which pretty much made a state-
ment about Nixon’s prominence in
the sport.
As a moneymaker, Nixon’s
uncanny performances in a string
of B.A.S.S. Megabucks tourna-
ments set him apart. In 1988 he
won $109,000 on the Harris Chain
of Lakes, then topped the 1990
field on the Harris Chain to collect
another $108,788. In 1990, anoth-
er first-place finish on Lake
Guntersville earned him $76,304.
In the years when winning the
Classic earned a pro $50,000,
Nixon managed to show out in
other events where bigger pay-
outs were on the line.
Somewhere along the way, Bee
Branch pulled Nixon back for good
– and as a millionaire. In 1992, he
reached the million-dollar mark in
career earnings, becoming the
first tournament fisherman to do
so. A few years later, Irwin Jacobs
introduced FLW to the bass fishing
world, and another venue opened
up for Nixon and other pros.
Around the turn of the new
century, anglers such as Nixon
who fished both circuits were
forced by circumstances and
scheduling conflicts to choose
between the two. In 2006, Nixon
fished his last B.A.S.S. event, the
May-juNe 2017 I FLWFISHING.COM
Bassmaster Classic on Lake
Toho, where he placed 10th.
His rationale for choosing to
stay with FLW was typically
Nixonian, plain and simple: “I
liked the people who ran things
at FLW, and I loved the way they
ran things. Also, it got to where I
felt comfortable fishing just eight
or nine tournaments a year. I
liked most of the places where
FLW was setting up their events,
so that’s the way I went.”
Staying put paid off for the
66-year-old Nixon. He fished his
very first FLW Tour event in 1998,
and now he’s closing in on
$1,800,000 in prize money. Add
that to the $1,634,858 he earned
in B.A.S.S. events from 1977 to
2006, and Nixon is approaching
nearly $3.5 million in winnings.
quadruple bypass surgery last
year notwithstanding, he’s still
going strong, and plans to con-
tinue as long as his health and
his enthusiasm for tournament
fishing last.
Not bad for a boy from Bee
Branch, Ark., who proved that it’s
not the size of the community he
grows up in that determines a
person’s lot in life, but rather his
own will to succeed with the skills
he’s given.
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