With one down and one to go, 2024 Bassmaster Classic champ Justin Hamner is in position to accomplish a feat only managed twice in B.A.S.S. history.
Dropping into JM Associates’ studio as guest analyst of last week’s Bassmaster Open for Bassmaster LIVE, Hamner was asked if he knew the last angler to win the Classic and AOY in the same season.
“VanDam,” he said without skipping a beat. “Before that it was Mark Davis, and that’s the only two.”
“Palaniuk hit me with that right before weigh-in at Wheeler. I’m like, ‘All right, Palaniuk, chill. You always talk about you don’t look at AOY then you’re going to hand me that stuff.”
Kevin VanDam last pulled off the major double in 2011, 16 years after Davis became the first in 1995. Hamner, in his fourth Elite season, seemed humbled just to be in that conversation.
“Unexplainable. This is everything I’ve always strived for. To get it all in one season …” he said trailing off as he looked down and shook his head in disbelief.
The 33-year-old from Northport, Ala., has a legitimate chance to make history. With his ninth-place finish at Wheeler Lake, he inched closer to Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year leader Trey McKinney. Hamner jumped over four Elites to take over second in the standings after the sixth of nine tournaments.
At 19 years, 1 week old, the phenom from Carbondale, Ill., became the youngest Elite winner at Lake Fork in early March. Along with two sixth-place finishes, a 12th, a 17th and a season-low 22nd, McKinney has led AOY after the past five tournaments, accumulating 560 points. Hamner is 59 back with 501.
This week’s TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Elite at Smith Lake looms large for Hamner’s hopes. With the spotted bass lake in his wheelhouse, Hamner has aspirations to continue climbing.
“We got like 13 (points) this last week,” he said. “Keep bumping along like that, he doesn’t even have to stumble that much. If you keep doing that good, it can happen. I’m feeling good.”
After his 14th-place finish in the season opener on Toledo Bend Reservoir, Hamner moved into the top 10 in points after a third at Fork, where he earned a Century Club belt and landed a personal best (11 pounds, 7 ounces) and the largest fish caught on LIVE.
At the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors, Hamner became the 42nd man to win the world’s championship. A 26th at Harris Chain kept him fourth in AOY before his only missed cut (55th) at the St. Johns River dropped him to eighth. He posted a 16th at Murray, rising to sixth in points. His goal then became a bit more real after Wheeler.
“Obviously, I want to win AOY,” Hamner said. “Every year, the first half for me is terrible, but I make it all up at the end of the season. I tend to do really, really well.”
After Smith Lake, the Elites have a month off before heading to New York for Lake Champlain and the season-ending event on the St. Lawrence River. McKinney has said those are fisheries he’s not totally comfortable with as of yet. Hamner said he is. He has finishes of 21st and 10th at Champlain, and last year broke he through with an eighth at the St. Lawrence.
In his rookie season, Hamner finished 33rd in points to qualify for the 2022 Classic, where he took fourth. That was the highlight of a dismal 2022 season that saw him 80th in AOY.
Hamner started his roll in 2023, famously around the time he sold his lawn service to concentrate solely on fishing. He said he even changed his mindset of focusing on the two-day cut.
“That’s what it was my first few years,” he said. “I was shooting just to make a check. That’s all I cared about, getting that $10,000.”
After missing the first three cuts in 2023, Hamner made five of the final six to finish 21st in points. It got him to Grand Lake, where his wire-to-wire Classic win changed his life.
“It’s been insanity,” Hamner said. “It’s been nonstop interviews, phone calls, podcasts.”
Feted by sponsors, Hamner has enjoyed a great celebration at Yamaha’s headquarters and was treated to a tomahawk steak “bigger than my head” by Falcon Boats.
“It’s been awesome,” he said. “What I’m most excited about is what’s coming with American Baitworks — got my rods coming soon. I can’t wait for those. Still going through prototypes right now. My jig rod is pretty good, but the jerkbait rod, I’m picky about it.”
The champion’s obligatory “I’m going to Disney” was also special for him; his wife, Christina; and daughter, Scarlett. Last seen stealing the victory lap scene by doing confetti angels, Scarlett relished dressing up like Sleeping Beauty — she liked the pink dress best — at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Magic Kingdom.
“She was dolled up, big bun and makeup,” Hamner said. “Me and my wife actually cried because she was so happy.
“She’s really, really shy when it comes to new people, but the girl who did the whole thing, she was so excited she wanted to give her a hug.”
Hamner’s favorite aspect, after the joy of his family, was turning off his phone for a week. But now it’s back to business, and at hand is making a good showing at Smith, an event he had circled.
It could just help him make history.
