Bass Fishing Dec 2019 - Jan 2020 | Page 82

BACKLASH Q&A ANDREW UPSHAW Winning the Costa FLW Series Championship was not a bad way to end the year, huh? Definitely. I wish I could end the season like that every year. When you start talking about the amount of tournaments you fish in a year and how long a season it is – from January up until we were fish- ing in November – and then to win the very last tournament; that’s pretty spectacular in my book. Especially after the year you had. Yeah, I had a very blessed year. I was consistent in the Costas. I made a lot of cuts on Tour and won at Cherokee. I made the Cup and the Costa Championship. I had the kind of year you always hope to have. Best fishing year of your life? There’s not a year even close to it. Even after just winning the Tour event, nothing was going to beat this year. Then the Costa Championship was just icing on the cake. Pretty good icing. Yeah, and the funny thing is, I always used to tell my wife and any- one who would listen that I was going to win a Costa event before I ever won a Tour event. And I always said my first win would be in Texas on Toledo Bend or Sam Rayburn. Instead, I won a Tour event before a Costa, and they came in Tennessee and Kentucky, both fish- ing for smallmouth. That was never on my radar. 80 How did a Texas angler get so good fishing for reservoir smallies? So, I traveled for a year with a co- angler named JB King. He’s a very good friend of mine; someone I’ve always looked up to. Well, he also happens to be a guide on Dale Hollow. So, during that year, he really helped me understand how those smallmouth set up in reservoirs like that. It was very instrumental. and quite profitable for you this year. Do you officially like small- mouths more than largemouths now? Never. I really like catching small- mouth, but there’s nothing like catching a 10-pound largemouth. Seeing one of them come out of the water, so big it can’t hardly jump … there’s nothing comparable for me as a bass angler. How many 10-pounders have you caught? Twenty-two, and 18 have come from Toledo Bend. Toledo Bend has quite the special place in your heart, I bet. It does. It’s where I won the very first tournament I ever fished when I was 14. I was fishing with my neighbor, Harold Gilbert, fishing in the back of the boat, though it was every man for himself. I even remember the lure I won it on – a silver flash-colored Bomber Long A. You actually got started fishing FLW events pretty young, even before FLW College Fishing events, didn’t you? I did. My very first BFL I fished I was 17 as a co-angler. I remember practicing and being on a big stringer of fish, but come the tournament my By Sean Ostruszka TULSA, OK boater never would go where I want- ed to fish. After that, I said I was done with that. I wanted to control my investment and fish in the front of the boat. So the next one I entered I did as a pro on Toledo Bend, and I finished second by 1 ounce. I was hooked after that. at that point, were you already all in on becoming a professional bass fisherman? Yeah. I actually played college football for a second at Louisiana College before suffering a second knee injury. After that, I decided I should probably focus on something with some longevity, and at about the same time I realized I could make some real money fishing. Speaking from experience, knee injuries are rough. Oh, I know. I’ve torn my ACL four times and had five knee surgeries over the years. Four aCL tears? Yikes. Last one was last year. Tore my ACL playing flag football, of course. My wife, Valerie, said I’m no longer allowed to play recreational sports. I actually didn’t know if I could stand on the deck come the Amistad Costa that kicked off this year. So, to have the year I’ve had fishing with a bad knee is really something. FLWFISHING.COM I WINTER 2020