By Rob Newell he field of play for professional bass fishing is far more dynamic than most other sports . Given the tremendous number of variables a pro angler deals with in a day of competition , the only constant in fishing is that it ’ s constantly changing . With that , professional fishing is a very challenging sport to win in .
Many bass pros will go their entire career without winning more than three national events total . So , when one pro wins three tour-level events in a single season , it turns heads .
Enter Dustin Connell ’ s 2022 Bass Pro Tour season . In a span of seven months , Connell won three Bass Pro Tour events . His hat trick started with a win on Lewis Smith Lake in March and then he closed the season with back-to-back victories at Cayuga and Mille Lacs .
“ What matters is winning . Nobody remembers any of the rest of it . Winning is the purest form of collateral in this sport .”
2022 THREE-PEAT
With wins on the Bass Pro Tour at Lewis Smith Lake , Cayuga Lake and Mille Lacs Lake in 2022 , MLF pro Dustin Connell solidified his status as a “ beast closer .”
PHOTO BY GARRICK DIXON
Three victories in one season against the best field of competition assembled – it ’ s an achievement that makes you stop and scratch your head . So many lakes , so many variables , so many other talented fishermen , and Connell wins 42 percent of the events in a single season ? How is that even possible ? How did he make it look so easy ?
Connell , however , is not the first to win three Bass Pro Tour events in a single season . In 2021 , Jacob Wheeler pulled off a triplet of BPT victories that stunned the fishing world as well . Both pros are good friends and room together at most events . Connell is quick to give Wheeler credit for helping him dial up a winning mindset on Tour .
“ When I saw what Jacob did winning three times last year , it totally opened my eyes to the possibilities of winning a lot more than I have been ,” Connell says .
PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE
DECEMBER-JANUARY 2023 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 33