Not eight years ago, Carl Svebek III thought he’d never fish competitively again. He quit tournaments and sold all his gear, but some good friends, good fortune and good fishing resurrected his career for the second time.
Svebek put it all together in a major way with his first B.A.S.S. victory on Saturday June 17. By winning the Bass Pro Shops Central Open #2 on the Sabine River out of his hometown of Orange, Texas, he fulfilled a lifelong goal of fishing in a Bassmaster Classic.
“I never in my wildest dreams,” said Svebek, 50. “I’ve just been on Cloud Nine over all this.”
Svebek, whose dad fished some Bassmaster events, had his head in the clouds dreaming when he was 8. He vividly recalled visiting their fishing camp on Toledo Bend every weekend.
“I remember saying so many times, ‘Dad, I’m fishing in the Classic one day,’” Svebek said. “That ran over my mind Saturday, and that’s why I got real emotional. My dream finally came true.”
Editor’s note: Read Svebek claims Sabine title.
SVEBEK’S FIRST RISE FROM ASHES
Svebek first fished a lone B.A.S.S. event in 1988, but he put it all on the line starting in 1995. A seventh-place finish in an invitational on his home lake of Sam Rayburn helped qualify him for the Top 100s, but he only made one check in nine events his first year and struggled again in 1997.
“I thought, I can’t do this anymore,” he said. “I had maxed out all my credit cards, had two little girls living in a trailer at Lake Sam Rayburn. I put the boat for sale and looked for a job.”
It wasn’t long before friend Shane Allman contacted him about a new series kicking off on Sam Rayburn. Svebek, who didn’t even know how he was going to pay the light bill, said he couldn’t afford to fish it. Allman’s mother was married to the namesake of Owens sausage and offered to pay his entry in that first EverStart, now the Costa series.
“I went and fished that tournament and I could do no wrong,” said Svebek, who won a Ranger boat, $25,000 and an invite to the FLW Tour.
MAKING FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES
Svebek went on to compile a decent career in FLW events, with a second win (2001 on Sam Rayburn) among his 14 top 10 finishes. But it was a third place on Beaver Lake in 2000 stands out – it’s where his friendship with Jerry McKinnis began.
“The guy has grown to be my second dad. When I need something, I call Jerry,” he said. “I had never met him in my life. I watched him as a kid, and I knew my daddy watched him.”
They had an odd first encounter. For TV coverage, anglers were given a bag phone in their boat and McKinnis and Tommy Sanders would call and interview them on the water for snippets in the show.
“At the time it was really a neat little deal,” McKinnis said. “It got viewers a lot closer to the anglers.”
Svebek said he was a nervous wreck when they called. He was asked what it was like to be fishing against the likes of Rick Clunn and Gary Klein. He started out saying it was an incredible honor to compete alongside his heroes before the phone died.
Cameraman Wes Miller was in the boat and said they’d call back in a moment, then he convinced Svebek that Jerry would get a big kick if he said he was too busy to talk and that those guys stink. Svebek debated it, thinking he’d get in trouble.
“In my head, I can’t do that, but Wes was egging me on,” Svebek said. “The bag came back on. ‘Man, what’s it like fishing with the likes of …’ I said, ‘Jerry, I’m really busy right now, but to be honest, those guys suck.’”
“I heard Tommy say, ‘Oh my goodness.’ Jerry fell out of his chair laughing so hard.”
McKinnis did enjoy the absurdity of it, saying it was the first of many moments they bonded. They became fast friends and fished a number of EverStart events together.
“Right after we met, he was on The Fishin’ Hole,” McKinnis said. “I wanted somebody who could teach the viewers how to fish a Wacky Worm, and he was the best and he still may be the best.”
CAREER SUFFERS ANOTHER SETBACK
After around 11 years of decent success in FLW, Svebek’s world came crashing down. His main sponsor, Castrol Oil, which supplied the majority of his income, informed him in 2009 that it was getting out of bass fishing.
“I was going through a divorce and I missed my kids – I was away for long stretches – it’s just time to give it up,” he said. “And I sold everything I got.”
He became an account manager at an oil company and thought that’s where he’d retire, until they had a massive layoff, again leaving him in the cold. He worked some oddball jobs and tried to start a business, but things were rough. McKinnis recalled a desperate early morning meeting where Svebek just looked awful.
“I was really worried about him,” McKinnis said. “But by gosh, he got it together and started fishing again. A guy like Carl, they can tell you they quit fishing. ‘I’m not going to do this anymore. I’m going to spend time with my family.’ There’s something about competitive fishing that is addictive. Carl is one who is addicted.”
Svebek said he just felt he needed to get away from it, even though it wasn’t long before he regretted that decision to sell everything except two rods.
“I just missed it,” he said. “January would hit and I would think about Florida. June would hit and I’d think about Detroit or New York.”
Friendship again came to the rescue, this time in Gopher Industrial co-owner David Jones. He asked Svebek to come down to Orange to help sell his oil lubricants. Svebek lived in the warehouse apartment, where a week of work turned into a month, then two, then three.
Fianlly, the other co-owner said they might as well hire him on full-time. They helped him work out the logistics of his young son being far away, and, for a kicker, helped him get back into fishing in a Gopher Industrial sponsored boat. Svebek made deals with Ranger, Evinrude and Bass Pro Shops, among others, and he was back in the game, fishing Bassmaster Central and Southern Opens.
“Rejuvenation is a good word for it,” he said. “No doubt about it. I count my blessings.”
SHORT PEOPLE GET … RIBBED MERCILESSLY
McKinnis, as co-owner of B.A.S.S., feels like he’s not supposed to have a rooting interest in any particular angler, but to keep with the jokes on Svebek’s 5-4 height, he’s on Jerry’s short list.
“What a great guy. The only person I would have been more excited to win and get in the Classic would have been me,” he said. “I’m not kidding. I was pulling for him.
“I’m supposed to be non-biased and root for all of them, but if you’re a sports fans you have to have some favorites. Rick Clunn’s win last year was the greatest win I ever hope to see, and I think this is the second.”
Svebek is among the most affable guys in the world – no wonder friends stepped up to help him – and he doesn’t shrink to a little ribbing. It’s one reason why he and McKinnis get along – “Jerry McKinnis likes to belittle short people.”
“That sucker takes more abuse than anyone,” McKinnis said. “It’s not only me, it’s Sanders and Mike (McKinnis). I would get really ticked off if somebody kept hammering me like that.”
It comes from everywhere. McKinnis shares a recent example. Svebek was doing well in one of his first Opens a year or so ago. An hour after the weigh-in, Jones called, saying he was really disappointed in B.A.S.S.
“I thought, ‘Holy Cow, I can’t believe what we did,’” he said, noting Gopher sponsors several Elites. “Then Jones said, ‘You guys should have been smart enough to know Carl needed a box to stand on so he was up high enough for my logo on his jersey to be seen on TV.’”
SUCCESS BREEDS HOPE OF MORE
Svebek still has to fish the final Central Open on Grand Lake in October to meet requirements for his Classic qualification, but it’s a sure bet he’ll be there. If he finishes high enough, he might have to decide whether or not to accept an Elite invitation.
“If I qualify or get an invite, I would probably try to make that happen,” he said. “I really would. I love it so much, especially after this week.”
But he noted that fishing is fickle, as evidenced by his past.
“You do well in a tournament and you realize you might have a few more good years,” Svebek said. “If you do bad, you want to go ram your head in the wall.”
For now, he’s still riding the high of a B.A.S.S. victory, which has acted like a super adrenaline pump.
“I’m probably going to have to take a shot of Nyquil because I haven’t slept a wink,” he said. “I’ve kind of been speechless, especially whenever I think about the Classic.”