The 2021 Bassmaster College Classic Bracket win was absolutely amazing. It propelled my career and set me up to go further in the bass fishing industry. That wasn’t an easy win by any means. but winning the St. Croix Bassmaster Southern Open presented by Mossy Oak Fishing is something I never would have dreamed of winning. I still can’t believe it, and I’m riding high from it. There were a ton of Bassmaster Elite Series guys there.
My career is progressing faster than I thought it would. This win gives me hope, and it gives me belief in myself that I can do this and be successful. Fishing is all about momentum. Everybody says it. I had just come off a top 10 in another event at the St. Lawrence River, so I had a little momentum coming into this event as well.
I didn’t throw a drop shot all of practice. It is my confidence bait, and on Hartwell they absolutely eat it. So I wasn’t going to base my whole practice on throwing it. They were biting reaction baits in practice so well, and you could run around and get a lot of bites. Day 1 I rolled up to my first spot and I knew something wasn’t right straight away. I wasn’t seeing very many, and I was thinking, “What the heck?”
I finally saw a couple down there so I picked up my drop shot, and the first fish I caught was a 4-pounder. Twenty minutes later I caught another 4-pounder, and at that point I thought I might be able to compete. The conditions were slick calm, bluebird skies with no wind and it was warm.
Going into the final day, I was 3 pounds back, and that is a lot of weight to makeup on Lake Hartwell. I was nervous, but I knew I was going to lay it all out there and give it my best. I was going to control what I could control, whether that was my line, my knots, my casting ability and making sure my baits and weights were perfect.
That plays a big role in what we do. I lost a big one, a 3-pounder, and I couldn’t do anything about it. There was no sense in sitting there and breaking a rod or cussing or getting upset. I did everything right but missed her at the boat. Sometimes you can’t control that stuff so you have to move on and continue to control what you can.
I would like to thank all my family and friends who support me as well as Strike King and Lew’s. That Filler Worm got it done for me. The Sea Clear Power wire and harness was a big deal too. As advanced as our units are getting, you want to get the most out of them as possible and Sea Clear plays a huge role in that. I also want to give a shout-out to Toyota.
Thinking about 2023, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic at Knoxville, Tenn., will be a completely different go-round for me this time. Everyone always said your first Classic will be overwhelming, and that is absolutely true. It is an accomplishment that millions of people won’t get to experience.
At Hartwell this year, I was just trying to enjoy the moment and enjoy the atmosphere of the Night of Champions, media days and all of that. I will do that at this one as well, but going into my second Classic, I will have that under my belt. I will know how to handle it.
There will be a lot more preparation. I am going to spend a lot of weeks there before the off limits and try to dissect the lakes. There are a lot of miles of Fort Loudoun and Tellico to fish. It is going to be completely different from Lake Hartwell.
I don’t care if I get 50th place, I am going to prepare and fish for the win.