Bassmaster Elite Series rookie Joey “The Cowboy” Cifuentes is making hay, and Larry Nixon, who boosted him up on the saddle, sees more green pasture ahead for his protege.
“Joey can be a superstar,” said Nixon, although he could be a little biased.
With two Elite victories in seven entries, Cifuentes is well on his way. Nixon’s assessment, however, even took him aback. Cifuentes sorta hemmed and hawed then gathered his thoughts well, kinda like he’s brought in fish this year.
“That’s saying a lot coming from The General, Larry Nixon,” Cifuentes said. “That’s great. OK. Maybe. I don’t know. I’m not here to be a superstar. This is just where I am in life, the path I’m on. This is where I feel I should be.
“I’m here to provide for my family and be the best person I can be out there and be a role model for kids and people who follow fishing. That’s really my No. 1 goal. That’s a great compliment. I’d be fine if it happened, but I don’t really know what else to say.”
Pretty modest there, just what you’d expect from a cowboy.
“I try to stay humble because bass fishing is a very humbling sport,” Cifuentes said. “You can be at the top of the world one minute and at the bottom the next.”
Cifuentes, 34, experienced highs and lows fishing FLW the last few years while learning the ropes, twine and thread from Nixon. On their many travels, Nixon gave him rundowns of the fisheries, all the while telling him if he truly desired a career in fishing, he needed to be at B.A.S.S.
Through the 2022 St. Croix Opens, Cifuentes qualified for the Elites. Soon after, Nixon received his Legend’s exemption to return to B.A.S.S. on the Elites.
“Wow! Cool! Good! Now I can travel with Joey again, and he can help me when I’m in a bind,” Nixon said with a big laugh.
As road roommates, they have a symbiotic relationship. Cifuentes benefits from Nixon’s vast knowledge, and the student helps his 72-year-old mentor however he can, although he joked, “It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks.”
Nixon is trying to catch up on forward-facing sonar, of which Cifuentes is well-versed. It was critical in both of Cifuentes’ titles and for all but one Elite winner this season.
“Joey has surpassed me a long way with sonar,” Nixon said. “I get him in my boat and make him show me the ins and outs of what I’m looking at.
“We have a good relationship. He’s helped me rig boats, just do lots of little things, launch me in the morning, whatever. I’m getting up in age, I need a little help here and there. If I didn’t have Joey with me, I probably would retire.”
Returning to retire with B.A.S.S. has been on Nixon’s mind for several years — he wouldn’t say if Cifuentes is why he finally pulled the trigger. Yet Nixon is enjoying Cifuentes’ success, and any part he might play. While two of Nixon’s three children love to fish, none got in the game.
Could Cifuentes be a bit like the fishing son you never had?
“There might be a little bit of truth to that,” Nixon said. “Who knows. I love to fish with Joey. We had some great times together in the boat. I think he caught the biggest smallmouth in his life with me. We spent a lot time on Guntersville and caught some monster blacks. We’ve had some great fishing trips.”
Nixon fully agreed anglers need to have friends on the circuit, someone to compare notes and bounce ideas.
“Believe me, in B.A.S.S. there’s several groups of guys who work really hard together,” he said. “I can see it at the weigh-ins. They’re always discussing the day. At least now I have Joey because he helps me a lot.”
It’s been a long trail before Cifuentes started making hay. Not long ago he contemplated his place in the tournament world, so much so that he got a real estate license for backup. He sees his home is on the Elite range now, riding off into the sunset twice with blue trophies while galloping to the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year lead.
“It’s been pretty cool,” Cifuentes said. “I can’t believe I got two done in the same year. It’s pretty wild.”
It might not have happened if not for Nixon taking a liking to him. They met in central Arkansas through mutual friends, which Mark Hicks details in Cifuentes’ New Elite profile. Nixon told the Daily Limit he had to push him to saddle up as Cifuentes didn’t accept his initial offer to fish events as a co-angler.
“He didn’t say anything,” said Nixon, who checked back two weeks later. “‘Joey, did you get in as a co-angler? It’s getting close to the time to pay your money.’
“He said, ‘Are you serious? I thought you were kidding.’ ‘No. I’m serious. ‘You’re welcome to practice with me and learn and see how good you are.’”
Nixon saw that Cifuentes possessed the skills and know-how. Cifuentes soon came to realize his great fortune — he was learning from one of best tournament anglers ever.
“Yeah, without a doubt,” he said. “I didn’t know when I first met him. I knew he was great and had all these accomplishments. I didn’t realize how awesome he was in his day. I appreciate that more the more time I spend with him.
“I get it. I’m very fortunate. There’s nobody else who’ll get to do what I’ve gotten to do with Larry. And the things he’s taught me, I’m very thankful, like 100%. I don’t take it for granted at all.”
Nixon, a Bass Fishing Hall of Famer, ranks fifth all-time with 14 B.A.S.S. wins, including the 1983 Classic title and two Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles. That success is rubbing off on Cifuentes, who marvels at Nixon’s knowledge.
“As far as fishing goes, it’s endless,” he said. “Good grief. He’s been on all these places a bunch of times. I got a head start on the good areas to be in, unlike a lot of guys who had to learn that themselves. I’ve been fortunate. It’s not been all me. It’s taken me awhile to start doing well.”
Cifuentes first entered Opens in 2019 but didn’t make headway until 2022 with a second-place finish on Kissimmee, which helped him qualify for the Elites.
“I do school Joey a lot about different lakes, what the history of what’s went on,” Nixon said. “I knew everything at Seminole. But a guy has to fish the elements. From history, I know where big stringers have been. He just kind of took it to a new level.”
In his first Elite, Cifuentes finished 19th on Okeechobee, then made his presence well-known with a runaway victory at Lake Seminole. Before Championship Sunday, Steve Wright ran down the greatest lesson Cifuentes learned from Nixon was patience.
“Of course, fishing with me, he figured out you need to be slow and be thorough,” Nixon said. “You cover water but you be thorough.
“He’s an outdoorsman. His mind is on the outdoors, whether it’s hunting or fishing. That’s what makes a winner. You’re in tune with Mother Nature, in tune with the elements. And he’s got the desire. To me, that’s the biggest thing”
With the VMC Monster Bag of 26-1 at Seminole, Cifuentes gained the lead on Day 2. Ahead by 4 pounds, Cifuentes had a slow start to Championship Sunday. Nixon reiterated patience.
“He could have very well blown Seminole,” Nixon said. “I said, ‘Joey, don’t you panic in the morning if they don’t bite. Them bass are just like a women. They wake in a new world every day. Sometimes they eat early, and sometimes they don’t. You just play your game.’”
Cifuentes ended up winning by almost 9 pounds. Lake St. Clair was much closer. Nixon has fished hundreds of days there, including a 1999 Bassmaster title, and offered areas with the best possibilities to win. Despite Cifuentes giving him coordinates where he eventually won, Nixon wasn’t about to go.
“When it blows, I ain’t going,” he said. “I hopefully have a backup area close where I can contend for a check. I’m not worried about it anymore. I’ve had my career.”
After a slow start in his return, Nixon might be getting it. He made his second consecutive 50 cut then cheered on Cifuentes. Hunting down a 5-pounder almost every hour, Cifuentes culled to Day 4’s biggest bag to total 91-8 and win by 1-2.
“This is the best year I’ve ever had,” Cifuentes said. “I’m a real methodical fisherman because I spent a lot of time with (Nixon). He really slowed me down and taught me that.
“Kept my head down and I would eventually run into another big one. You don’t want to catch a bunch of 3-pounders and have to weed through those to catch a 4 or a 5. To me it was ideal.”
With the win, Cifuentes rose to sixth in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, 57 points from the lead. He leads ROY by 25 points. That’s certainly a goal, but so is to win another. He thought his best chances were on the Northern Swing, and he’s had Top 10 finishes on Lake Champlain and almost won the St. Lawrence River.
“I’ve had a tremendous season, so I don’t know how you top it,” he said. “The most confidence I had this year was going into the last three tournaments. I felt I had a chance to win one of these three. Winning three would be pretty special.
“I may do terrible in the next two. You don’t always catch them. You have to make hay while the sun’s still shining.”
