Tommy Wood came from Australia to cheer on his mentor at bass fishing’s world championship, and he will return home with a prized trophy that puts him one step closer to reaching the same lofty goal.
Wood joined a contingent of Australians who in March traveled to Knoxville, Tenn., to experience the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota. The Aussie flag-waving group came to see Carl Jocumsen, the first Australian to qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Series, and now the Classic.
Wood had more in mind than an American sight-seeing tour. After the group went back home, Wood stayed here to begin the long, arduous journey taken by Jocumsen.
“I would love to help him make it,” Jocumsen said. “And help him avoid the mistakes that I made to reach that goal.”
The turning point came for Wood last year when Jocumsen and Jeff Gustafson traveled to Australia to compete in an Australian Bass Tournaments (ABT) marathon barramundi series. The Humminbird and Minn Kota sponsored pros conducted seminars and mingled with fans and the anglers. That included Wood, also an ABT angler.
“I met Gussy and Carl, and they gave me the go-ahead to come over here,” Wood said. “They set me up with tackle and helped me get my plans made, along with help and encouragement from Steve Morgan (ABT director).”
Wood plunged head first into a total immersion crash course of American bass fishing. In his first month in country, he competed as a co-angler at the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Toledo Bend, following up that experience as a Bassmaster Marshal at Elite events at Lake Murray, Santee Cooper Lakes, Lay Lake and the Sabine River. In between those events, he fished as a co-angler at Buggs Island, Wheeler Lake and finally this week at Lake Eufaula, Okla. That’s six events in three months.
“It took Carl a long time, and I get it, but he’s given me a plan that might not take as long as him,” Wood said. “He wants me to do more co-angler tournaments, so I don’t have to learn the hard way, moving too soon to the front of the boat.”
So far so good, and early. A remarkable achievement occurred at Wheeler, where Wood won the co-angler division with a two-day weight of 20 pounds, 8 ounces. More importantly, Wood earned a check for $12,127 that he plans to invest in his continued education of American bass fishing.
Wood’s three-month travel authorization expires after the Eufaula event. He plans to return to marshal at the Elite Series Northern Swing to gain insight on smallmouth fishing, while fishing as an Opens co-angler for some of those remaining events.
What Wood, 24, lacks in American skills, he gains in back-of-the-boat fishing experience. In fact, he and Jocumsen share a similarity with both having honed their skills on the ABT, the Australian version of our Bassmaster events, complete with boater and co-angler divisions. Wood has two ABT wins, a number of second-place finishes, and he won ABT Team of the Year with his father, Rob.
“My goal was to do well enough in Australia and come over here and take a crack at it,” Wood said.
Wood hails from Sippy Downs, located in Queensland on Australia’s Sunshine Coast. He got hooked on fishing from his dad, and gives credit to a video game for igniting his interest in American tournament fishing.
“Years ago, as a teenager I picked up a Rapala Tournament Fishing Xbox 360 game, and it hooked me,” Wood recalled.
The video game broadened the appeal of tournament fishing, and Wood turned it into reality at the age of 19 when he joined the ABT trail. All the while, and like Jocumsen, he spent countless hours online researching American bass fishing, eventually getting hooked on The Bassmasters TV series, Bassmaster.com and YouTube videos.
Wood isn’t by any means a newbie to fishing, having grown up fishing for marlin and the freshwater species pursued by Australian tournament anglers. His father owns and operates a marine electronics sales, service and rigging business, where he also works. Forward-facing sonar is a must to be competitive in barramundi tournaments, and Wood already has the working knowledge of applying it for American bass fishing.
Fundamentally, the tactics used by tournament anglers for ABT’s tournaments are similar to those used for largemouth. Barramundi require beefed up casting outfits and bass lures capable of withstanding their brutal runs and fights, while light spinning tackle is required for bream and bass.
“What surprised me the most are just how many different techniques are required to be competitive in American bass fishing,” Wood said. “Knowing what to use when, where and how adds to the challenge of learning it all.”
Back home it’s consistently five or six tactics that always work; here there are dozens of techniques that you must know,” he said.
During his initial three-month stint, Wood spent time between tournaments gaining knowledge from anyone willing to share it with him.
“At Wheeler I picked up a wacky rig for the first time, and then caught my first largemouth on a swim jig, having never even used it,” Wood said. “It was a crucial 3-pounder that helped me win the co-angler division.”
Until now, Wood’s experience was completely online, while he realizes the invaluable opportunity to put the virtual learning into real-time experience.
“I’ve been fishing all the time, talking to guys and taking it all in,” Wood said. “I thought it would be fairly simple to adapt, but it’s completely different than what I expected.”
Unlike Jocumsen, who came first, Wood has a reference of what it took his mentor to succeed in an unfamiliar culture and sport. Wood will likely tap into the mental grit, uncanny dedication and positive attitude that allowed Jocumsen to finally make it.
“It’s been a steep learning curve trying to learn it all in such short time,” Wood admitted. “But I’ve learned so much from the guys over here who’ve been more than generous with their time, knowing my goal is to follow Carl.”
Welcome to Fear My Heart 2.0, the Tommy Wood edition.
