(Editor’s Note: Louisiana’s Logan Latuso qualified for the 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series by finishing third in the 2022 Bassmaster Central Opens Angler of the year standings. His father, Robbie Latuso, competed as an Elite angler from 2016-2021. They narrowly missed their dream of fishing the Elite Series together as father and son. This revised article first appeared on Bassmaster.com in 2019.)
It is rare but not unprecedented to have a father and son fishing the highest-level Bassmaster tournaments at the same time. Noteworthy examples include Guido and Dion Hibdon and Denny and Chad Brauer. Robbie and Logan Latuso of Gonzalas, La., appeared to be on track to become bass fishing’s latest father and son dynamic duo.
They nearly pulled it off in 2016 while competing in the Bassmaster Central Opens. Robbie finished fifth in the AOY standings and qualified for the Elites Series, which he fished through 2021. He failed to qualify for the 2022 season. Logan finished sixth in the 2016 Central Open standings, one place short of joining his father as an Elite Series pro.
That outcome was heartbreaking for the Latusos. Their goal had long been to compete on the Elite Series at the same time. When Logan nabbed a third-place finish at the first Bassmaster Central Open of 2019 on Toledo Bend, the Latusos appeared to be well on their way to pulling off the hat trick.
Robbie fell hard for tournament fishing after he graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1989 with a degree in marketing. He immediately bought a bass boat and began participating in club tournaments with the Baton Rouge Bassmasters. He qualified for the Louisiana state team seven times and was the Louisiana State Champion in 2013. That same year he seriously began his quest for the Elite Series by fishing the Bassmaster Opens.
When Logan was 5 years old, Robbie began taking him fishing. Logan took to it like a black lab lunging into the water after a wing-shot mallard has plummeted from the sky.
“I fell in love with it real quick,” Logan said. “I started fishing little tournaments around the house with my dad when I was 7 or 8. My main goal has been to make it in the fishing world ever since VanDam won his first Classic on the Louisiana Delta.”
Most of the early tournaments the Latusos competed in were close to home on the Atchafalaya Basin. This is where Logan learned to fish shallow, stained water, his strong suit. His father started him off with spinnerbaits and a homemade buzzbait. Logan later graduated to flipping, frogging and other techniques.
Bass fishing took a back seat for Logan when he played baseball for East Ascension High School. After graduating, he regained his passion for tournament fishing. He also started working for his father’s business, a ServiceMaster Franchise that does fire and water restoration.
“I would fish team tournaments with my dad and my buddy Blake Betz,” Logan said. “Blake and I took off pretty good. We started with evening tournaments around the house and then added weekend tournaments.”
Logan began traveling with his father to Bassmaster Central Open tournaments in 2014. He fished as a co-angler for two years while his father competed as a boater. Being a co-angler gave Logan an opportunity to participate in practice days with his father and to sample big-time tournament competition. He won more than $6,000 in the process.
The 2016 season was the first year Logan fished the Opens as a boater. He pocketed nearly $8,000 and almost qualified for the Elite Series at the tender age of 23. He has competed in the Bassmaster Central Opens every year since that near miss. He came close to being an Elite pro in 2018 when he finished sixth in the Central Opens.
Divine intervention
On the second day of the final Bassmaster Central Open of 2022 at Sam Rayburn, Logan sacked a limit that weighed 31-4. The enormous catch launched him from 106th place into the lead. He eventually finished as the runner-up, but it was his second-day limit that secured his invite to the Elite Series. Robbie also competed in the tournament.
“Logan and I practiced all week and never did see a bass over 5 pounds,” Robbie said. “Then Logan catches two 10-pounders on the second day. That was meant to be. It was divine intervention.”
Although Robbie plans to fish one or two divisions of the Bassmaster Opens in 2023, his goal will be to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic and not the Elite Series.
“I’m 56 years old,” Robbie said. “It’s hard to fish the Elite Series at my age. It takes a toll. Last year everything hurt me, including my shoulders and wrists.”
Although the Latusos are justifiably proud of their accomplishments, they can’t help but think of how joyful it would have been for both of them to be fishing the Elite Series as a dynamic father and son duo.
Logan’s sponsors are Delta Lures, Cajun Outboards, Missile Baits, Fitzgerald Fishing, Bass Cat Boats, Power-Pole and Mercury Marine.
