enjoyed – the couple days after that was all said and done .
Q : When did you take the step to go on the national level ? I met you that first year at the Series event you won on the Thousand Islands , but when was the moment you were like “ Okay , now I need to start fishing regionally or across the country ”?
It was that year you met me . Q : 2018 , right ?
Yeah , 2018 was when I said I ’ m going to do the Toyota Series and the Central and the Eastern B . A . S . S . Opens , just to mix it up a bit and travel a little more . Then , I got to the Open on Champlain and Dakota [ Ebare ] ended up fishing it . He finished like eighth or something . After Champlain , he ’ s begging me to come and stay for the [ Series ] on Thousand Islands . He says , ‘ It ’ s the best smallmouth fishery in the country ,’ and that ’ s when I went over there and stayed . We had some fun for a few weeks , and I ended up winning that tournament . That ’ s when I started traveling the country fishing , but I mainly did Toyota Series around the house before that .
Q : So then after you won that Thousand Islands event , what was the thought after that ?
Going into that event , I thought it was going to be my last big event . I was tired of depending on a few people , like my dad . I didn ’ t want to make him pay anymore ; I didn ’ t feel like I was good enough to compete with these guys yet . I figured I would give it a few years and then when I can do it on my own , I was going to do that . When I won , that kind of sparked the next year and pushed me a little harder for the next year and here I am , two years later , fishing all over everywhere – just trying to catch a bass .
Q : Was it intimidating when you knew you were going to be fishing on the Pro Circuit this year ? Looking at the field , were you scared a little bit ? A lot of the rookies have a lot more experience than you do .
I wouldn ’ t say scared . I would say intimidated . The first tournament ,
nerves really set in and you see how I finished – 142nd . I think after that I just knew I had to step up my game and had to catch a limit every day . A limit goes a long way with these guys , and if you catch a limit , unlike I did at either day of Rayburn , you ’ ll do fine .
Q : You seem to have a really good knack with smallmouth . What is it about smallmouth ? You seem like you have a lot of fun catching them .
I do have a lot of fun . Smallmouth are my favorite . I like bed-fishing the largemouth back home , but I think this by far surpasses sight-fishing for largemouth . I ’ ve never gotten to sight-fish for smallmouth , and they say it ’ s 10 times more fun than sight-fishing largemouth , but I ’ ve never gotten to do that . That ’ s something I want to do . But I feel like if there ’ s a smallmouth that shows up on my electronics , I ’ m going to catch it . If it ’ s not brutally windy , I feel like I can catch it .
Q : What do you think your strength as an angler is ?
This year , I think I ’ ve really gained the confidence in myself to make decisions on the fly . Like , one day at Chick , I was just running down the lake and I hadn ’ t even practiced on that half of the lake . I pulled up on a spot , and the first cast , I caught a 5-pounder .
Decisions like that , where last year or the year before that I would never have made – I would have pulled over there and I would have been discouraged because I didn ’ t have anything else to stop on . This year , I ’ ve done that several times . I think I ’ ve really adjusted to making decisions on the fly and not getting spun out so quick .
Q : Going forward for next year or in the future , what ’ s an aspect of fishing you think you need to get better at ?
I ’ ll tell you right now : flipping a big weight in grass and fishing any type of grass . If it ’ s not with a frog in the grass or maybe a swim jig – I think I can do that – but after that , you got me lost in the grass .
Q : Was there a moment at all before you started fishing the Pro Circuit that made you think “ Oh , I ’ m ready for that ”?
Winning that Thousand Islands Series event , where you have two of the best smallmouth fishermen walking the planet right now in Chris and Cory Johnston , and AJ Slegona , and a lot of the other locals . After that tournament , I thought that I ’ m ready to do this . I gave it another year and now I ’ m competing with these guys .
Q : At this point , you ’ ve been around the country and fished a bunch of different types of water , so is there a body of water or place in the country that you look forward to fishing ?
As bad as Rayburn was this year , I really look forward to going there . I really get pumped about all these places , even if it ’ s a place I ’ ve never been . I don ’ t think I really have a particular place , unless you say smallmouth – then I really get pumped .
Q : Final thing . You get a Polaris Ranger 1000 for winning ROY . Got any big plans for it ?
Yeah , I need that Polaris for duck season . We ’ re going to kill some ducks out of that thing this year .
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2020 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | FLWFISHING . COM 39