“Back then, there weren’t any high
school fishing tournaments, and it was a
rarity in that part of the country to see a
kid fishing in a tournament,” notes
Scanlon. “The high school principal, the
bass club guys – they were mentors
who took me under their wing. They
saw that I really wanted to fish and that
I wasn’t just going to be a pain in the
butt. As much as anybody, they taught
me how to fish different lakes and learn
a bunch of different techniques.”
Scanlon learned such lessons well.
Bankrolled for a time by the landscaping
business he and a friend owned,
Scanlon won a number of local and
regional tournaments, and in 2011
fished some Bassmaster Opens that
were within easy travelling distance. He
did so well in them that he qualified to
fish the Bassmaster Elite Series, where
he stayed until he switched to the FLW
Tour last spring.
settling In
32
Golf, guiding and a smattering of
Missouri tournaments keep Scanlon
occupied during the off-season. He’s
lived near Lake of the Ozarks for the
past four years, and his guide service
gets a lot of repeat business in the fall.
He and a buddy, Travis Perret, also have
a jig company named Trophy Bass
Company, and they spend much of the
winter catching up on orders and
restocking their inventory.
Otherwise, Scanlon says he spends
most of his time reading bass fishing
magazines, watching