So how did you even get started in
fishing tournaments?
I didn’t even start fishing until I was
10, and even then, that was just from
the bank in ponds around the house. I
didn’t fish from a boat until I was 12.
My brother, James, bought a 16-foot
aluminum boat with a 25-hp motor on
it. It wasn’t anything special, but I
absolutely thought it was awesome.
We started fishing the Coosa River and
Lake Mitchell, and started fishing some
local night tournaments.
Then, when I was 16, I bought a 16-
foot Champion with a 90-hp motor,
which really allowed me to start fishing
tournaments.
Most 16-year-olds buy cars — you all
buy boats. How did you even afford
them, or even the gas?
So, from 15 to 17, I worked in a metal
fabrication shop. I was basically a gogetter;
you know, “go get this” or “go
sweep the floors.” My mom, Teresa, let
my brother and I borrow her 1995 Ford
F-150. All the money I earned basically
went toward buying the boat, gas for it
and tournament entry fees.
How much gas can you afford with
that job?
Not much. This was back in the late
2000s, so I’d only be able to buy like
three gallons of gas. That’s as far as we
could fish in any tournament.
Quite the tournament strategy.
Where’d you go from there?
Well, I graduated high school and
went to the University of Alabama, in
part so I could be on the fishing team.
Well, that was eye-opening. I still had the
same truck and boat from the mid-90s,
and keep in mind it is 2010. Meanwhile,
everyone else on the team is showing up
with new trucks and boats.
That had to be a little intimidating.
Not really. I’d been fishing four days
a week for years. I figured no one had
fished as much or put in the hours I had.
So, which came first: fishing or
school?
Dude, all I wanted to do was go out
and fish.
Was school even on your radar?
It was. Originally, I was in engineering,
but my junior year I made a pivotal
decision. I’d won angler of the year all
three years on my college team, and I
made the decision I wanted to make a
career of fishing, so I switched to marketing
so I could focus more on that
future career.
And you graduated with that degree
in, what, 2012?
Yep. Now, most people get a job out
of college. I instead went straight home
and started fishing every local tournament
I could; any tournament I could
get in. It was my only source of income.
In 2013, I won $50,000, but keep in
mind, they were team tournaments. I
was splitting that with my brother. Still,
I had like $7,000 in the bank. I thought I
was doing really good.
Considering your background, yeah,
I bet you did.
I really did, and I thought I was set
and rolling. Then, 2014 happened.
Things got tough, and I didn’t win a
single tournament. I spent $3,000 to
enter my first B.A.S.S. Open and didn’t
get a check. Before I knew it, it’s June
and I’m broke. My girlfriend broke up
with me. I’m living at home with my
mom, and I have nothing.
Ouch.
Yeah. I had no other options but to
get a job, so I took a construction job
up in Winston-Salem, N.C., building
apartments.
I’m not going to lie, I hated it. I
mean, I was truly miserable.
Man, that had to be brutal. Did you
think your dream was dead?
No. I knew I needed to bow up and
try again, so I saved up another $7,000
after 10 months so I could go home and
enter another B.A.S.S. Open, this one on
the Alabama River. Well, I won that.
The first tournament you entered
when you got back?
First tournament, and I make
$50,000. The following weekend, I win
$20,000 in an Alabama Bass Trail tournament.
A month after that, I win
$17,000, and a month after that I win
another $17,000. In 2015, I won more
than $100,000 fishing locally.
Wow. What happened? What
changed for such a turnaround?
I didn’t want to ever go back to
wearing that hard hat. I never took fishing
for granted like I did before.
In 2016, you fished the Opens and
qualified for the Elite Series. Then in
2017, you not only won your fourth
Elite Series event on Ross Barnett,
but you won Rookie of the Year. And
now, here you are, competing on the
Bass Pro Tour.
Yeah, here I am. I’m very fortunate
and very blessed.
How’d you do it?
Sweat equity. You’ve got to love
bass fishing and really hate getting
beat. Even today, I realize you’re going
to lose a lot more than you’re going to
win, but I still hate losing so bad it’s
unbelievable. It’s not about the money
anymore; it’s about the competition.
And it’s not even the other anglers.
Those fish make me so mad sometimes
when I can’t figure them out.
Do you feel like you’ve made it?
No. I’ll never feel like that.
I always try to stay humble, because
I’ve seen just how quick things can go
bad in this sport, and I don’t want it to
happen again. I want to do this for the
rest of my life, and I’m going to bust my
butt to make sure that happens.
Fair enough, but looking at all you’ve
overcome, do you ever have moments
where you have to pinch yourself?
Oh, all the time.
Like when?
Any time a kid comes up to me and
asks me to sign his hat or shirt.
I had a moment this year where I
was at Eufaula, and a kid drove all the
way from Mississippi to show me his
hat that I’d signed in 2017 when I won
the Ross Barnett event. It’s 2020 now.
It’s flown by. But I still remembered
that hat. I couldn’t believe it; couldn’t
believe all that’s happened.
JUNE-JULY 2020 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | FLWFISHING.COM 89