NORTH EAST, Md. – For the third consecutive day, Mary Falardeau was amongst the first people to show up for blast off at the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Upper Chesapeake Bay presented by SEVIIN. She carried a banner supporting her son Dillon, who happens to have led the tournament the first two days, and wore a facsimile of his jersey.
The gathering was smaller this morning. That’ll happen when the field is reduced from over 150 hopeful anglers to just 10 survivors. Nevertheless, Mary’s entourage–or–Dillon’s, depending on how you look at it–has grown.
The original plan was for Mary and Dillon’s uncle Jim Gaudet to venture to Maryland to cheer him on, but this morning there were nine family members standing on the dock: Mary, Jim, Dillon’s father Kevin, assorted siblings and cousins and children of cousins. By the time weigh-in rolls around, Dillon’s older brother should be here, too, surprising him.
Mary still stands out as his biggest fan, and she said that she won’t be able to rest today, instead remaining glued to BassTrakk, as she is every time he fishes a B.A.S.S. event.
“I have to leave sometimes,” she said. “Otherwise, I just sit there and press ‘refresh’ again and again.”
“I’m surprised the button still works,” said one of the assembled family members, who no doubt has watched Mary obsess over the unofficial standings page.
They didn’t necessarily expect Dillon to be so dominant in this event. Rather, the extended family’s gathering in Maryland was made possible by convenience. It’s only about 6 hours from Rhode Island, where many of them live, and equidistant from North Carolina, where others reside. The former state, hardly a hotbed of professional bass fishing, is where Dillon was raised, and while other members of the family retain the saltwater-tinged accents of the nation’s smallest state, he seems to have shed it. That’s likely because he left for college in Chattanooga in 2013 and has remained in Tennessee ever since. This is his second top ten finish in the Opens – he finished 6th at Clarks Hill to start the 2025 campaign.
He grew up “bass” fishing with his dad – saltwater striped bass, that is. Kevin said that when he’d wake up early to go offshore, Dillon would be “sitting on the steps, waiting for me to get in my truck.” The youngster was exceptional in the salt, but something clicked with respect to tournament bass fishing from an early age. Mary, who works in the local school system, reports that all of the teachers quickly became aware of his passion.
“Every book report was about fishing,” he said. “He carried his fishing pole on the bus.”
Mary will spend the day trying not to focus on the tournament, but more likely willing BassTrakk to update in her favor. She’s hoping for a win, in which case it will be the thrill of multiple lifetimes: “His dream will come true and my dream will come true,” she said. “That’s all you could ever want for your child.”
But if he falls a little short, she will still carry the banner high and rock the jersey proudly.
“He already won, just by being here on Day Three,” she concluded.
