TAKEOFF
ANGLER PROFILE
RISING ABOVE
DESPITE SOME OBSTACLES, JEFF SPRAGUE HAS FOUND HIS PLACE ON TOUR
W
ithout a doubt, last
year was the best sea-
son of Jeff Sprague’s career.
Prior to 2016, Sprague
was just another young
angler who’d worked his way
up. He’d started as a co-
angler, honing his skills local-
ly back home in Point, Texas,
against what he contends is
some of the best local com-
petition an angler can find.
During that stint, Sprague
won Co-angler of the Year in
the Costa FLW Series
Southwestern Division in
2010 – his first season com-
peting at that level.
He eventually split his
time between fishing as a
boater in the FLW Series and
as a co-angler on the FLW
Tour, twice finishing in the
top 10 in the Co-Angler of
the Year rankings in the lat-
ter. In 2014, motivated by his
previous success, Sprague
went to the front of the boat
for good and kicked off his
pro career.
Clearly, the potential was
there. Before the 2016 Tour
season, Sprague had missed
just one check in FLW Series
competition and had earned
10 top-10 tournament finishes
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2017 I FLWFISHING.COM
as a co-angler in various FLW
circuits.
Two seasons as a pro on
the Tour had netted him
plenty of checks as well. Yet,
Sprague had made only two
top 20s and gained little
recognition.
By the third Tour stop of
2016 at Beaver Lake, his
potential blossomed into
something more. Sprague
finished in the top 15 in the
first two events, and made
his first top 10 at Beaver, fin-
ishing third. In doing so, he
took the lead in the Angler of
the Year race.
By Sean Ostruszka
photos by tosh brown
Just three tournaments had
catapulted him into an AOY
battle with the likes of John Cox
and Andy Morgan. He’d hold
that lead with another top 20
at Pickwick Lake, completing a
streak of five consecutive top-
20 finishes dating back to the
final Tour stop of 2015, before
finally relenting and finishing
an impressive sixth in the year-
end standings.
During 2016, Sprague led
the AOY point race for two
months, notched his first top
10 and made more money
than he had during the previ-
ous two seasons combined.
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