not be shocked if he makes waves.
On the comeback side of things I anxiously await Dion and Larry Nixon. Dion I suspect may be similar to Lawson. I suspect 3 or 4 events to shake the rust off. He has not forgot how to fish and is a damn fine angler, but after a 6 year or so absence I anticipate some issues getting up to game speed, conditioning mentally and physically etc. I look for him to be much more competitive in 2022, and hope like hell he proves me wrong this season. With Larry, he is only a year removed , due to surgeries from top level. He was also exceptionally competitive making numerous FLW Cups and finishing more often than not still top half of the field at the end of the season. Keep in mind in a 6 event season one bad event can really kick you in the balls. His last year of 2019 he finished 30, two years before that 19, two years before that 10th. In the last 9 seasons, and I bring it up this way because of 2020 missing, he had 7 top tens. In the last 6 FLW Cups starting in 2010 he has had three single digit finishes. So I bring all these up because I suspect the same old Larry Nixon, finishing the season in the top half of the field and potentially one Sunday run to make us all cheer like mad for the Worm Man.