A LEAP OF FAITH
James Niggemeyer’s continued pursuit of his inner belief
F
aith can be a tough thing
to explain. It spans so
many realms, be it belief
in a religion, confidence
in a person or trust in a particular
organization.
yet, try to describe faith. show
someone the tangible, concrete thing
you can hold in your hand and say,
“Ah, this is faith.”
you can’t. It’s something inside; a
belief, feeling or something you sim-
ply can’t describe.
still, most people have faith in
something. FLW tour pro James
Niggemeyer sure does. Faith has
shaped many facets of his life and
continues to, even as he ventures
down a new path in his professional
fishing career.
“When I look back on my life,
where I have come from, and where
God has taken me, I’m so thankful,”
Niggemeyer says.
Faith in himself
When Niggemeyer first met his
wife, sandy, he tried to explain to her
the idea of being a professional fish-
erman. James might as well have
been explaining astrophysics.
“she was like, ‘huh?’” he jokes.
“she was like most people who don’t
follow the sport. she kept asking,
‘how does that work?’ And for good
reason. Most people don’t under-
stand it.”
only making matters a little
tougher was James trying to explain
all he’d been through to try and pur-
sue this unfamiliar career.
here he was, a 31-year-old fish-
ing guide who worked at a tackle
shop. While born and raised in
southern California, he’d moved to
texas the year prior to try his hand
as a professional fisherman, and in
that time he’d lived in a fifth-wheel
camper, on a friend’s couch, in a liv-
ing space over a barn and even in a
warehouse. Worse, he hadn’t really
done much to actually achieve his
dream.
summer 2019 I FlWFIshInG.com
“I fished tournaments here or
there, but I hadn’t really seen any
huge success,” James admits. “It’s
funny now, but at the time, I’m
explaining this to her, and I have no
proof I could actually do it. I couldn’t
prove it. I just always had this belief
in me that somehow, some way I
could do it.”
Faith in God
Niggemeyer says he was raised
with a genuine belief in God, but for
most of his young life, “the evidence
of his presence was nowhere to be
found.”
“I did things my way,” says
Niggemeyer, “and if it was good for
me then I would try to rationalize it.”
When he moved to texas, a friend
invited him to play some co-ed soft-
ball that doubled as a singles bible
study. Looking back, Niggemeyer
admits what initially drew him to learn
more about the study was selfishness.
“I had seen the success that many
Christians had as professional bass
anglers,” Niggemeyer says. “I wanted
to be blessed with that success, too.”
selfishness quickly turned to self-
lessness, though, as Niggemeyer’s
faith matured. steadily, he devoted
himself more and more to God, giv-
ing more of himself. Niggemeyer also
started seeing other positive
changes. he met sandy. his guiding
business grew. he started cashing
some checks in tournaments.
then it all came to fruition in
2005, when he won the t-h Marine
FLW bass Fishing League Regional on
Lake ouachita.
“that’s when it all came together,”
James says. “God had become more
real to me than ever before in my
life. by then I had a real relationship
with God.”
Faith in an organization
two years after his bFL Regional
victory, Niggemeyer officially realized
his dream by fishing the bassmaster
Elite series.
By Sean Ostruszka
For 11 years, he paved a path of
consistency, earning five top 10s and
14 top 20s, including two at the
bassmaster Classic. yet, as good as
things were at the start, his perform-
ances began to taper off in 2016 and
2017, with him eventually not requal-
ifying for the Elite series after the
2017 season.
undeterred, Niggemeyer made
the switch to FLW and immediately
saw resurgence in his career. he
earned a spot in the FLW Cup in his
rookie season and finished second.
once again, by the offseason,
Niggemeyer had to call on his faith.
“I got an invitation to go back and
fish the Elite series,” Niggemeyer
says. “so, really, I had two great
choices: stay with FLW, or go back to
b.A.s.s.”
Niggemeyer says the decision on
where to fish in 2019 was about the
only thing he thought of for weeks.
then, a few days before the dead-
line to make his decision, he and
sandy sat down on their bed and
prayed.
“there was no ‘aha’ moment,”
James says. “We both just had a
strong feeling FLW was the direction
to go.
“We’d had such a wonderful expe-
rience with FLW,” he says. “I’d had
great experiences in my 11 years at
b.A.s.s., too, but we both felt it was
time for a new direction, a new path
for my career. I’m excited about it,
and I have faith we made the right
decision.”
Faith in the Future
As mentioned, there’s nothing
tangible about faith; no guarantees.
Niggemeyer knows that as much
as anyone. yet, his faith is stronger
than ever with regard to his career
and future, and it might be summed
up by one of his favorite bible vers-
es, Matthew 6:33.
But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will
be given to you as well.
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