DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — Roy and Jake Mims are a classic example of how bass fishing bonds relationships between father and son.
Jake Mims, 16, recalls bass fishing with his dad ever since he could hold a rod and reel.
Roy would take his son fishing on ponds in a johnboat. In 2006, they fished their first tournament together — and they won the event.
Two years later, Jake joined his first Georgia B.A.S.S. Nation youth club, the Litter River Bass Club, and Roy helped out the youth club and served as a boat captain.
Roy got more involved in the junior program when he became the Georgia B.A.S.S. Nation youth director in 2009. Since then, he has watched his son develop into one of the top high school anglers in the state.
Jake’s accomplishments include winning consecutive Georgia B.A.S.S. Nation middle school championships (2010 and 2011) and earning three Top 10 finishes in Georgia B.A.S.S. Nation high school state championships (2013-2015). Jake also qualified for the 2015 Bassmaster High School National Championship at Kentucky Lake and took second place with his partner, Jace Garrett, in the high school division at the 2015 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Southern Divisional.
Jake is proud of his work on West Point Lake, where he worked with his dad and members of other Georgia B.A.S.S. Nation high school clubs to plant water willows to improve habitat in the lake. He was also honored to be part of the Southern Divisional championship team for his state in 2012, contributing to Georgia’s victory on Lake Okeechobee by weighing in a keeper.
Making the Bassmaster High School All-State team as the Georgia representative was a special treat for Jake.
“My school recognized it and announced it on the intercom,” said Jake, who goes to Alexander High School. “It was a real accomplishment for me that just put the icing on the cake after having a good year and some really good finishes [five Top 5 finishes out of six events] on the high school trail.”
After high school, Jake plans to fish at the collegiate level and eventually turn pro. His dad has been preparing Jake for the traveling and fishing unfamiliar waters his son will encounter in the college and pro ranks.
“It is easy to put him on the same lake and beat people fishing his home lake,” Roy said. “I have tried over the years to give him as many opportunities to fish with as many different people and many different lakes as possible in different conditions.”
That bond between father and son remains strong as Jake prepares for the next level of competitive bass fishing.
