EarthSports Pro Barry Wilson Clinches Tour Berth

(Editor's Note: This is part 1 of a 2-part story detailing Barry Wilson's 2011 EverStart Series season and qualification for the 2012 FLW Tour.)

EarthSports pro Barry Wilson is moving on up to bass fishing's big leagues. By virtue of his 8th-place finish in the EverStart Series Southeast Division standings, the Alabama pro has earned priority entry into the 2012 FLW Tour, where he'll compete against bass fishing's heavy hitters like Larry Nixon, Brent Ehrler, David Dudley and Bryan Thrift.

Wilson's 2011 EverStart campaign is a story of consistency and dogged determination. After starting off the year with an 11th-place finish at Florida's Lake Okeechobee, he logged three straight Top-50 finishes to narrowly clinch his first Tour berth.

High Expectations

"I came into this season with the goal to qualify for the FLW Tour," Wilson told EarthSports. "That's been my focus all along. I had some ups and downs this year, but in the end I was able to get the job done, and that feels great.

"I told myself at the start of this season that I wasn't just going to fish for checks", he added. "I was fishing to make (Top 10) cuts. I was fishing to win."

With the exception of the April event at Lake Eufala, Wilson said he felt he was in contention to win every tournament, which he credits to a shift in his pre-fishing philosophy.

"It's easy to go out in practice and get on a wad of 2-pounders and feel like you've found something, but I knew those kind of fish weren't going to cut it. To really compete at this level you need to put yourself in a position to get those kicker bites—those 3-, 4- and 5-pound fish are vital. Those are the fish I looked for in every event, and that mindset really paid off."

Tour Talk

The 2012 FLW Tour schedule consists of 11 events in as many states and spans a timeframe of 9 months. Several of the stops, like the Detroit River, Table Rock and Beaver, are fisheries that Wilson has never seen before. You might think he's fretting about the unknowns on the calendar, but that's not the case.

"I actually tend to do better on lakes I've never been to before," he said. "When I go to a new body of water I tend to rely more on seasonal patterns and fish my strengths. Sometimes when you go to a place where you have a lot of history it's easy to get caught up in trying to do what's worked in the past. I'm actually looking forward to some of these new lakes."

Kentucky Lake, Rayburn and Wheeler are also circled on his calendar as stops he's looking forward to. Wilson is a power fisherman and loves to throw crankbaits and other moving baits, and he feels these events are tailor-made for his style of fishing. Not to mention, he won his first "big tournament", a Red Man event, at Wheeler 13 years ago. 

"It's going to be a fun schedule and it's really going to challenge the anglers," he said. "The season is so long that we'll see every kind of event. We'll get to fish pre-spawn, spawn, post-spawn, summer and even some fall patterns later in the year.

"I'm strongest in pre-spawn and spawn events," he added. "I hope I can get off to a good start early in the year and keep that momentum rolling."

Not Scared

When asked if he'd have any butterflies in his belly the first time he goes toe-to-toe with the big names on the FLW Tour, Wilson said: "When I fish tournaments I really don't worry about the other fishermen. The way I see it, I'm competing against the fish, not the anglers.

"It's easy to get caught up and start thinking, "Oh, I'm fishing against (Larry) Nixon or (Roland) Martin. I've got a lot of respect for those guys, but I've competed against those big names for years, and I know I can hold my own."

Details:

- You can check out Barry's EarthSports profile by clicking here.

- Part 2 of this story will go into detail about the highs and lows of Barry's year and how he was able to make a 40-spot jump in the standings at the last event of the season to clinch his FLW Tour berth.

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