Ryan Butler discovered there is crying in bass fishing.
Butler was overcome with emotion several times on his two-hour ride home from the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship Classic Fish-Off, where he won the final berth to the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
Contacted Monday, he chuckled a couple times when asked if it’s sunk in yet.
“Brother, I am on cloud nine,” he said. “I came back to work today; it’s been one person after another congratulating me. Every 20 minutes yesterday, I’d ask my wife, ‘Can you believe I’m fishing the Classic?’”
Yep, the 36 year old is the pride of Blue Eye, Mo., a village of about 100 just south of Table Rock Lake. Well, more like the hero of the entire region and all his Joe Bass series brethren, who’ve been slamming his phone with congrats and “Go get ‘ems.” He got visual evidence right down his road in the sign at JJ Junction Market, where on tournament mornings he gets gas and coffee.
“A lot of the fellow competitors in Joe Bass I typically see once a month are reaching out to me,” he said, “pulling for me and offering words of encouragement. ‘You got this.’ ‘You’re just as good as they are.’ ‘Just do what Ryan knows how to do and you’ll be fine.’ The support has been unbelievable.”
Butler hands credit back to just about everyone in the fishing crazy region, starting with his father and grandfather. He includes those who’ve helped lead him down his path to realizing the dream of fishing a Classic. He said he’s in good company with last year’s Team qualifier, Scott Clift, who hails just a couple hours north of him.
“Blue eye is made up of good people, genuine people,” Butler said. “There’s hunting, fishing, the outdoors is a big part of these peoples’ lives. It’s a big accomplishment for me and my family, but I want to share this with everybody. Everybody who’s ever shared the boat with me along the way. Everybody has contributed to me getting here. It’s a team deal. It’s not all about Ryan. It’s about my family and friends and the community.
“No better place to live than Blue Eye. I grew up on the shores of Table Rock Lake and my dad and grandpa got me out early. There’s a lot of bass boats running around Blue Eye. These tough anglers have all pushed me to get where I am today, so I’m thankful for that.”
The March 12-15 Classic on Lake Hartwell out of Greenville, S.C., is still three months away, but ever the strategizing angler, Butler is already developing a plan of attack. After clinching his berth on chilly Lake Norfork Saturday afternoon, he didn’t take much time to celebrate or rest.
“It went from praying that I got in – I just kept telling myself, if I can just get in, going to the Classic is going to be sweet whether you catch fish or not,” he said. “Now that I got in, and now 24 hours later, I started thinking – I just can’t go out there and zero. I got to make a showing. I got the Ozark region to represent, buddies pulling for me.
“You start to switch gears. I wanted to sleep in and get some rest Sunday. At 6 a.m. I was down in the basement watching reruns of the 2015 Classic, trying to soak it in, figure out what the lake looks like.”
Butler has tons more homework to put in, especially since the farthest east he’s ever fished is Kentucky Lake. When he gets to South Carolina for the first official practice days, he knows he’s going to have to catch lightning in a bottle to even stand a chance.
The odds of him winning, or even making the cut, would undoubtedly create a decent payout. He’s already beat long odds, being the one from 11,000 registered Bassmaster Team Championship anglers who competed in 55 team trails across the country.
“When I go out there with a limited practice in March, it’s going to take a little bit of luck. Everyone at this level has the skill,” he said. “Unfortunately for me, I don’t have the knowledge of the lake. I’ll have to stumble onto something.
“It’s going to be here before I know it. It’s three months away. I want to prepare for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I want to represent my community.”
Regionally, Butler has done rather well in events in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. He said he’s hit tournaments hard since he was around 20, but his full-time job with the local electric company has made it hard to get away a lot of times.
“There’s not another guy out there who’s more passionate about the sport than me,” he said. “I’ve got a day job and family and they come first, and fishing comes second.”
Bringing family to South Carolina is a concern for Butler, who wants to limit distractions. He suggested to his wife that the family find a house to rent for Classic week while he gets a room off by himself so he can better concentrate on the task at hand. He sure will cherish going across the weigh-in stage in front of his 6-year-old son, Luke, his newest fishing buddy.
A chip off the old block, Luke begged to throw a baitcaster, and Ryan told him if he got consistent hitting a 5-gallon bucket that he’d rig him up some to fish.
“That little fellow worked his tail off every day after school to get where he could do it,” Butler said. “From daylight to dark, that kid never stopped. People bragged on him, saying he’s got a gift. I couldn’t be more proud of him. He thinks I’m it, and I think he’s it.”
That’s just what family life is like in Blue Eye. It’s the story, the lifestyle, the dream that right up the road Johnny Morris promotes from his Bass Pro Shops empire. It’s something that elicits tears from tough men, men who weather 10-degree mornings and worse to pursue those green fish.
“The coolest thing in the world,” Butler said, “I told Luke that I cried like four times on the drive home. I kept breaking down. I told my wife. I’m not a crier. I don’t get emotional.”
The sport seems to allow it, especially for tournament wins and first qualifications to a Classic.
“I told my son, I know this means a lot to you now, but one of these days,” Butler said, “you’re going to be proud to tell everybody my dad fished the Bassmaster Classic.”