since a 2001 top 10 at Beaver lake, and it helped set up his return to the tour full-time in 2017.
“ When i started fishing again,” Mccombs says,“ i didn’ t have much gear. i scrounged up maybe $ 1,000 worth of tackle, bought a $ 3,000 truck and used a loan from my parents to get a boat and pay entry fees.”
Without electronics and with a sparse amount of tackle, Mccombs went back to fishing patterns that had worked for him when he was a younger man. in those years, from 1998 to 2001, he racked up seven top-10 finishes in flW tour and costa flW series events. he never notched a victory, though – not until Beaver lake on april 30, 2017, almost 12 months to the day that he swore off opioids for good. it marked a new beginning, and a time to reflect.
“ i was one step away from skid row,” Mccombs says.“ i’ m not going back.
“ the final test came a few months after i’ d been clean,” he tells.“ i was about to drive my 70-year-old dad somewhere. i looked down in the console of his old truck, and i saw an old dope bag lying there. it had been mine, and it was full. i picked it up, held the drugs in my hand and told my dad to throw it away. that was a turning point. that was the last bit of drugs i ever had in my hand.”
Going Ahead, Sober as the 2018 flW tour season moves into full swing, Mccombs finds himself far removed from the lonesome alabama highway that he used to wander. he says he’ s in control again, that he’ s got a plan and a life. he’ s looking forward to fishing many of the lakes he visited as a young man, clean again for the first time in years. as for that $ 100,000 check? a man who suddenly found himself with a sixfigure bank account just a year after wearing his last set of clothes until they were rags might be forgiven for a splurge. ask Mccombs what happened to it, though, and he just shrugs.
“ not much,” he says.“ i’ m using most of it to keep fishing.” after the redeeming win at Beaver lake, Mccombs hasn’ t picked up a plethora of new sponsors. in fact, he’ s signed just one: power-pole. instead of going on a shopping spree, Mccombs secured power-poles for his boat, some new rods and reels, and a little more tackle. he has yet to trick out his tournament boat with the latest and greatest
marine electronics, and he’ s still driving the 2003 chevrolet tahoe that got him up and running again for $ 3,000.
“ it’ s got 220,000 miles on it, but it’ s got four-wheel drive, and it still runs pretty good,” he claims.
Mccombs says his most valuable asset isn’ t a truck or a boat or a check; it’ s his stalwart support system: his parents, his prayers and a new girlfriend. those are the pillars propping up the resurgent angler from alabama. finally, Mccombs says, he’ s back. free of ghosts, Johnny Mccombs has his eye on the cup.
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“ i guarantee you it’ s coming. i’ m just too hungry. i’ ve been gone too long, and with the passion i have for it, i’ m going to give it everything i’ ve got. i just want to win. i want to prove myself. i’ m 45 years old now. i’ m bigger and stronger than i’ ve ever been. i may not be the best fisherman out there yet, but i didn’ t come back after 15 years for nothing.” perhaps Mccombs’ dreams will be fulfilled. perhaps he will never win another tournament, but he already has won the biggest test of all. in doing so, he reminds us that, ultimately, a man’ s redemption is in his own hands.
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