Not winning had sort of been the story of my bass fishing career — up until the 2024 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain that is.
It really started when I was in high school. I never won a major high school tournament. I fished five years at Bethel University and never won a major college event. I landed plenty of top 10s, but I never did win. I did win the Bassmaster College Classic Bracket, but that wasn’t a traditional tournament.
Then I went to the Bassmaster Opens and had two or three Top 10s a year, but I never won one. I’ve been so close. I was ounces short here, and had a fish-culling error there. So when I finally qualified for the Elites, I thought I had an even slimmer chance of hoisting a trophy than at any point in my life. I’m not saying I didn’t have confidence, but it actually happening didn’t seem realistic.
As a young angler, a rookie coming from the Opens, you are trying to grab every single point you can. This was one of the first tournaments in years where I took any sort of risk. I have always been someone who can find a way to catch a few bass throughout the day. They may not be the winning fish, but let’s go do it. The Harris Chain was the first tournament I put all my eggs in a risky basket, and it paid off with a big win and a blue trophy. I’m so thankful and blessed that it played out the way it did.
That tournament really showed me what it takes to win if you have the opportunity to do it. I fished all day for five big bites. I wasn’t fishing to get a check. I wasn’t fishing for Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year Points. When I put my boat in the water the first day of the tournament, I was fishing to win that tournament.
I’ve been to the Harris Chain so many times. It was probably my seventh or eighth tournament on the chain. At this point, I know I can go to Lake Griffin and catch 12 or 13 pounds a day and come out with a check. But historically, if you want to win the tournament, Griffin isn’t the place to be.
I had a small sample of the area in Lake Carlton in practice. I only caught two bass there, but they were big ones. The other place I had in Lake Dora, I snagged one. So I really didn’t have much to go on there. If I wanted to have a chance to win and make up ground in points, I needed to go to Carlton and make some of those big bass bite.
The two areas where I caught all of my fish lined up with how I like to fish. I told myself I would rather be comfortable and fish how I like to fish versus playing it safe for points doing stuff I’m not super comfortable with.
After the first day, I knew there were enough bass there to win. It was just a matter of getting those bass in the boat. There were 50 bass there, and they were all over 3 1/2 pounds. They were extremely smart, and the ways I got them to bite were purely reaction bites. So most of the bass I did catch were barely hooked.
I had that one area, but I made so many little adjustments and made small moves during the tournament. I really listened to my gut well that week. The last day, I could tell it was really meant to be. I had a small shellbar in Dora that had plenty of bass on it, but I couldn’t make them bite unless there was some kind of wind.
I ran all the way across Harris and Eustis, and they were slick calm. As I was approaching that shellbar, there was a small section of ripples over top of the area. I pulled up and there were birds diving. I landed a 5-pounder and a 4-pounder and several more good keepers. When I made my first cull, I got up from the bottom of my boat and the ripple was gone.
That ripple lasted 10 minutes, and it was only on that one spot. I went to my big-fish area and hundreds of gar had taken over. Something in my head told me to pick the trolling motor up and scan around. I scanned for 30 minutes and found those bass and landed a 7 1/2-pounder at the end that ensured I was going to win.
I’ll never forget that fish catch.
That tournament gave me the confidence and a peace of mind. I learned it is worth risking a tournament to have a chance to win — even if you bomb. The reward is way better than the punishment.
When I hoisted that trophy, it didn’t feel like it was me. It felt like I was in someone else’s shoes to be honest with you. I really felt more happy for my family and the people supporting me than I did for myself. It takes so much selfishness to do what we do as a professional angler. I don’t think I got to enjoy it as much as I could have either, because the next day I was at the St. Johns River trying to figure out a place I’ve never been before.
Riding around with the trophy for a couple days was pretty cool though. When I got to the house at the St. Johns River and toted that thing in the living room, all of my roommates and I were going kind of crazy.
This win ensured that I’m doing the right thing in chasing this dream and that I belong at the Elite level.
