BAINBRIDGE, Ga. — The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame seems to have a successful apprentice program growing. Last year it was Hall of Famer Rick Clunn welcoming fellow Ava, Mo., resident Cody Huff on the Bassmaster Elite Series tour. Huff finished second in the Rookie of the Year competition and qualified for the 2023 Bassmaster Classic.
This year it’s Hall of Famer Larry Nixon welcoming rookie Joey Cifuentes III to the Elite Series. Cifuentes had his coming out party Sunday with a victory in the Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole.
Nixon and Cifuentes became acquainted years ago through mutual friends. In recent years the two, who both live near Greers Ferry Lake in Arkansas, have become traveling companions on another circuit. Shortly after Cifuentes qualified for the Elite Series through the Opens last year, he found out that Nixon was coming back to B.A.S.S.
“I was like, sweet, man, traveling buddies back again,” Cifuentes said. “I cheered.”
Cifuentes, 34, was asked about what Nixon, 72, had meant to him.
“As far as technique-wise, he’s taught me a ton,” Cifuentes said. “Sponsors and the industry itself, he’s taught me everything about it. He’s just a good motivator, and he’s a great friend. It’s nice to have a buddy to travel with that can help you like that. And he’s a legend in the sport so you listen to everything he says and pay attention to him. He means a lot to me. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Larry.”
For some perspective on this “apprenticeship program,” which is actually just two veteran anglers passing down their knowledge to two younger friends, consider what Clunn and Nixon have accomplished, in addition to being inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. Clunn, now 76, has qualified for the Bassmaster Classic 32 times and won it 4 times; Nixon has qualified for 25 Classics and won it once. Combined they’ve won more than $6.5 million in professional bass tournaments.
Nixon didn’t qualify for the top 50 cut at Seminole. He was back home in Quitman, Arkansas, but he did have a Saturday night phone conversation with Cifuentes, who had a 4-pound, 1-ounce lead over second place Tyler Rivet and a 5-pound, 2-ounce lead over third place Greg Hackney going into the final day at Seminole.
“Larry told me, ‘Joey, put your blinders up and don’t worry about all these guys around you that are going to be doing these interviews and pictures and stuff,’” Cifuentes said with a smile, as he talked to a gaggle of those guys on the stage after his victory. “He said, ‘Just ignore all that.’ He said, ‘Don’t even talk to them.’”
Cifuentes and the rest of us couldn’t help laughing at that.
The key advice from Nixon was, “If it ends up being slow, you just grind it out.”
“That’s exactly what he told me to do,” Cifuentes said. “And that’s exactly what I did.”
