There's young guns, and then there's the youngest guns. This season, 21-year-old Michael Bennett is one of the youngest snipers out there. His coming-out party was the recent Wheeler FLW, where he finished 2nd. It was his best tour-level finish to date, and his first-ever tour-level Top 10.
A Little Disappointed
"I was a little disappointed I didn't win," Bennett said of Wheeler. He only weighed three fish the final day and finished just 4 ounces behind Alvin Shaw. "But I don't really have anything to be upset over. If I'd have lost a fish or made a mistake, I'd be more upset. I did what I was supposed to do. Sometimes it just happens that way."
He struggled in some of the early events this year – a 158th at Toho and a 93rd at the Ouachita River – but said he finally feels like he's "settling in" a bit.
"I made some mistakes in those places," he said. "I just didn't run far enough at Ouachita because I thought I could get the same bites closer to the landing. And at Toho and Okeechobee, I wasn't used to fishing that kind of grass. I felt more comfortable at Wheeler."
He noted that, at Wheeler, there was a predominant rumor that the big females had moved off the banks. He looked for sight-fish anyway – on both Wheeler and Guntersville.
"I concentrated on those bedding fish because I knew there would be big fish still trying to spawn. I found those fish in practice and knew they'd still be there."
Bass Brothers
Many tour pros choose to travel with partners to help defray the cost of fishing a tour – and some father/son teams travel together – but Bennett's fairly unique in that he travels alongside his brother Richard.
Richard fishes both BASS and FLW, while Michael's FLW-only. But they prefish FLW events together and try to share as much information as possible.
"We're usually not more than a mile or two away while we practice for the tournaments and it makes it fun," Bennett said. "When one of us gets bored or has something to tell the other one, we'll just meet and talk and then move somewhere else and keep fishing."
He also said he and his brother have been fishing together "as long as he can remember." When he was a younger, the family lived in Southern California and his dad would take the two fishing in the Pacific Ocean.
Then, when Michael was 8 years old, the family moved to Roseville – not far from Sacramento in Northern California. They had access to a backyard lake – then eventually the famed bass waters of northern California. Most notably, he cut much of his tournament teeth on the California Delta.
"We probably spent about 100 days or so a year on the water when we were in our early teens just fishing and, yeah, we skipped some school," he said.
"I started thinking about being a pro when I was about 8 or 9. I thought, What a cool way to make a living. Dad taught us a lot about fishing back then, but we also learned more on or own and started sharing ideas and tactics with him. We had access to so many different kinds of water when I was young and I think it prepared me for what I face on (the) Tour."
When Less Is More
In 2000, when Bennett was just 16 years old, he began to work his way through western BFLs. He eventually moved up to Western EverStarts and Bassmaster Opens. But this year marked his first season-long experience on waters to the east. He noted he tried not to over-practice.
"Some rookie guys I know have spent 2 weeks at a time basically living at the places where the next tournament's going to be. But that just makes you second-guess yourself and exposes you to too much water. I go through the lake in 4 days or so and pick out spots that look familiar."
His 2nd-place finish at Wheeler moved him up to 56th in the FLW Tour points – eight spots away from a berth in the FLW Tour Championship. He can make up that gap with a strong finish at the season-ending Potomac FLW, where his Delta experience could be key.
"I didn't come into this season thinking I was a lock to finish in the Top 48 and make it to the Championship, but I knew I'd do well," he said.
"And no matter what happens, after the way I've fished recently, next year should be a lot of fun."
Notable
> Bennett's currently 9th in the BassFan.com Rookie of the Year Race.
> He finished 4th in the Western EverStart points last season. His best finish was a 4th at Lake Pleasant, Ariz.
> Another notable finish was his 5th at the 2003 Havasu Bassmaster Western Open.