I’ve fished tournaments for more than 20 years, and I’ve have several big moments where I won major events. I’ve appreciated those experiences, but nothing makes me happier than seeing my daughter Hilary do well in bass tournaments.
Recently, she and Bassmaster Elite Justin Hamner placed second at the Pan American Bass Championship on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Ark. They finished 2 ounces behind the winning team of Elite pros Joey Cifuentes and Larry Nixon.
Hilary and Justin were also a big part of Team USA Bass winning the Gold Medal. Hilary is such a good girl, and she represented her country very well. It was an honor to fish along with her and my dad.
For Hilary to be able to go up there and excel and do as well as she did was great. I believe her being able to pull that off will do wonders for her confidence. It was just a great opportunity for her, and I couldn’t be prouder.
Hilary gained a lot of great experience in the high school fishing circuit, but this was a very different scenario. It was truly an international stage with teams from Mexico, Columbia, Canada, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and El Salvador.
What impressed me the most is she really doesn’t ask for help. She’s very independent and focused when it comes to her own strategies and game plans. She doesn’t need much help, to be honest. She really wants to get out there and do it on her own.
This event was really important for Hilary because her goal is to show women anglers all around the world that they can get involved in competitive fishing. With Hilary, as well as Michelle Jalaba and Hannah Wesley participating on a gold medal winning team, this provides her a great platform to advance that objective.
In addition to Hilary’s personal goal, the mission of the Pan-American Fishing Championships and the World Fishing Championships is to make fishing an Olympic sport for the 2028 Summer Olympics. We have a lot of work to do, but events like this are essential for raising awareness of competitive bass fishing all over the world.
We’re knocking down barriers and a great example is Team Germany. That country doesn’t even have bass, but we’ve seen the formation of its bass team.
What’s encouraging is the rapidly expanding interest and participation among juniors, high school and college anglers. When I was young, we didn’t have any of that, but now it’s really great to see my daughter have the opportunity to, not only gain this valuable experience, but also play a key role in promoting our Olympic goal.
Hilary’s starting her first year at University of Alabama, and that’s a really cool part of this story. She’ll bring a gold medal to the fishing team, and that will be a very prestigious thing for the school.
I’m sure Hilary will be adding more accolades over the years, and I’m looking forward to seeing all of her success.