If the Bassmaster LIVE coverage catches up with Brad Whatley, he’ll be fishing his own boat — a Phoenix 920 Pro XT. That may not sound like anything unusual, but considering what he experienced just five days ago, the second-year Elite from Bivins, Texas is very happy to be standing on a familiar deck.
Whatley was involved in a serious accident around 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning on Interstate 94, near 8 Mile Road. Whatley said he was about 7 miles from his lodging when a sedan impacted his truck’s passenger side.
The collision sent Whatley up a steep embankment and, as he came back down, his rig flipped on its side. His Toyota Tundra and trailer were totaled, but his boat suffered only cosmetic damage — a point for which Whatley was thankful.
“Every fisherman wants to fish out of his boat, if it will float,” he said. “You’re so used to your graphs and everything about the boat, so I’m going to try to make it with my boat.”
Such an incident could easily end an angler’s tournament before it begins, but Whatley’s proceeding with all appropriate seriousness, blended with an admirable measure of tenacity. A landslide of assistance offers has helped fuel that fire.
“My phone did not stop with all the people trying to help me,” Whatley said. “Every angler on tour has reached out and tried to help me in any way possible.
“This all happened at 2:30 in the morning and if I had not been for fellow angler Frank Talley coming to my rescue, hooking up to my boat and getting it off the road and back to the hotel, I would have been in pretty bad shape.”
Whatley said he’s particularly thankful to Phoenix Boats for what he called “above and beyond” assistance.
“Theresa Johnson with Phoenix has stepped up unbelievably,” Whatley said. “They called me at 7 o’clock Saturday morning and told em all I have to do is pull the trigger and they have a boat and a truck headed my way from Tennessee.”
Whatley did accept the offer of a loaner boat and trailer after multiple inquiries with local rental facilities proved unproductive. His plan for the week: Just focus on fishing.
“This (accident situation) is done; it’s over with and there’s nothing I can do about it,” Whatley said prior to the event. “I’m alive, I’m healthy; I just have to put this out of my mind, I have to hit the water and treat it like nothing happened, because come Thursday, I don’t get a Mulligan.
“I’m a little banged up, but this is not going to change my game plan. I’m still going to be looking where I want to look for fish. Whether it be St. Clair, Huron or the river, I’m still going to go do what I’m going to do.”
After spending most of Monday getting his lower unit repaired and handing insurance claims, Whatley got about a day and a half of practice. When we reached him Wednesday night, he was optimistic that his week would end better than it began.
“I feel like this could be a good event for me,” Whatley said. “I just need to catch a couple of breaks this week.”