It was a rough week for Brock Mosley, and finishing second once again in an Elite tournament wasn’t the worst of it.
“Previous runner-up finishes stung a little bit — this one didn’t really sting,” Mosley said. “I had a lot going on back home.”
That’s what really stung. During practice for the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite on Chickamauga Lake, Mosley learned that his chocolate lab, Sam, a wedding gift from wife, Leslie, was suffering from cancer and would have to be euthanized.
“It just kind of messed me up in my head,” he said. “I knew when I got home we’d have to put her down. For the most part, I was worried I wasn’t going to make it home to see her one last time.
“I wasn’t too worried about the tournament. I was glad to get out of there with a weekend cut, much less a Sunday cut.”
Mosley finished second for the fifth time in Elite competition, but that was better than he expected after “by far” his worst practice of the year. He only caught a few keepers over three days and figured out “the deal” on the final afternoon. Mosely went into competition simply hoping to somehow scrape up a limit.
“In the first 20 minutes, I get a 6 1/2 and my second bite is almost a 5-pounder,” Mosley said. “I was joking with my Marshal, I almost survived the first day with those two fish.”
Mosley was tickled to fill his limit and start in eighth with 19-6. He stayed among the leaders with 18-11, then after 20-0 he led heading into Championship Sunday. Mosley had a 3-ounce margin over Daisuke Aoki and was 6 ounces ahead of eventual winner Jason Christie.
“I was joking with Jason after Day 3, ‘Every time I have a chance to win, there you are,’” Mosley said. “And he’s like, ‘It’s because we fish so much alike.’ I take that as a compliment. Jason is one of the best, if not the best, in the past seven or eight years.”
Christie, who has eight tournament titles including this year’s Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, ranks second only to Rick Clunn’s 16 wins among active Elites. Mosley has been close but has never won a B.A.S.S. tournament, and at Chickamauga he added his third runner-up finish to Christie.
“I feel sorry for him,” Christie said. “I’ve been there. I know what he feels like. He’s young, he’s a great angler. He’s going to get his wins. But this is not a team sport. I gotta do what I gotta do.”
Mosley came in with 11-14 on the final day while Christie had 15-12 to total 73-7 and top Mosley by 3-8. Mosley reposted a photo taken by Elite pro Brandon Palaniuk right after he checked in. With his hands behind his head in a pose of exasperation, Mosley said he had just looked at BassTrakk and learned his chances to win were better than he imagined.
“I knew with 11 or 12 pounds, my chances of winning were very, very slim,” said Mosley, who did catch good numbers but no big ones Sunday. “As good as I was catching them, I was sure these guys were smashing them. I didn’t even think I was going to finish in the top three or four, much less second.”
A blue trophy once again just eluded Mosley, who began 2022 with the most Elite Top 10s the past two seasons with seven. Two of his second-place finishes came in 2017, at the St. Lawrence River and Lake St. Clair, and two in 2021, at Pickwick Lake and the Sabine River. Christie won at St. Clair, the Sabine and now Chickamauga.
“I think on the last day he may try to hit the home run, and you might not always need the home run,” said Christie, adding, “Oh, he’s going to win. I think he fishes the right way. He’s been second so many times, you just gotta keep making the last day.”
Asked if he wished for some poetic justice, like Christie taking second to him when he finally breaks through with a win, Mosley was circumspect.
“I don’t wish second place on anybody,” he said. “If I’m in contention again, I’d probably rather him not be in the Top 10.”
Told of Mosley’s dog having to be put down, Christie said he had to do the exact same thing with his golden retriever, Simba, the week before going to Chickamauga. After 53 days on the road, Christie came home to his dog of seven years “ate up with cancer.”
Mosley’s lab was two years younger, but the hurt’s the same. When Mosley left the Elite Series stage, he said others were trying to make him feel better about another second. He said he was alright — it moved him 28 spots up the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings to 54th — he just wanted to hurry home to see Sam.
“The joy of an animal,” Mosley said. “That dog was always on my hip. Everywhere I went, she went with me. It’s tough losing one. She quit eating, quit drinking. She could hardly stand up. It’s been rough on us.
“People may laugh, but I’m kinda glad I didn’t win, so I didn’t have to put those two memories together — the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.”
