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., appear to be on track to become bass fishing’s latest father and son dynamic duo.
They nearly pulled this off in 2016 while competing in the Bassmaster Central Opens. Robbie finished fifth in the AOY standings and qualified for the Bassmaster Elites Series, which he has been fishing ever since. Logan finished six in the standings, one place short of joining his father as an Elite Series pro.
That outcome was heartbreaking for the Latusos. Their goal has long been to compete on the Elite Series at the same time. Given Logan’s third place finish at the first Bassmaster Central Open of 2019 on Toledo Bend, the Latusos are well on their way to pulling off this hat trick.
Robbie fell hard for tournament fishing after he graduated from Southeaster 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 plunging into the water after a 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.
Logan has continued to fish the Bassmaster Central Opens while his father competes on the Elite Series. The upside with this arrangement is that one of them is always home to look over the ServiceMaster Franchise.
“That lets us focus on fishing when we’re at a tournament and not worry about the business,” Logan said.
Logan credits his third-place finish at the Toledo Bend Open to fishing his strengths. His previous two tournaments on this storied reservoir were a disaster. He finished near the bottom of the field because he didn’t focus on how he likes to fish.
“This time I fished shallow and never ran around looking for deep stuff,” Logan said. “I found four good stretches of shallow grass and buck bushes. I caught my fish on a 3/8-ounce Delta Lures spinnerbait and a Delta Lures Thunder Jig tipped with a V&M J-Bug.”
Should Logan qualify for the Elite Series this season, it will be a dream come true for this bass fishing duo. However, it will also present them with a dilemma. Who will take care of the business when they’re both at an Elite tournament?
“We’ll figure that out when we get there,” Logan said.
Logan’s sponsors are ServiceMaster, Delta Lures, V&M Baits, Mercury Marine, Bass Cat Boats, Power-Pole, Fitzgerald Fishing Rods and Line.
