When Bob Downey of Hudson, Wis., signed on to fish the 2019 Bassmaster Central Opens, he knew it would be a tall step up in competition. He had never fished a Bassmaster Open before and was hoping he could hold his own. Did he ever.
Downey claimed a check in all four Central Opens and qualified for the 2020 Bassmaster Classic by winning the final event of the season at Grand Lake, Okla. He also qualified for the Elite Series by finishing fifth in the AOY standings.
“I did not expect to do this well,” Downey said.
While Downey was growing up in Minnesota, fishing was a family affair. He can’t remember when he began fishing because he was introduced to it at such a young age. He doesn’t recall catching his first bass at age 2. But he has a photo of himself hoisting the diminutive largemouth, which he caught on a nightcrawler.
Downey credits his parents, Bruce and Sue, his grandfather, Art Downey, and several uncles for getting him involved in fishing. His grandfather’s cabin on a lake in northern Minnesota served as the fishing focal point for the Downey clan. The Downeys targeted mainly pike, walleye and panfish, but the lake also had a good population of largemouth bass.
When Downey wasn’t fishing in a boat with his parents, he could be found casting off the family dock for whatever would bite. Some of those bites were from bass.
Before long the bass became Downey’s passion. His passion prompted him to join B.A.S.S., and he read every issue of Bassmaster Magazine from cover to cover. He also never missed an episode of The Bassmasters on television.
“There wasn’t any YouTube at the time,” Downey said. “I really learned a lot of the techniques I know from Bassmaster Magazine and The Bassmasters.”
At the cabin one of Downey’s elders, including his mother, would often take him out in a small johnboat powered by a 6 hp outboard so he could cast for bass. A huge event in Downey’s fishing progression happened when he was allowed to fish from the johnboat by himself at age 12.
“I still remember that day,” Downey said. “I was fishing for bass with a spinnerbait while my family was water skiing around the lake. Every time they’d make a lap and pass by me, I would hold up my stringer. I caught five bass that day. It was almost like being in a tournament.”
At home Downey and his buddy, Sam Rada, would don backpacks, lay a rod across the handle bar of their bicycles and pedal to nearby ponds and lakes to cast for bass from the bank.
“I caught my first 6-pound bass at one of those ponds on a floating Rapala that my uncle Mike gave to me,” Downey said. “We did that until I was 16, and I got my driver’s license.”
Tournament fishing came into Downey’s life when he joined the Bassin’ Boys club at 14 and began fishing Jr. B.A.S.S. Nation tournaments. He finished in second place at his first end-of-season state tournament and has been “hooked ever since.”
At 18 Downey joined the Lakes Area Bassmasters near the Twin Cities and began fishing against adult competition. He is now also a member of the Castaways B.A.S.S. Nation affiliated club, which is also in Minnesota. Besides club tournaments, Downey competed in local buddy tournaments with Tyler Mehrl, a college buddy he still fishes with.
Downey’s bass fishing world expanded exponentially in 2006 when he matriculated to the University of Iowa where he majored in finance. He joined the college team there and competed in Bassmaster and FLW college tournaments until he graduated in 2010. He was president of the club during his junior and senior years.
“I traveled all over the central U.S. fishing tournaments in college,” Downey said. “That gave me travel experience and taught me how to fish different bodies of water. That definitely helped me in the Opens this year.”
Although he is comfortable with just about any fishing technique, Downey favors fishing shallow with a flipping rod in his hands. He used the long rod masterfully to win the Grand Lake Central Open this year.
As for fishing the Elite Series, Downey “would like to give it a shot.” He currently has a good job working for a surety bond company that insures publicly funded construction contracts. He will have to do some finagling to make time for the Elites.
All Terrain Tackle is currently Downey’s only sponsor.
“I haven’t really gotten into pursuing sponsors,” Downey said. “I feel like the guys who are fishing tournaments for a living deserve that kind of support. Now that I’ve qualified for the Elites, I need to learn more about the business side of tournament fishing.”
