CREWS GOT HIS HEAD ON STRAIGHT

SALEM, VA – After four consecutive Bassmaster Classic appearances from 2005 through 2008, Virginia pro John Crews didn’t take a berth in the world championship for granted, but he certainly wanted to “see how long (he) could keep the streak going” and was thoroughly disappointed when he missed qualifying for the 2009 and 2010 events.

He didn’t just fall out of Classic contention for two seasons, he plummeted to unfamiliar territory, the bottom half of the AOY standings, with a 71st place finish in 2008. Then things got worse in 2009 and he finished 74th. He said that the problems weren’t a matter of declining skills but rather a poor mental approach to the game.

“I got in a rut where I was probably 80 percent positive,” he said. “Usually I’m the guy who’s 100 or 110 percent positive all the time. For example, if I crash my truck, I just say ‘Well, I needed a new one anyway.’ Ish and I were in the same rut. We’re both normally pretty positive guys and we realized (the problem) at the beginning of last year. It took a half year before it turned around.”