Robert Gee of Knoxville, Tenn., began competing in the 2023 Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers during his final year at the University of Tennessee. The graduation ceremony took place in May on the second day of the Bassmaster Open at Wheeler Lake.
For Gee, the decision regarding which event to attend was obvious. Instead of walking on stage to receive his degree, he chose to sling baits at Wheeler.
“I don’t just love bass fishing; I live it,” Gee said. “I don’t go an hour without thinking about it during the day.”
After fishing six EQs, the first Bassmaster Opens Gee has ever competed in, he has climbed to fifth place in the Opens EQ overall standings. The next event at Watts Bar bodes well for him because it is home water.
Although Gee has degrees in agriculture business and economics, he intends to become a fishing guide on the Tennessee River. This requires a Captain License from the United States Coast Guard.
Gee has been studying for the Captain’s examination and hopes to have his license by September. He plans to guide on Ft. Loudon Lake, Watts Bar and Chickamauga Lake.
Nantahala Lake, a small reservoir in the Smokey Mountains of western North Carolina, introduced Gee to fishing. His parents and grandparents have a vacation house on the lake. They began taking him in a boat to fish with them when he was 2 years old.
“I had my own tube of crickets,” Gee said. “I’d catch crappie, catfish, largemouth, smallmouth and anything else that would bite.”
By age 12, Gee’s interest in bass fishing had been sparked due to watching Bill Dance and Bassmaster tournaments on television. His parent’s home in Knoxville is close to Ft. Loudon Lake, which he fished from the bank near a local marina.
“I’d catch bass mainly from docks,” he said. “I also got to fish for spawning bass. My first go-to baits were a fluke, a wacky rig, a Heddon Torpedo and a Pop-R.”
Gee’s father didn’t fish specifically for bass, but he occasionally took his son bass fishing in the family’s bass boat.
“When I turned 16 my dad let me take the boat to the lake by myself,” Gee said. “That’s when I got into bass fishing big time.”
He started a high school bass fishing team at Christian Academy in Knoxville. However, he could not compete in springtime tournaments because he played catcher on the school’s state champion baseball team.
“One of our pitchers in high school was Spencer Strider,” Gee said. “He’s now a star pitcher for the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball team.”
To get his fishing fix during baseball season, Gee regularly competed in weeknight pot derbies on Ft. Loudon where, “I got my teeth kicked in.”
A number of colleges offered Gee a baseball scholarship. He turned them down to be close to the family boat, to have quick access to bass-rich waters and to advance his fishing skills.
Because the University of Tennessee does not offer scholarships for bass fishing, Gee and his fellow team members had to fund their own events. He competed in three collegiate divisions, including the Bassmaster College Series.
“I got to fish the St. Lawrence River twice and about every state from Wisconsin east,” Gee said. “That’s really what is helping me now in the Elite Qualifiers.”
The extensive traveling taught Gee to quickly break down new bodies of water, to trust his instincts and electronics and to become more organized on the water.
Gee notched many top 10 finishes in college but was the victor in only one event — the Tennessee B.A.S.S. Nation Bassmaster Collegiate State Championship in 2019 at Pickwick Lake.
His bass tactics have changed a bit since his Heddon Torpedo days. He now favors fishing offshore and generally hits several locations during a tournament day. A football jig, a drop-shot rig and crankbaits are his primary weapons.
When asked about his long-term goals he answered, “I want to make a living doing this somehow, someway, anyway I can.”
Gee’s title sponsor is Enduro Power Lithium. His other sponsors include McKee Outdoors, Daiwa, Waterland fishing optics, Jake Newton’s Deals on Wheels and Dodson Designs.
