HARAGUCHI WINS
COY HONORS
CALIFORNIA CO-ANGLER GRINDS HIS WAY TO THE TOP
G
ary Haraguchi finally has some vindication. Twelve
months after finishing 24 points behind 2016 FLW Tour
Co-angler of the Year Bryan New, Haraguchi capped his
fourth Tour season by lifting the 2017 COY trophy.
“For FLW Tour co-anglers, there’s not a higher accomplish-
ment,” Haraguchi says. “For me, it’s rewarding because it’s not
winning one tournament; it’s consistency over seven tourna-
ments. It’s a true blessing to me. I’m just so thankful for that.”
That sentiment is particularly relevant, because losing a
couple of key fish last year – one a 4-pounder – stung for a
long time. Predictably, Haraguchi says his 2017 triumph
eased that discomfort.
“I fished pretty clean this year, and the first day at
Guntersville I only had two fish, but I weighed a 6- and a 4-
pounder,” he says.
His Season
Haraguchi, who claimed his first COY title in 2007 in the
Costa FLW Series Western Division, added two more top 10s
to his stats this Tour season with a ninth-place finish at the fifth
event on Beaver Lake and a fourth-place finish at stop No. 2 on
Lake Travis. Elsewhere, he placed 23rd at the Potomac River,
22nd at the Mississippi River, 18th on Lake Cumberland, 40th
on the Harris Chain and 23rd on Lake Guntersville.
Despite his Beaver Lake boost, Haraguchi says Cumberland
was where his title run started taking shape.
“I think things really turned around for me there,” he says.
“I didn’t have any fish the first day, and then the second day I
actually caught all my fish on a crankbait – something I had
not done in practice.
“I was basically in last place after day one, and then I
caught a decent limit the second day that bumped me up to
18th place. So that was the turning point for me.”
That first day proved particularly frustrating for Haraguchi,
as local regulations torpedoed what was actually a decent
performance.
“With the 18-inch size limit, I threw back a 3- and a 2 1/2-
pound smallmouth,” he says. “To catch those fish and end up
with nothing – that was tough. But then to come back with a
decent weight [12-6] on day two – that was huge.”
Describing his 2017 season as a grind with a few high
points, Haraguchi says the mental game was his biggest chal-
lenge. That’s why the Cumberland comeback provided such
a much-needed momentum boost.
“A lot of it is confidence,” Haraguchi says. “I never had great
practices, but it worked out during tournaments. Overall, it was
a year of pretty tough tournaments, so it was important to be
able to catch a few fish. I didn’t even catch limits all the time.”
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2017 I FLWFISHING.COM
By David A. Brown
Keys to Consistency
Like many West Coast anglers, Haraguchi credits vast
experience on diverse fisheries in his home region for his
versatile fishing skills.
“Being from California helps because we have the clear,
deep reservoirs, we have the natural lakes, we have the tidal
thing,” he says. “As a co-angler, you never know what your pro
is going to do, so it’s important to go out and have an open
mind and fish the conditions.”
Obviously, baits and tactics vary by fishery, but true to his
Western roots, Haraguchi did much of his work with green
pumpkin and watermelon Yamamoto Senkos. Wacky-rigged
and Texas-rigged baits produced in several scenarios.
“You fish baits better when you have confidence in them,”
Haraguchi says. “Your pro might be catching them on what-
ever bait he’s throwing. If you’re not well-versed with it, and if
you don’t have confidence in it, you don’t fish it correctly, so
you’re probably not going to get as many bites.”
And to this point Haraguchi says he often chose a sponta-
neous route.
“A lot of times, I wouldn’t even ask my pro what he was
doing the night before. I’d just wait until we got to the first
spot and do what felt right,” he says. “I just tried to keep an
open mind and remember what I learned in pre-fish. I usually
just fished by the seat of my pants.”
Meet the Champ
Born and raised in San Jose, Calif., Haraguchi recently
retired from a Silicon Valley career in which he worked for a
mechanical contractor that operated high-purity gas trans-
port systems for various tech companies. His work involved
running exotic gasses to specific tools such as etching tools
used for silicon wafers.
Additional free time will make the Tour routine less chal-
lenging and allow Haraguchi to travel more with his wife,
Doreatha, and adult stepdaughter, Amanda. Beyond that,
he’s looking forward to taking in a few more ball games.
“I’m a Golden State Warriors fan and a San Francisco
Giants fan,” he says. “Being from the area, I grew up with the
Bay Area teams.”
Finally, Haraguchi credits his travel partners, Tour pros
Jimmy Reese, Billy Hines and Chuck Kavros, for providing the
camaraderie that helped counterbalance the pressures of a
long season on the road.
“I travel with a great group of guys, and that makes it a
fun year,” he says. “That was probably the most memorable
thing: being able to travel with friends and share all of our
experiences.”
65