MATT BECKER , FINLEYVILLE , PA .
2018 FLW TOUR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
MATT BECKER , FINLEYVILLE , PA .
By Curtis Niedermier photo by AnDy hAgEDon
Give us the elevator pitch version of the answer to this question : Who is Matt Becker ?
A small-town kid from Pittsburgh that just loves bass fishing . You just won the Rookie of the Year title for 2018 . Summarize how you feel right now .
It ’ s unreal . You know , looking back , there are so many little things that happened that were all the little pieces of the puzzle , and it ’ s a pretty cool feeling to have accomplished that . Was ROY a major goal of yours this season , or was it more of a byproduct of having a good season , making some money and trying to get to the Cup ?
It was a little bit of both . It was certainly a goal , but on the other hand , I also wanted to just cash enough checks to be able to fish again next year and work on doing this forever hopefully . You ’ re from Pennsylvania , which isn ’ t exactly known as a bass-crazy state . So … tell us the truth : Is Pennsylvania a good place to be a bass angler ?
Um , not necessarily . I live on the Three Rivers here in Pittsburgh , and you saw how the Cup went when it was here a few years ago . So I ’ ve had to do a lot of traveling , as far as cutting my teeth fishing-wise . There ’ s only a handful of lakes around that are any good . So I ’ ve had to travel regionally . How old were you during the Three Rivers Cup ?
I just turned 26 in June , so I had to be 17 . That was in 2009 . What was it like seeing the best pros fishing in your backyard ? Were you already into bass fishing then ?
That was about the time when I got real serious into it . Growing up I was always super into fishing and everything , but I didn ’ t really take it as serious until I got to about 16 or 17 . Watching it there in my home city drove it home that I wanted to do that . Are you a smallmouth specialist ? Because your tournament stats with FLW suggest you might be .
Yeah , that ’ s what I would consider my strong suit is Great Lakes smallmouth fishing , finding them with my electronics . That ’ s what I ’ m best at . As a Great Lakes guy , do you think it takes a different breed of angler to get out there on those massive bodies of water ?
Definitely . Most people would look at that and say no way am I running across that lake where you can ’ t see shore in any direction . But you have to trust your equipment and trust everything will be all right . What do you struggle with the most ?
Probably ledge fishing down there on Kentucky Lake . I had a tough go at it in that tournament . I kind of felt lost there . Do you have a job outside of fishing ?
I work for a printer and copier company , and I run the service department for it .
How much would you like to quit and spend the rest of your life only on the water ?
100 percent . Hopefully this title can secure me enough sponsor help that I don ’ t have to work a couple weeks when I come home . Who have you looked up to the most in the pro fishing ranks ?
Probably David Dudley . I met him , oddly enough , a while ago here in Pittsburgh . His wife ’ s family is not too far from me . So my dad , George Becker , and I ran into him at Walmart one time . That was interesting . I forget what we were even doing , but we bumped into him in the fishing department . We talked to him a little bit . As we were leaving we bumped into him in the parking lot again . He was riding his cart to his truck . I ’ ll never forget that . If you could choose the site of the next Forrest Wood Cup , where would it be ?
Three Rivers in Pittsburgh . Really ? Not Lake Erie or 1000 Islands ?
Well , yeah , that would be more fun for me , but I would have such an advantage here on the rivers that I feel like I would have a better shot of winning here than up there . How did you feel on day one at Lake Okeechobee , on the first day of your FLW Tour career ?
I just remember looking around and realizing , like , I finally made it ; I ’ m living the dream right here . And I wasn ’ t really nervous . I was more anxious to get up to my area and box up my first fish . But I ’ ll never forget this ; my first fish of my tournament career was a 12 1 / 4-inch largemouth . I thought I was back home here . It didn ’ t take long ’ til we got rid of it , and then life was good . Was there a point this season when the train seemed like it was going to be running off the rails ?
The whole year was a roller coaster , really . Cumberland was definitely the absolute downfall . And then I backed that up with a top 10 at Smith . But then the next tournament at Kentucky , that ’ s probably the single worst moment that sticks out to me . I struggled the first day . I only had one fish the first day . I go out the second day and catch four pretty quick and then struggle the rest of the day . The voices started talking in my head : Here goes anther bomb of a finish . You ’ re not going to make the Cup . Then , the next thing I know I catch a 7 1 / 2-pounder for my fifth fish . It was big fish of the day . I look back on it now , and that single fish moved me up 40 spots in the standings and gave me another 40 points . Without that I wouldn ’ t have made the Cup , won Rookie of the Year – none of that . Somewhere in Pennsylvania there ’ s a young boy or girl who wants to one day be the FLW Tour Rookie of the Year . Give that future pro your best advice .
Just stick with it . Spend every second you can trying to better yourself , whether it be on the internet watching videos , playing with tackle , whatever it may be . If you ’ re passionate about something put 110 percent into it . You can do it . Anybody can do it .
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018 I FLWFISHING . COM 63