Hendrick No Stranger to Stiff Competition
David Hendrick (right) is ready for the PAA Tournament Series event on Lake Norman (Photo: Chris Dutton)
CORNELIUS, N.C. – David Hendrick understands if someone looked at the standings from the first PAA Tournament Series event on Cherokee Lake and said, “Who?”
But that doesn’t mean Hendrick slid in without any of his fellow competitors knowing who he is. He’s been knocking around North Carolina and the Southeast for years, competing successfully in regional events and making a name for himself.
When the second event on the PAA Bass Pro Shops Tournament Series presented by Carrot Stix stops Aug. 12-14 on Lake Norman, it’s a good chance he’ll be somewhere near the top of the leaderboard again.
“I call Norman and Lake Wylie my home lakes,” said Hendrick, who is 33 years old and lives in Cherryville, N.C., west of Charlotte. “There are some (tournament) trails on them that I fish with our 6-year old son and we have a good time. I believe the PAA tournament is going to be tough, though.
“I think it may be more shallow (tactics) than deep. There probably will be some topwater action in the morning … if you can get on the right topwater bite in the morning, you can do really well. The water temperatures have been about 90 degrees but we have had some summer thunderstorms, which helps anywhere during summer. They’ve been sporadic, though. A little rain would help if it could muddy up some places and get some oxygen in the water.”
Launches will go out of Blythe Landing each morning, with the first two days’ weigh-ins at the landing beginning at 3 p.m. Final day weigh-in featuring the Top 30 pros in the field will be at Bass Pro Shops at Concord Mills Mall beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Registration night is Aug. 11 at Bass Pro Shops, with fans invited to meet the pros between 5:30-7 p.m. On Saturday, Aug. 14, seminars and other events with the pros will be held at Bass Pro Shops beginning at 12:30 p.m. Launches, weigh-ins and events are open to the public and fans are encouraged to attend.
More than 100 of the nation’s top touring professionals will be competing for nearly $300,000 in cash and merchandise. The winner will receive a Nitro Z-8 boat powered by a 225 Mercury Optimax and outfitted with a T-H Marine Atlas Jackplate. The winner also will take home up to $5,000 for a total purse of approximately $45,000. Three episodes of FishPAA Television will be produced in conjunction with the event and featured on the VERSUS network this fall.
Hendrick began competing in tournaments in high school more than 15 years ago. He has qualified for several Bassmaster Federation Nation squads in North Carolina and South Carolina, along with competting in local and regional events.
He joined the PAA at the urging of fellow Cherryville angler Guy Eaker, who has fished competitively for more than 30 years.
“I’ve been fishing ponds and stuff ever since I could ride a bicycle,” Hendrick said. “Me and a boy I grew up with, Jason Wilson, fished together. Now we work together running the outdoors store we own in Cherryville, The Great Outdoors. He fishes the (FLW) BFL and American Fishing Series events, and I fish the Bassmaster tournaments.
“We started fishing tournaments together in high school, mostly at Lake Norman. We just jumped in with both feet and went to it.”
Those years of experience paid off during the first PAA Tournament Series event at Lake Cherokee in eastern Tennessee. Wilson had won a BFL regional there. Hendrick also fishes with fellow Tar Heel angler Bryan Thrift, who won the 2010 FLW Tour Angler of the Year title.
Thrift knew Hendrick could hold his own in the PAA events and offered some friendly advice before it began.
“I told Bryan on registration night at Bass Pro Shops that I didn’t have a clue about Cherokee and being around all these top guys was new, but he said not to worry about it and to just go fishing,” Hendrick said. “He said to do what I knew how to do, and that’s what I did.”
Hendrick stayed in the top 10 the first two days and made the Top 30 cut. Boat troubles resulted in him using a different boat on the final day. That threw a wrench in his plans and he zeroed, but was pleased with his showing for the first time against tour-level competition.
“That’s one reason I’m fishing the PAA events, because of the competition,” Hendrick said. “In my opinion there’s some of the best anglers out there from both tours and it’s pretty stiff. Plus, I’ve fished around home since high school against many of them including Todd Auten, Jason Quinn, Andy Montgomery, Bryan, Chris Baumgartner and others. This area has some strong anglers … good, tough competitors. This is another way to compete with them.”
Hendrick believes Lake Norman will offer the field a mix of techniques, but most likely he’ll be working shallow water and fishing his strengths.
“I like dock fishing,” he said. “Everybody around here does that. I don’t mind fishing deep, but stuff like drop shots are tough for me. It’s hard for me to fish 6-pound line. I’ll go 8-on a spinning rod, but 6-pound is tough for me.
“I guess fishing jigs, crankbaits and topwaters are my biggest things. I’m just a regular ol’ bank fisherman.”
PAA Associate Sponsors: The PAA Tournament Series is sponsored by Bass Pro Shops, E21 Carrot Stix, Lazer Trokar, Markel Insurance, Phoenix Boats, Nitro Boats, T-H Marine, Fishouflage, SolarBat, U.S. Reel, Sign Designs, BoatU.S. Foundation, Mercury Marine and Jasper Engines and Transmissions.
PAA Hosts: VisitLakeNorman.com, Cabarrus County (VisitCabarrus.com), Visit Charlotte (CharlottesGotALot.com), and Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation
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