What an incredible season on the Bassmaster Elite Series — with plenty of excitement still to come. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the pleasure of getting to know many of the new anglers taking a shot at their dreams. But more than that are the opportunities I’ve had to get to know my camera-boat drivers and many of the greatest fans of the greatest sport in existence.
Those same crazy-passionate fans have faithfully continued to stand witness to the rise of new stars and the empowerment of the Bassmaster brand — a household name to every bass angler across this great nation of ours.
In a brave new world of competitive bass fishing, one of a few things has remained the same: The fans.
Bassmaster is you. Bassmaster is me. Bassmaster is Cooper Dailey.
During the weigh-in at the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake in late August, I watched an 8-year-old young man, Cooper, do his best to get a selfie with and an autograph from every Elite Series angler as they stepped from the stage after weighing their fish.
There was barely enough room on his Yamaha hat for even one more signature. A true trophy in and of itself.
I’m fairly certain he got every single one of them. If Cooper doesn’t become a future Elite Series angler, or even a Classic champ, I’m confident he’ll be leading a company into tremendous amounts of success as an owner or CEO. He’s young, passionate, motivated, polite and genuine — rare personality traits I value in a man, let alone a young fishing fanatic.
“I love to fish!” Cooper said. “My stepdad takes me fishing, and I love catching bass, big pike or anything that will bite. But I love bass the most.”
While he was working his magic getting every pro to allow him a few minutes of their time, a few of us “media types” laughed at the most regularly occurring comment from Cooper during each encounter.
“Could you please take the selfie? My arms are too short.”
Each pro would laugh with him and give a big selfie smile to further his joy. It was truly remarkable. In fact, fellow Bassmaster editors Bryan Brasher and Mandy Pascal and myself would redirect any anglers who may have accidently missed Cooper. Each of them happily went back over and kept contributing to his fulfillment.
When I asked him why he loved coming to the weigh-ins, his answer was instant.
“I love seeing all the huge fish and all the anglers,” he said. “I also really like watching the winner get his trophy after weighing his fish. I want to do that someday.”
With his mother Pam standing by, she complimented his drive.
“He loves fishing very much,” she said. “Anytime he gets to go, he goes without hesitation. When we learned about the Elite Series coming to our part of the world, I knew he’d love being here. We went to both the St. Lawrence and Cayuga tournaments, and he was in heaven the entire time.
“He knows more about bass than most adults I know.”
“Someday I want to do this,” Cooper said. “It’s a lot of fun to be here and see it all happen in person. I love it!”
I mean it when I say competitive bass fishing is the greatest of all sports. But seeing the joy it creates for countless fans during the high school and college events, and the Opens and Elites is the very best part. When you step back and think, it’s truly amazing how a little green fish connects so many of us from all over the world, regardless of our personal differences.
Cooper reminded me of that. We could all learn from him.
Cooper is Bassmaster.
