This event was tough on everyone.
Falling water and constantly changing weather conditions turned the FLW event into a grinder.
For eventual winner Jeremy Lawyer, his decades of experience on Grand Lake helped him make it happen.
But the win was not without drama.
Around 10 am on Sunday, Lawyer put a little guy in the boat. It’s the kind of fish you’re proud of when your kids reel it in all by themselves.
This was no ordinary dink though. This dink allowed Lawyer to weigh in 13 pounds, 14 ounces. A total which just so happened to be exactly what he needed to force a tie with Michael Matthee.
The tie-breaker is the previous day’s standings, which had Lawyer in second place.
This win was his first on the tour.
“Once I realized how tough a tournament it was going to be the first day of practice, I decided I wasn’t going to practice on anything I might fish come the tournament,” Lawyer said.
“So I made the tough decision to fish off the cuff.”
As tough as that decision must have been, it was the right one in hindsight.
Lawyer hoisted his first FLW trophy and stuffed an over-sized check for $125,000 in his truck as well.