After a rough first season on the Elite Series in 2019, legendary angler Clark Wendlandt, of Leander, Texas, is currently leading the Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race.
Photo by B.A.S.S.
September 2, 2020
The Rejuvenation Of Legendary Angler Clark Wendlandt
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Clark Wendlandt, of Leander, Texas, has fished professionally since 1992, winning championships and even gracing the cover of a cereal box. Fast forward two decades and Wendlandt is 54 years old and out-fishing guys 20 years younger than him.
That is particularly impressive given the physical rigors of a four-day Bassmaster Elite Series tournament, which also includes three days of practice and lots of travel.
Wendlandt is leading the Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) points race midway through the season and finished fourth in the YETI Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair. Wendlandt is also becoming a regular on Bassmaster LIVE coverage and ESPN2, where an audience of more than 13.2 million sports enthusiasts have watched live coverage of the four most recent tournaments — some discovering sportfishing for the first time.
“You’ve got to have staying power,” said Wendlandt. “You have to have the drive to want to do well all the time.
“What I love about this sport is there’s no resting on your laurels. If you have a bad tournament everyone forgets about you. To have a chance at AOY you have to fish every tournament well.”
After finishing 44th in the 2019 AOY race, his first Elite campaign, Wendlandt is on fire in 2020. He has three Top 10 finishes, a 16th and a 46th. That is after three Angler of the Year titles at FLW, four FLW tour wins and qualifying 18 times for the Forrest Wood Cup. Wendlandt has also fished four Bassmaster Classics and has earned more than $2.5 million on the two tours.
In 2020, with a global pandemic and recession making life difficult for most of us, Wendlandt appears to have a new lease on life.
“I want a blue trophy,” he said. “That has rejuvenated me.”
Wendlandt has also reached the stage of life where he has less family responsibilities, and that may have freed him up a bit.
“When our kids were young and playing sports, I didn’t want to leave home and head up north to fish tournaments,” said Wendlandt. “But they’re married now, and I just think about catching the next bass.”
Is Wendlandt beginning to think about an Elite Angler of the Year title?
“No, not at all,” he said. “We won’t think about that until the last tournament or two of the year.”
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2 and The Pursuit Channel), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship, new Huk Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX presented by Abu Garcia and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic.