What’s Next
Now that New has achieved about every goal he can as a
co-angler, most people expect him to jump up to the pro level
on Tour. New kind of expects that too, if it all works out.
As one of the top five co-anglers on Tour in 2016, he’s eli-
gible to fish the new FLW Tour Invitational tournaments this
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2016 I FLWFISHING.COM
fall. One of them is on North Carolina’s Lake Norman, a lake
with which New has some familiarity. It poses an attractive
opportunity to try his hand at fishing up front against the
Tour’s best pros.
Regardless, New says he’s definitely considering moving
to the front full time in 2017.
“If I can get some financial support from my sponsors I’d
love to try and fish the Tour as a pro next year,” New says. “If
I do, a selfish goal of mine would be to win Rookie of the Year,
since you only get one shot at that.”
One shot, perhaps, but anyone familiar with his tourna-
ment record is unlikely to bet against New if and when he
goes after that goal. So far in New’s short career, he’s had
more hits than misses.
into fishing. We talk every day about tweaking baits or new
things to try. We just can’t stop thinking about fishing.
“I’ve known Todd Auten and Chris Baumgardner since I
was a little kid and I’ve fished around them, so I feel very for-
tunate to have been around the people I have,” New adds. “I
feel like things have worked out for me the way they have
and I met the people I have because fishing is something that
I’m supposed to do.”
Sure, if you hang around hammers of that level you’re
bound to learn a thing or two, but there’s another reason why
New has become such a fishing machine. He says it’s a com-
bination of self-reliance and respect.
“Honestly, I think the biggest, most important thing I have
learned is how to teach myself. It’s kind of hard to explain,
but that has helped me learn more as a co-angler than any-
thing,” he says.
“My mentality has always been to do something different
from what my pro is doing,” New adds. “I just don’t pay a lot
of attention to what they do. I focus on the depth finder and
chart or side imaging and just try to fish for fish that I don’t
think anyone else is trying for. And I have always tried to
respect what the pro is doing. If we are fishing a pocket and I
could cast to the other bank, but I know the pro is going to
fish it, I’ll just cast out in the middle instead.”
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