NEW ORLEANS, La., July 23, 2003 -- Only one person can be the best rookie in any professional sport, and this year in the sport of bass fishing it's Modesto, Calif.'s Mike Reynolds. Reynolds won the 2003 BassFan Rookie of the Year Race by having the best overall finishes (the formula is close to an average) of any rookie fishing the Bassmaster and/or FLW tours.

It was a tight race near the end of the season, but in the end Reynolds beat Platter, Okla.'s Jeff Reynolds (no relation), a fellow BASS rookie, by less than a point. Alabama FLW rookie Matt Herren still had a chance to win going into the last event of the tour regular season, but couldn't pull it out.

Asked how he feels about winning, Reynolds said: "It's huge. Believe me, I wanted that rookie of the year, and I checked BassFan on the computer all the time.

"It means a lot to me. It's quite an accomplishment. It means that I had a quality year my first year on the tour, and I beat a lot of good fishermen. It should also help me with my sponsors."

Even though Reynolds is new to the national tournament scene, California tournament anglers know his name. The 37-year-old former truck driver has fished full-time for the last 5 1/2 years, and until this year that was entirely in the West: WON Bass, BASS Invitationals, BFLs, "everything," he said. "I fished (tournaments) on weekends no matter what." He lives near the California Delta, and several lakes – including Don Pedro, Shasta and Oroville – are within a few hours of his house.

He fished well enough to qualify for the Bassmaster Tour, and this year decided to take the plunge, as other well-known western anglers have done. "I've been thinking about doing it for a long time, and when ESPN bought BASS I figured it was time to go," he said. "The money was going up, they had a couple of California tournaments and I was ready for the big-time. But the two California tournaments were the big hook."

Reynolds finished 20th in the BASS points, and thus qualified for the 2003 Bassmaster Classic, which will be held here next week. He is one of several tour rookies to qualify for the event.
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Other notable rookie performances:

> Not only did Oklahoma's Jeff Reynolds do well this year, fellow Oklahoman Tim Carroll also fished well. Carroll was a two-tour rookie this year, and though he didn't do well on the Bassmaster Tour, he finished an amazing 5th in the FLW Tour points. He wound up 12th in the BassFan Rookie of the Year Race.

> Two Alabama FLW rookies finished in the Top 10 of the BassFan standings: Trussville's Matt Herren was 3rd and Birmingham's Todd Ary was 10th.

> Fellow Texans Matt Reed (Madisonville) and Lance Vick (Mineola) finished 8th and 9th.

> Notable one-staters include Illinois' Chad Morgenthaler (4th); Florida's Terry Scroggins (5th); Tennessee's Jay Kendrick (6th) and Mississippi's Pete Ponds (7th).

> BASS rookie of the year Mark Kile was not included in the BassFan Rookie Race because he was not a "true rookie" as he'd previously fished the pro side of an FLW Tour event.