onsidered by the top pros to be the most coveted titles in fishing , Angler of the Year awards separate the best from the rest . The Top 5 in the Bass Pro Tour Fishing Clash AOY race seem to perpetually trade places , with Jacob Wheeler being a repeat winner and Ott DeFoe always in the mix . Newcomer Matt Becker squeaked out a win in the final minutes last season , achieving the rare rookie-year AOY season , and he looks like he ’ ll have a real chance to defend his title in 2024 .

But what about the near misses ? Each season , we ’ ve watched a handful of other BPT pros – including some with multiple tournament wins – get close to AOY but not quite finish the job . What might it take for these guys to get over the hump ?

dustin connell :

“ AOY has never been on my radar ” In the five years of the Bass Pro Tour ’ s existence , Alabama pro Dustin Connell has never placed outside the Top 15 in AOY standings . He finished eighth , sixth , 14th , 13th and 15th , respectively , from 2019 through 2023 , and he won the first event of 2024 . He holds the No . 4 spot as of this writing .

Connell ’ s consistency is undeniable , yet the Angler of the Year trophy has eluded him so far in his young career . Fans will recall the 2022 season when Connell won three events but still couldn ’ t overtake his “ Ding Crew ” partner Jacob Wheeler for AOY . But why not ?

Mostly because Connell aims to win every tournament he fishes , regardless of where he stands in the points .

Dustin Connell got off to a strong start in his pursuit of the 2024 Fishing Clash AOY , winning Stage One on Toledo Bend .

“ I ’ ve made some goofy decisions ,” Connell freely admitted . “ I try to ‘ Tin Cup ’ everything . Angler of the Year has never been on my radar , honestly . As long as I made REDCREST , I was trying to win ( individual events ). There ’ s inherent risk involved in trying to win tournaments . And when you go for it , sometimes you risk too much .”

Connell recalls several events over the past five season where he ’ s gambled and made a big run late in the day rather than staying put and scratching out a few more keepers . While the “ big risk / big reward ” plan is admirable when the gamble pays off , exercising patience and adding to SCORETRACKER ® is usually better for overall finishes and valuable AOY points .

Connell also admits that he ’ s previously been resistant to consider fish

management in the Bass Pro Tour ’ s “ every-fish-counts ” format , a nuance that Wheeler understands better than anybody in the business .

“ I always want to make sure I make the Knockout Round ,” Connell said . “ When it came to groups of fish , I didn ’ t care if I have to burn through ‘ em . I ’ d catch all I could . I ’ m starting to rethink that . Jacob teeters on the cut line ( through the early rounds ), but just look at how his fishing ’ s evolved . You ’ re not going to see him make a 50-mile run to try and find a gold mine .”

Connell plans to modify his approach beginning this season .

“ To win AOY , you need to fish for AOY ,” he admitted . “ I never did that previously . I always figured that , if I won two or three tournaments in a year , I ’ d

PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA