And he has a business plan to follow in preparing for the inaugural 2001Bassmaster Northern Open tournament on the James River out of Richmond the weekend after July 4. Surprisingly, a major part of the plan has very little to do with actual fishing.

“The James is a big area and there is a lot of water to cover,” said Wolak who has little experience on the famous Virginia bass fishery. “I am heading there Sunday and when I get there I will ride around a lot, burn both tanks of gas in my Ranger Boat. I want to get a good look at everything instead of just going fishing.”

The eagerness to get fishing in relatively new waters without thoroughly checking things out often creates problems for some anglers, Wolak said.

“I think that is a big problem for some people who get caught up in the groove of fishing something when it could be a lot easier elsewhere if they knew it was available,” he said. “I plan to just hone in on an area and dissect it when I decide where I am going to fish.”

Although he only caught a couple of fish in his only previous experience on the James, Wolak said he really likes fishing river systems and has done well on them in the past.

“I have done quite well on the Hudson River, for instance. I had a top five finish (4th) in a Bass Open and a second there in another tournament. I like fishing current and I like fishing shallow and that’s what rivers tend to be – shallow with current.”

Wolak is hoping to do as well in the opens this year as he did last year and he admits there is a sense of urgency this time. He qualified for his fifth Bassmaster Classic this year by winning the Northern Open on Lake Champlain last July, then sat out the final two Northern Opens to give some other anglers a better chance at making the classic.

“I just missed making the 2012 Classic through the Elite Series this year,” he said, “so I need to win one of the opens to get into the Classic.”

Wolak finished just outside the cutoff in the Elite Series points standings due to a few small problems that arose throughout the season, he said.

“The points are so tight, so the littlest bit of poor execution or poor judgment, or if you don’t make the right move at the right time can really hurt you. So, if you have a couple of little mishaps that proves itself in the points and that is what happened this year. I missed a fish here and there and I missed a couple of cuts buy just a little bit, just little things like that.”

The opens are a welcome relief after the grind of the Elites, he said, because they allow him to get back into his comfort zone.

“If I am up north I am having a lot of fun and enjoying being around my friends,” said the Pennsylvania native who now lives in Wake Forest, N.C. “After the Elite season I still have a lot of fishing to do.”

 

Bassmaster Northern Open

Jul 7-9, 2011

James River

www.bassmaster.com