![Bassmaster Elite Series pro Chris Lane and B.A.S.S. Nation director Jon Stewart met in the Wintzell's parking lot in Guntersville, Ala., to surprise a young man who's battling leukemia.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_6994.jpg)
![Bassmaster Elite Series pro Justin Lucas came, too!](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_6997.jpg)
![Auston Ballard, the guest of honor, arrived soon after, along with Richard Parker, the Mississippi B.A.S.S. Nation youth director. Parker started driving at 2 a.m. this morning to pick up Ballard and drive him to Guntersville, where Ballard thought he was just going to get a nudge of encouragement from Jon Stewart. He had no idea that he was going to meet some of the pros and spend a day on one of the best bass lakes in the country.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7003.jpg)
![Ballard looked ahead and saw who was waiting for him.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7005.jpg)
![The 16-year-old tried to hold in his excitement ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7011.jpg)
![... as he met the pros.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7015.jpg)
![Ballard is here on a special trip after nearly 2 years of battling leukemia.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7021.jpg)
![Lane had some gifts for him ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7027.jpg)
![... as did Lucas.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7028.jpg)
![Ballard got hats, lures and a gift certificate to Tackle Warehouse.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7032.jpg)
![Ballard posed with the pros ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7034.jpg)
![... and then with the whole group, which included Jon Stewart, Richard Parker and Cal Lane.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7046.jpg)
![Stewart had something for Ballard, too.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7047.jpg)
![It was a backpack filled with Carhartt gear ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7054.jpg)
![... a lifetime membership to B.A.S.S. ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7056.jpg)
![... and a pack of Bryan Kerchal trading cards.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7064.jpg)
![Ballard was loaded up!](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7068.jpg)
![Up next, Ballard takes the wheel of Lane's boat.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7085.jpg)
![The guys talk fishing for a little bit ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7090.jpg)
![... and Lane tells him he's about to take Ballard out on Lake Guntersville.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7094.jpg)
![Lane and Lucas do a quick, fun video stream on Periscope before they go.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7099.jpg)
![Lucas heads out after spending a couple of hours with the crew ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7101.jpg)
![... and then Ballard puts his boating safety course skills to use as he helps Lane back the boat into the water.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7118.jpg)
![Wait, before we get too far, who's that at the dock?](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7129.jpg)
![It looks like it might be a Randy Howell sighting ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7130.jpg)
![... yes, it is!](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7133.jpg)
![Howell had just been out on the lake with his crew from Daiwa doing a photo shoot.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7135.jpg)
![He had been out on the water for more than 2 hours without catching a bass, so he asked Ballard to go catch one for him so he could use it in his shoot.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7140.jpg)
![Howell was happy to meet Ballard unexpectedly. Lane said that's what it's like at Guntersville now; you can't drive down the street without seeing a Bassmaster Elite Series pro!](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7148.jpg)
![Howell reminds Ballard to go catch him a 5-pounder, and then he heads back to meet with his photographers.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7150.jpg)
![Ballard is an angler at Hatley High School in Mississippi.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7176.jpg)
![Lane is excited to learn that Ballard loves fishing with frogs -- because that's exactly what Lane has planned for the day.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7189.jpg)
![They head to an area full of grass mats ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7194.jpg)
![... and start casting.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7200.jpg)
![Lane instructs Ballard every step of the way, giving him suggestions on where to cast and how to reel in just right.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7222.jpg)
![The thicker, the nastier, the better, says Lane.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7229.jpg)
![Lane told Ballard to listen for Rice Krispies in the mats.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7231.jpg)
![Behind us in the cove was the rest of the crew, Cal Lane, Jon Stewart and Richard Parker.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7238.jpg)
![Lane pointed out what he called the greatest fisherman in the world ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7243.jpg)
![... a great blue heron.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7278.jpg)
![Ballard was diagnosed with leukemia 1 1/2 years ago after several headaches and pass-out episodes signaled something was very wrong.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7287.jpg)
![He's been undergoing treatment ever since, including weekly treatments at the hospital and nightly doses of a chemotherapy pill.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7288.jpg)
![The experience has taught him patience and positivity, he said.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7301-scaled.jpg)
![The leaves on top of the mats are a sign of the storm of that just went through, says Lane.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7309.jpg)
![He points out another area for Ballard to cast to.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7328.jpg)
![So far, the day has been fishless ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7332.jpg)
![... but when Stewart caught one ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7348.jpg)
![... Lane got one at the same time.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7350.jpg)
![](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7354.jpg)
![So it's not huge, but it's a bass.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7359.jpg)
![Back to fishing ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7368.jpg)
![... and another!](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7384.jpg)
![Wow, it's getting to be a great day!](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7390.jpg)
![Now, Ballard has one on.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7409.jpg)
![Looking good ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7415.jpg)
![... well, maybe not ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7419.jpg)
![Ballard and Lane laugh ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7424.jpg)
![... as Ballard continues to pull in ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7425.jpg)
![... the ugly gar.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7431.jpg)
![Lane releases it.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7436.jpg)
![Time to move, but look at all the grass ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7441.jpg)
![... that's accumulated on both boats.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7443.jpg)
![On to another area ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7456.jpg)
![... and Cal Lane catches one pretty quickly.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7459.jpg)
![This note --](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7473.jpg)
![Cal is on another one ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7479.jpg)
![... look at that beauty!](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7480.jpg)
![It's the biggest of the day ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7484.jpg)
![... and Cal is happy to show it off.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7495.jpg)
![Ballard works to catch a largemouth ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7509.jpg)
![... and Lane has taken him to another spot ...](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7513.jpg)
![... where he acts as a coach only. Rod down, just trying to help Ballard land his first Guntersville bass.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7531.jpg)
![When it didn't happen, Lane asked if he was upset.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7554.jpg)
![](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSC_7558.jpg)
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Leukemia patient Auston Ballard, 16, got the surprise of his life when he got to spend a day in the boat with Chris Lane.