ESPN

It happens every year in every fantasy league in every fantasy sport: Fantasy managers diligently prepare for the season and select rosters with expectations that events will unfold in a somewhat predictable fashion.

And then everything goes haywire. All bets are off. Nothing stands to reason.

Fantasy fishing is no exception.

Last year's Bassmaster Elite Series season provides a case study in this phenomenon, which is more prevalent in fantasy fishing than other fantasy arenas. Even though high ankle sprains and torn ligaments aren't a concern for fantasy fishing managers, the bass fishing game has its fair share of peculiarities to bedevil fantasy players' fortunes.

Last season, it came in the form of the largely unprecedented success of rookie anglers during the fledgling stage of the campaign — starting when Boyd Duckett, an accomplished angler on the regional stage, but mostly unknown to the bass fishing masses, stormed out of nowhere to win the Bassmaster Classic in his home state of Alabama.

It continued at the first regular-season event on Lake Amistad, where another rookie, Derek Remitz, stunned many observers by winning in his first Elite Series event. Remitz impressed again with a second-place finish at the next event on the California Delta, before coming back down to Earth in the second West Coast stop at Clear Lake.

But just when you thought the rookie's success was little more than a fluke, he posted a fifth-place finish in the next event at Clarks Hill, on the Georgia-South Carolina border.

Who could've predicted such a turn of events? Anyone who says he saw that coming is either a friend of the aforementioned rookies or a liar.

The bass fishing world's axis fell back into proper alignment with victories by Aaron Martens, Steve Kennedy, Mike McClelland and Kevin VanDam, all veterans with impressive histories.

But then it turned again, with another rookie victory at Smith Mountain Lake, where 23-year-old Casey Ashley once again forced fantasy fishing managers to consider different strategies for the remainder of the season.

The outcomes became somewhat more predictable as the season progressed, but Duckett, who for a time last year looked to be a one-hit wonder, shook things up with a victory in the Bassmaster Legends on Lake Dardanelle.

Unlike other fantasy games, the fantasy fishing manager's success hinges on a small roster, so odd happenings such as last year's rookie success can wreak havoc.

Fortunately, there are always anglers whom managers can count on to excel.

Last year they were Skeet Reese and VanDam, who raced furiously to the wire in the Angler of the Year competition and earned valuable fantasy points for the managers who included them on their rosters.

And when you examine the final standings from the 2007 campaign, you'll notice familiar names near the top (a testament to the persistence of those anglers), and most important, a sign to fantasy managers that, even in the uncertain world of professional bass fishing, there are some things you can count on.

Even so, one thing you can always count on in any fantasy arena is uncertainty.

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