The position might be temporary, or maybe not. It doesn't matter much though, because right now, 23-year-old Michael Bennett of Roseville, Calif. is on top of the world.
He's in the midst of his best season ever and currently leads the FLW Tour Angler of the Year (AOY) Race. And he's climbed all the way to 24th in the BassFan World Rankings presented by Tru-Tungsten.
His three Tour finishes so far this year are: 13th (Travis), 20th (Ft. Loudon-Tellico), and 7th (Norman). Nice.
And it all seems a continuation of his 2006 campaign, when he finished 6th in the Tour points.
"It keeps improving, so I can't complain about that at all," he said of his recent fishing. "I think that overall, each year, I improve a little more. I work on areas I'm a little weak on, and I think I'm getting to be a better all-around fisherman.
"I can do everything I really feel like doing in tournaments – I feel comfortable that way now – and I'm happy with my fishing."