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AGE IS ONLY A NUMBER
Bass tournament anglers range from teens to octogenarian . Crawford , Monsoor are youngest , oldest MLF tour-level pros in 2023 .
ON SEPT . 25 , 1965 – at the age of 59 years , 80 days – the legendary Leroy “ Satchel ” Paige trotted to the pitcher ’ s mound at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City , the starting pitcher for the Kansas City Athletics versus the Boston Red Sox . Paige pitched three innings that afternoon – in so doing , the Hall of Famer became the oldest player to ever play in a Major League Baseball game .
Perhaps even more impressively : On July 29 , 2022 , longtime MLF pro Gary Yamamoto brought 14 pounds , 15 ounces of bass
to the stage at the regular-season finale of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Lake Champlain . At the age of 78 years , 331 days that day , Yamamoto became the oldest pro to ever fish a tour-level event . Yamamoto finished 66th in a 154-boat field at Champlain with 33-1 and cashed a $ 5,000 check : proof that in tournament bass fishing , age is just a number .
And boy , there are some very interesting age-related numbers in the Major League Fishing orbit .
17years 274days 16years 364days 16years
1day
· The 2023 poster boy for the bassfishing “ youth movement ” is Tackle Warehouse Invitationals rookie Kollin Crawford . Born in early May of 2005 , the Broken Bow , Oklahoma , pro was 17 years , 274 days old when he fished Day 1 of the 2023 season opener at Lake Okeechobee on Feb . 8 .
· Crawford isn ’ t the youngest angler to ever fish the Invitationals / Pro Circuit / FLW Tour , however : Florida pro Jared McMillan fished Day 1 of the 2013 FLW Tour event at Okeechobee a day before his 17th birthday .
· 16 years , 1 day : The age of Tennessee angler Lawson Tilghman when he fished as a pro on the first day of the Toyota Series Central Division tournament on March 30 , 2017 on Lake Dardanelle . Tilghman became the youngest angler to fish as a pro at the Series level or higher .
12 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023