EDITOR ’ S NOTE
WHO ’ S A HAMMER ?
There are angler-of-the-year titles and championship titles and tournament titles . And then there ’ s the title of “ hammer .”
This one ’ s special . There ’ s no formal process for being deemed a hammer . It isn ’ t earned on paper . An angler sort of just becomes one when , through the consensus of his peers , he ’ s regarded as a bass angler of special talent . There ’ s no formal declaration , either . One day , an angler walks up to the bag line , and someone asks , “ You get ’ em , hammer ?” And that ’ s that .
To get a better idea of what qualifies someone to be a hammer , I asked Associate Editor Jody White to define it . He often uses the term to describe deserving pros .
“ A hammer is an angler that can win at any time , though it can also describe someone who dominates a particular place , time or technique ,” he says . “ Calling someone a hammer is also a great way to compliment him on a good performance , even if he might not actually be a hammer .”
I ’ ll add to Jody ’ s definition that to be a hammer is to be feared by your competition . This might be at the local level or on the national scene . A hammer can pull off feats that impress even other hammers , such as catching 20 pounds on a 12- pound lake or uncovering a magic frog bite that no one else knew existed .
There ’ s also a metaphysical aspect – something very tough to explain – that ’ s part of being a hammer . When a hammer walks into a tournament registration meeting , people notice . They recognize him as the man to beat . When he walks on stage , photographers prepare their cameras . When other anglers roll into a pocket where a hammer is already fishing , they turn around and leave . Those fish have already been caught , and that hammer deserves such respect .
A hammer is not necessarily an FLW Tour pro , though there are plenty of hammers on Tour . Career earnings don ’ t determine hammer status , nor do win totals . But a noteworthy win – a blowout , an improbable comeback , a shallow-water win during the peak of ledge season – can allude to someone ’ s hammer status .
The best example of a hammer might be Todd Castledine . The Nacogdoches , Texas , pro recently pulled off a dramatic win in the Costa FLW Series Southwestern Division opener at Sam Rayburn when , on a tough post-frontal day three , he weighed in 27 pounds to rocket from ninth to first .
Afterward , Jody and I were debating headlines via text messages , and I commented that Castledine is a sledge in a world of hammers . He really is that impressive .
What ’ s remarkable about hammers like Castledine is that even when they don ’ t win they make an impact .
Last year , Castledine had the day-three lead at the Costa FLW Series Central Division event at Lake Dardanelle . He told me the night before that he ’ d figured out a frog bite that had the potential to produce a mammoth bag and guarantee the win , but he wasn ’ t sure if he could get five bites . Castledine could ’ ve played it safe and flipped up five fish , but even then he might not have won . He ’ d have left the outcome in the hands of his competitors . Hammers don ’ t fish that way . Instead , Castledine threw a haymaker with the frog . The haymaker missed , but his frog tactic was so interesting that it drew most of the attention , and we ended up covering it in this magazine .
That ’ s another mark of a hammer : a contender every time he ’ s on the water , but impressive even in defeat .
Curtis Niedermier , Editor-in-Chief
publisher Irwin L . Jacobs
Editor-in-Chief Curtis Niedermier
production Manager / Graphic Designer Michelle Dowling
assistant Managing Editor Chad Love
Senior Editor Kyle Wood
associate Editor Jody White
Editor Emeritus Colin Moore
Field Editors Rob Newell & Matt Williams
Contributors Joe Balog , David A . Brown , Dan Johnson , TJ Maglio , Sean Ostruszka , Joe Sills , Paul Strege
Graphic Designer D . W . Reed II
Graphic Designer / Illustrator Matt Pace
Director of advertising Al Chapman | 270.252.1628
Senior Web Content Manager Jesse Schultz
Social Media and Communications Specialist Chris Burgan
Letters to the Editor FLW Bass Fishing 30 Gamble Lane , Benton , KY 42025 flwfishing @ flwfishing . com
Chairman & CEO Irwin L . Jacobs
president of FLW Marketing Division Trish Blake
president of FLW Operations Division Kathy Fennel
Chief Financial Officer Dave Mahler
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Vice president of Marketing Patterson Leeth
Vice president of Operations Dave Washburn
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FLWFISHING . COM I aprIL 2017