At 3 years of age Jimmy Washam was already fishing with his father on Mississippi’s Sardis Lake. As with many young children, the Tennessean had yet to master pronunciation of the consonant R.
“My dad let me reel in the bass after he hooked them,” Washam said. “Every time he got one on, I ran to the front of the boat shouting, ‘Let me weel him.’ Other fishermen on the lake heard me saying that so much they gave me the nickname ‘Weel‘em in Washam.’”
His love of reeling them in has never abated. After the first two Bassmaster Central Open tournaments of 2022, the only Bassmaster events he has competed in, Washam holds second place in the Central Angler of the Year standings. He finished fifth at Ross Barnett and seventh at the Red River. If he holds serve at the final Central Open at Sam Rayburn he will earn a birth to the vaunted Bassmaster Elite Series.
Besides his strong start in the Central Opens, Washam’s life is in a good place. After serving for nine years as a patrol officer for Tennessee’s Tipton County Sheriff’s Office, he retired in September of 2021 to become a full-time bass tournament angler and a fishing guide on Pickwick Lake. Five months later he, his wife, Danielle, and their two young sons, Jay and River, moved to Stantonville, Tenn., which is 20 minutes from the storied bass reservoir.
None of this happened overnight. Washam is thankful that his father, also named Jimmy, introduced him to bass fishing early in life.
“My dad fished Red Man and other local tournaments before I was born,” Washam said. “Once I was old enough to go with him, he took me fishing every weekend instead of being gone at a tournament.”
They fished mainly for fun but did enter a few charity tournaments when Washam was in his teens. Washam’s primary sport was baseball. He played center field in high school and while attending Jackson State Community College where he majored in business.
After college in 2007 he took a job at Bass Pro Shops working in the hunting, fishing and marine divisions. To satisfy his competitive juices he became a member of the River City Bassmasters in Memphis. He competed one year as a co-angler and from then on as a boater out of a 2004 Bass Tracker 175 with a 60 hp Mercury outboard.
In 2012 he became a patrol officer for Tipton County. About this time, he began fishing the Mississippi Division of the BFLs as a co-angler. He did well enough to pursue tournament fishing more intensely.
“I had always dreamed of fishing as a pro,” Washam said. “I decided to move forward until I wasn’t having the success I need to continue.”
After buying his first fiberglass boat in 2016, a 1998 Ranger R81, he switched to the boater side of the BFLs. He paid off the boat that year after winning a BFL event at Pickwick Lake. This prompted him to step up to the central division of the Costa Series. He cashed checks in three of their events. The following year, nonstop boat trouble undermined his success.
“Every time I turned around something went wrong,” Washam said. “I had to battle through that. I wondered if I was good enough or not cut out for this. I did a lot of praying. I decided that the next year would make or break me.”
He upgraded to a 2016 Ranger which carried him to third place in the AOY standings. This allowed him to move up to the FLW Pro Circuit in 2020. He won the Pro Circuit’s championship on the Upper Mississippi River at the end of the 2021 season. Earlier that year he had won a Toyota Series tournament at Lake Guntersville. The cash he bagged from these events enabled him to retire from his job as a patrol officer.
It wasn’t as easy as it sounds. To get time off to fish the tournaments, Washam put in 80-hour workweeks.
“Then I’d leave town and be gone for eight or nine days at a tournament,” Washam said. “That left no family time. I could not have done that for another year.”
Since receiving his U.S. Coast Guard Master Captain’s License in May of 2022, he has been putting his clients in touch with bass at Pickwick Lake. Word of mouth and Facebook keeps him booked between tournaments. He also set up a website, pickwickpremierbassguide.com.
Although his life is less chaotic, the pressure of fishing professional bass tournaments is brutal. Should he qualify for the Elite Series after the final Central Open at Sam Rayburn, he will have a life-changing decision to make.
“If I qualify for the Elite Series, I will be extremely honored and excited to have that option,” Washam said. “I’d have to give the decision a lot of consideration and prayer.”
Washam’s title sponsor is Profound Outdoors. Other primary sponsors include Rockfish Gloves and Midway Marine in Fulton, Miss. Also, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine and Lowrance Electronics.
