ROOKIE of the YEAR
There are anglers in this sport that really love fishing as many tournaments as possible because they think it helps them stay in the groove . Is that the mindset you have for next year in fishing the Bass Pro Tour and Pro Circuit ?
It ’ ll keep me tuned in with what ’ s going on in different areas of the country seasonally for sure . For example , if I ’ m fishing Eufaula or Seminole in the last week of May or first week of June and I ’ ve been there for a week and haven ’ t seen a mayfly hatch , it ’ s coming . I know it ’ s coming . Keeping in touch with all that ’ s going on makes you better in terms of tournament fishing .
You ’ re obviously ate up with fishing . How ’ d you get the bug ?
I can 100 percent thank my father , Russell , for that . He kept me on the water when I was really young . We ’ d walk around ponds on the weekend or scull a jon boat . I grew up fishing every possible way . Then I started fishing jon boat tournaments with my dad when I was 13 .
So , was your dad a tournament angler , too ?
No . Good God , no . He was a Tru- Turn hook , Culprit worm and a 3 / 8- ounce bullet weight guy . Fiberglass rod and a Mitchell 300 reel . That was him . He didn ’ t own a baitcaster until 2007 and I had to teach him how to use it .
Were you a very competitive kid growing up ?
I got really into skateboarding , music , chess , darts , pool and fishing growing up . Those were my passions .
This season you went through some personal issues that took your mind off fishing for a bit . With that behind you now , how ’ s it feel to be fishing with your mind 100 percent focused on fishing ?
I ’ ve always wanted fishing to be my full-time career and now that it ’ s going to be , it ’ ll keep me on my game . My mental state was off a bit ( during the 2021 Pro Circuit ), but now having my work responsibilities off of me , I feel like there ’ s a huge weight lifted off me . I now have an extremely strong support system and life is great . I ’ m in the best mood I ’ ve been in my whole life .
Every time you come across the weigh-in stage , you ’ re always holding a drink of some kind . What ’ s up with that ?
It ’ s a natural drink called Bing that ’ s made out of cherry juice . I guess you could say it ’ s like an energy drink , but it ’ s not full of sugar . I ’ m an extremely healthy person . I don ’ t drink sodas . I don ’ t eat fast food . I live off veggies , salads and fish . You ’ ll never see me drink anything other than coconut water , Bing drinks or coffee .
When I think of Clabion Johns and bass fishing , I think of a frog . Why is that ?
I grew up fishing ponds and grew up with a Pop-R in my hand . I loved throwing a Pop-R . It was the greatest thing ever . When I was 12 years old , I started traveling to Eufaula a lot and it ’ s full of grass and lily pads and I couldn ’ t really throw my Pop-R where I wanted . I ’ d catch fish on it , but they ’ d pull me into the grass and come off and it got frustrating . I started looking into frogs and started throwing a Strike King Popping Pro Model Frog and caught fish on it and then when the Zoom Horny Toad came out , I started wrecking fish on it . Then , in 2007 , the magic happened . Good popping frogs were available , and it was everything I wanted in a bait . But a popping frog changed my fishing to what I always pushed towards and could finally do it on any lake I went to .
For a guy who has as much tournament experience as you do , you fit the mold of anglers who fish their strength and make it work across the country like a John Cox or Andy Morgan . How do you build that confidence to do what you want on any lake across the country ?
I guess I ’ ve amassed enough data points in this sport to know a bass is a bass is a bass . You can isolate certain factors , like structure , or what a bass is eating in a certain lake . If you do your research before you get to a lake you ’ ve never been to and identify cover or structure you like – which for me is grass – and find areas that look like they should live there , they probably do .
You ’ re a great shallow fisherman . Do you have a weakness in your game right now , or something you want to get better at ?
Swimbaits . It doesn ’ t fit how I like to fish . I ’ ll throw a hard wakebait , but I don ’ t like swimbaits . To me , I look for bass that are shallow and lazy . My fish eat gizzards , bluegill and crawfish . You ’ ll never see me hurling an 8-inch swimbait . I ’ m not Steve Kennedy . It ain ’ t going to happen . Swimbaits are almost as bad as Senko fishing .
You ’ re saying you ’ re not a finesse guy ?
Finesse to me is a full-sized Trick Worm on a 1 / 4-ounce shaky head . That ’ s as finesse as I get .
People know when you launch your boat in the morning because you tend to have music blaring , and I know I ’ ve heard your truck rocking out in the parking lot . What type of music do you like to listen to ?
I ’ m a metalcore guy . I was a guitarist in metalcore band for a long time . I enjoy having a bit of persona . You can look at me , look at my boat and know I ’ m not a normal fisherman . I don ’ t fit in a normal niche . I ’ m just trying to do things my way .
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2021 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 81