![](https://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/0103_Matty-Wong_2024E.jpeg)
When I was a kid growing up in Hawaii in the 1990s, I’d watch Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston, Roland Martin and Bassmaster tournaments on television. I didn’t have the opportunity to fish bigger lakes for bass until I moved to California in 2013.
I eventually joined a club and fished my first bass tournament in 2018. In November of 2021, I won a B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on Lake Ouachita and became a Bassmaster Elite Series angler.
It all happened so fast. I wanted to prove my accomplishment wasn’t a fluke. I needed to show I could catch bass across the country and compete against the best anglers in the world.
My B.A.S.S. Nation victory got me to my first Classic, but I’ve failed to qualify for our sport’s biggest event during my first three years as an Elite Series angler.
When I first embarked on the Elite tour, I shipped some keepsakes back to Hawaii, which I still regard as home. I’ve been living out of my truck and boat the past four years in the lower 48. My mailing address is in Texas. I’m grateful to have good friends who open their homes to me.
I returned to Honolulu during the offseason to rekindle my connection with old friends and family. The trip also resuscitated passions I enjoy in Hawaii, such as freediving, surfing and hiking in the mountains.
Spending time with loved ones and feeling warm beach sand between my toes made it harder to return to Texas and get ready for the next Elite season. I recently I shoveled 8 inches of snow out of a buddy’s driveway north of Dallas.
The frigid weather reminds me of a near tragedy in my rookie season. I was towing a new boat from California to Texas when I spun out on an icy highway. It was a miracle that I wasn’t injured and that the truck and boat avoided a single scratch.
Thirty seconds after I pulled off the road to calm my nerves, an 18-wheeler blew past me. I hate to think what would have happened if I hadn’t been able to get out of the way.
We all have dreams and set goals, but they may not be what you expected if you achieve them. There are many sacrifices that come with living the dream as a professional angler. Being on the road for months at a time puts an enormous stress on personal relationships. This has proven costly to me.
I tell people who have families in Texas, Alabama, and Florida how lucky they are to have their support system close to them. My support system is more than 2,000 miles away.
Competing as an Elite angler is some of the most physically and mentally grueling work I’ve ever done in my life.
When you qualify for the Elites, you’re allowed a two-year grace period. After that, you must requalify through the point standings.
I badly wanted to prove to myself and others in 2023 that I could do it. I snuck in at the last tournament of the season with a Top 10 finish on the St. Lawrance River.
Requalifying last season was especially intense. Given the superb anglers who fish the Elite Series, I regard it as a huge accomplishment.
I’ve learned that I don’t want to do this forever, but I’d like to make my mark before moving on. My goal this year is to capture a blue trophy.
Everything gets easier once the season starts because I become laser-focused on the daily tasks required to be competitive.
The key for me is to lock myself into what my slogan preaches: Maintain a positive mindset and keep aloha (love) in your heart.