With his eighth-place finish Sunday at the Bassmaster Elite Series’ Sooner Run presented by Longhorn Tobacco on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake, the pro has made two consecutive top-12 finals, including a sixth at Smith Mountain Lake.

Duckett had endured a slow start to his season. It began with a dismal 93rd-place showing at Lake Amistad, followed by 78th at the California Delta; then came 26th at Clear Lake, 58th at Clarks Hill and 33rd at Lake Guntersville. In two days of action at a Major in Greensboro, N.C., he failed to catch a keeper bass.

Duckett said he finally is settling into his role as an in-demand champion.

"I would have to think so," Duckett said. "I had so much stuff going on following the Classic with my business buyout and working on a divorce and buying a house. Not to mention winning the Classic and traveling so much.

"I had so much going on at the same time, I guess it just gets in your head. You just can’t get settled."

These days, there are fewer demands on his time — and concentration — than at any point in 2007.

"I do feel a whole lot better," he said. "I’ve made two cuts in a row. The last couple of months have been real good for me.

"Just really being able to settle down and concentrate — just not feeling scattered. There’s so much to think about that if anything else creeps in your mind these guys will beat you to death on this trail. They can catch them, by the way, if you haven’t realized it."

Duckett was especially proud of his final-round catch this past weekend of 15 pounds, 10 ounces, which gave him a four-day total of 67-14.

"I had a good tournament going here, but in all honesty, I just ran out of fish," he said. "I had a great day today. I had 15½ pounds today, which doesn’t sound impressive. But when you have absolutely nothing left and you scramble to catch 15½, that’s a great day. I was proud of the fact that I fished all new stuff today."

With his newfound momentum, should those ahead of Duckett in the Classic standings be worried as the Elite Series enters the home stretch?

"You don’t ever want to say that, but I do feel a whole lot better and I’m catching fish," said Duckett, who is 26th in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. "I’ve fished up North before so it’s not completely strange to me. Never been to the Potomac, so I have to overcome that. It’s hard to get on them in 2 ½ days on these places you haven’t been."