“It’s just nine o’clock. We’re not dead yet,” chimed Ed Loughran moments before putting this two-pounder in the boat. The Bassmaster Elite Series Pro was making his way down a gravel bank when he looked up and noticed a half dozen or so buzzards in a nearby tree overlooking the water.
“The Barrister,” as he’s known on the Bassmaster Elite Series stage, Ed Loughran III is a lawyer by trade but has carved out a reputation for himself along the Elite Series as a grinder. The Missile Baits Pro seems to have his most success when the conditions are the toughest.
Take this week for instance. Practice has been rather difficult for most. It’s unseasonably cold for April. When anglers arrived in town, spring was in the air, pollen was abound and flowers blooming. Since Wednesday, we’ve had severe thunderstorms, rain, wind, sleet and snow.
Loughran is fishing his first Day 3 of the season. A look into Loughran’s past Elite Series success offers a glimpse into his success as a grinder; 2019 Tenkiller (12th), 2020 Chickamauga (9th), 2020 Fork (6th) and an 11th place start to the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Lake Chickamauga.
We discussed that reputation this morning prior to launch and Loughran attributes that success to growing up and cutting his teeth as an angler on fisheries where, “if you learned how to grind out 10 pounds you could win,” he explained.
Loughran has four bass in the boat now and they seem to have settled him down a bit. He’s slowed down a bit and continued to grind and in his courtroom, he wouldn’t have it any other way.