Elite

Mementos on the road

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Photography by
Andy Crawford
Elite Series anglers spend a lot of time on the road, so we asked if they carried mementos to remind them of family or friends – or if they had a lucky charm they kept in their boat. Here are the stories behind some of those trinkets.

Joseph Webster carries this old hook around in his boat for a buddy. “Andrew Linsey of Hamilton, Ala., a good friend of mine gave me a hook last year, and he came by again this year to see if I still had it – so, Andrew, this is for you, buddy.”

Kyle Welcher had two “lucky” items he carries in his boat that were given to him by his wife, Hunter. “Me and my wife were fishing one day, and the feather was floating, and she said, ‘Let me go get it.’ She picked it up and instantly said it was lucky,” Welcher explained. “And at my first (Bassmaster) Classic, she went to a zoo-type thing that had porcupines, so she got a porcupine quill and brought that back to me and said it was lucky. So I have two lucky items. I do not believe it at all.”
Gerald Swindle keeps this note from his granddaughter, Kyler, as he travels the country. “I’ve just been keeping it in the truck, and every now and then I just kind of reflect back. She knows we’re working and want us to have good luck. You know some of that stuff just kind of keeps you grounded back at home,” he said.
Elite Series rookie David Gaston wanted a reminder of his daughter, Brittyn Lynn, so he had decals of her feet made to put on his boat’s windshield. “I thought it was pretty cool to have it on the side of my boat so when I look back I can think of her,” Gaston said. “I miss her a lot being gone.”
Rick Clunn has a two-part memento that goes with him as he travels the country: a photo of his wife and a tattoo of her birthday. “That’s so I don’t forget her birthday,” he said of the tattoo on his wrist. “I keep pictures and stuff around to remind me of the most important thing besides fishing.”
Rookie Joey Cifuentes III teared up when he talked about the photo of his daughters Jovi and Stella that rides in his boat. “I carry it because those two girls mean everything in the world to me,” he said. “When I had kids, my life changed and it keeps me grounded. It makes me want to cry talking about it. I just love them to death.”
Brandon Lester has a billboard of family photos under the lid of his tackle compartment, and he said it’s an important part of his day on the water. “That’s something that Kimberly does every year, at the beginning of the season,” Lester said. “When I lift up my lid to grab a bait or grab something throughout the day, it just kind of helps me remember what’s really important. You know, I’m out there trying to catch a bass, but that’s what really matters (pointing at the photos). It just brightens up the day sometimes if you’re having a long day on the water.”
Marc Frazier carries a small rock in one of his boat’s compartments for a very serious reason. “It’s a lucky rock,” he said. “My son (Barrett) was just old enough to start knowing what he was doing, and he gave me a rock out of the yard. Since owning this rock, I have qualified for the Elites and I’ve made two Bassmaster Classics.”
Alex Redwine knows the challenges of being on the road, so he’s got photos taped to the undersides of two of his compartment lids. “On my snack compartment I thought it would be a good choice to put some of my hometown restaurants, so I’ve got a picture from Skyline Chili,” he explained. “Also, I have a picture of me and my good buddy eating a sandwich on the water. And then underneath where I keep all my tackle and stuff, I have a picture of me and my father Steve, along with a picture of me and my two good friends while fishing and holding up some good smallmouth. It’s kind of to remember back home because we’re on the road for a long time, so it’s a way to remember some of the great people around me, my family and people that are supporting me and believe in me.”
Bryan Schmitt pulled a well-worn hat out of one of his compartments, and he said this sweat-stained head gear serves as a lucky charm, as well as a reminder of Curt Frazier, one of his best friends. “I had a really good friend for many years who passed away about four years ago in a car accident,” Schmitt said. “Any time we went fishing, if it was saltwater or freshwater, you had to rub this hook and it was good luck — and that sucker was good luck. So it stays with me.”
Jason Christie carries these two custom-painted lures with him because of their special connection to his 2022 Bassmaster Classic victory. “So I come off the Classic stage after the first day, and there’s like a 100-foot, dark tunnel you walk through between the stage and the hallway, and as I’m walking there’s a guy standing there — and it almost spooks me; he steps out of the shadows,” Christie explained. “We had met before … and he holds his hand out and says, ‘This is a gift for you,’ and I was like, ‘Good luck?’ He was like, ‘No, it’s not good luck. There’s no such thing as luck; this is a gift.’ He gave me the small (lure). I said, ‘Today was a good day, I might need a little more luck than that.’

Come Day 2, same exact thing: He pops out of the shadow and gives me the bigger bait.”

He went on to win his first Classic title, which earned the lures a place in his boat.

“That thing stayed in the boat all year long,” Christie said. “We’re gonna start with them (this year), anyway.”

Elite rookie Cooper Gallant carries a crusty old Bassmaster Nation Divisional coin. “I received that coin at the 2014 BASS Nation Regional Championship on the St. Lawrence River,” he explained. “It was the first BASS Nation tournament I fished down south, and we actually ended up winning the tournament on the high school side, and that’s basically where the bug all started. I’ve basically carried it in my boat since that tournament. I always have it with me; that’s why it looks like it’s from the 1980s. It’s gotten wet, I’ve sunk a boat and it was with me when I sunk it; it’s been through a lot. So that’s my lucky coin.”
Mark Menendez carries a St. Christopher charm with him. “‘Protect me, protect my passengers and all those who pass by, with a steady hand and a watchful eye,'” he read from the medal showing the patron saint of travelers. “My wife gave me that when we first started seeing one another eight years ago just so I’d find my way home and find my way where I was going.”
Wes Logan has a $1 bill folded up and kept in a zipper bag in one of his compartments. “My fiance Riley gave it to me the final day at (the) Neely Henry (Elite Series event), which I won,” Logan said. “She said if I was feeling anxious or getting overwhelmed or not having a good day, just reach in there and grab the dollar, and forget about everything and go back fishing.”
These two lures ride in Darold Gleason’s truck, and deep sentiment is attached to each one. “Both of these are just sentimental from my childhood,” Gleason said. “The Tiny Torpedo was my favorite bait to throw in my grandmother’s pond. And my little cousin (Jarod Burns), who was like my little brother, I gave him this bait when he got old enough to start using it. He then gave it back to me in 2015, with a very sweet note before I went and fished my first Elite Series event.

“The Devil’s Horse was my uncles (Scott Burns), the same cousin’s dad, and it was his favorite bait. He passed away last year. I was very close to them. We fished together at my grandmother’s pond, and growing up that’s what made me love fishing. So when he passed last year, that was something I had to get from my cousin. It’s something to ride with you and make you think of family when you’re on the road.”

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