After graduating from Ole Miss University in 2021 with a degree in marketing, Georgia bass fanatic Emil Wagner landed a dream job at Pure Fishing. His workdays would be all about promoting amazing fishing products ranging from lures to rods, reels, apparel and more.
While the company and its products proved to be everything Wagner could have hoped for, he soon longed to be fishing rather than sitting at a desk.
“I worked there for about eight months as a digital marketing technician,” Wagner said. “I thought I’d be fine working in the outdoor industry. But I couldn’t fish as much as I had been before taking the job. It was eating at me.”
He left Pure Fishing on good terms and became a full-time fishing guide. This allowed him to earn a living on the water and compete in weekend tournaments.
Now that he is well into this third year operating the business, most of his clients are repeat customers. He guides mainly on Lake Lanier, but also does trips to Hartwell and Altoona lakes.
As his own boss, he was able to schedule free time to compete on the 2024 Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifier trail. With only two events left in the season, he is seventh in overall Tackle Warehouse Elite Qualifier points and well within reach of the Elite Series.
“I had a mega-bomb at Santee Cooper and finished near the bottom of the standings,” Wagner said. “I didn’t think it was possible to climb out of that hole. If I can survive the next event on the Mississippi River, I’ll have a good shot to make the Elite Series at Hartwell.”
Wagner seems to have had an innate obsession for fishing. He was born in Denmark and brought to the U.S. as an infant when his father Peter took a job with Microsoft. His parents love playing tennis and had Wagner swinging a racket at an early age. They knew little about fishing.
“I really don’t know why I’ve always been obsessed with fishing,” he said. “It just really does it for me.”
His fishing endeavors began at a neighborhood pond when he was 5 years old. His father helped him learn how to catch bluegill with live bait. Wagner ran with it from there and graduated to casting wacky worms and crankbaits for bass.
By middle school, he was harassing bass at nearby lakes as often as possible with a fishing buddy who had a canoe powered by a trolling motor. When he discovered bass tournament fishing in eighth grade, his tennis playing days were over.
In ninth grade, he and some friends initiated a bass team at Marietta’s Walton High School. They fished as many tournaments all over Georgia as their parents would let them.
“That’s where I learned my bass fishing basics,” Wagner said. “Many of our dads had to learn how to drive a bass boat so they could be our boat captains.”
Wagner did odd jobs and saved his earnings with the goal of buying a bass boat. His father offered to match whatever money he saved to make this happen. At age 15 he purchased a used Skeeter for $9,200.
In high school, Wagner competed in championship events on Guntersville, Seminole, Eufaula and other lakes. He won his first tournament on Lake Hartwell with partner Will Perry. Their 13.60-pound limit bested a field of 112 boats.
During his first two years at Ole Miss, he focused on his studies and fished on weekends. He joined the university’s fishing team in his junior year and teamed up with Jacob Fundt.
When Fundt transferred to another school midseason, Wagner competed on his own and finished third in the Bassmaster College Team of the Year standings. In his senior year, he teamed up with Perry, his high-school fishing partner.
Once he became a fishing guide, Wagner upped his game to compete in FLW events. In 2023 he won the BFL All American Championship on Lake Hartwell and received a $120,000 purse. That victory qualified him to compete in the Redcrest championship where he finished in 11th place.
“After getting my feet wet on a semipro level, I had to pick where I wanted to build my fishing career,” Wagner said. “The Elite Series has the biggest fan base, and I’ve always wanted to be fishing with the Bassmasters.”
Wagner videos his Elite Qualifier tournaments and posts them on YouTube under Bass Boot Camp, which is maintained by AFTCO.
His sponsors include AFTCO, Fenwick Rods, Abu Garcia Reels, Berkley Baits, Plano, Crockogator Baits, Waterland Sunglasses, Yamaha, Bay Marine, Powerhouse Lithium Batteries, Str8up Mounts, PWG Concrete and Kevin Westmorland Trucking.
