There are only a few anglers in history who can describe this feeling , but do you remember the exact feeling – and the thoughts going through your head – when Chris Jones announced you as the All- American winner ?
My mind was racing a million miles per hour . I ’ ve thought about fishing my whole life , and it came down to that day , and I was lucky enough to win it . It was cool to win something that big after training my entire life for it . I won a Regional BFL last fall ( at Lake Eufaula ), and it felt like that but times 10 better .
You won the All-American fishing points that pointed into either current or wind with a 3.8-inch Zoom Z- Swim on a 3 / 8- or 1 / 4-ounce jighead 2 to 3 feet above rocks of various sizes . You were really the only angler who stayed consistent with your weights . Do you know what it was about your pattern that made it so successful ?
During the first day of practice , I caught some really nice ones doing that ; then the rest of practice , I rode around doing the same stuff . Then in the early part of the tournament , I caught everything in different spots . Later on , I caught some on some random spots I hadn ’ t fished the first day . Then on the last day , I combined it all together .
To date , you ’ ve collected 15 Top-10 finishes plus five wins in 24 MLF events ( dating back to high school in 2018-19 ). That means you ’ re in the Top 10 62.5 % of the time and you win 20.8 % of the time . Those are mind-blowing stats . Can you put your finger on some things that have contributed to that amount of success in such a short time ?
I ’ ve fished since I could walk , and Dad took me to tournaments and traveled all over the country . I ’ m fortunate to have learned what I learned at such a young age , whether it ’ s fishing the ocean or fishing lakes all over the place . My dad and Mark Hardin took me fishing or went with me on the road , and they taught me a lot , like how to stay calm and stay focused .
Do you think you do anything differently than other anglers that helps you achieve these stats ? How would you describe your fishing style ?
I don ’ t know , not that I know of . I ’ m kind of a finesse power fisherman with bigger line sizes .
Your dad , Paul Sr ., owns Oakwood Bait & Tackle near Lake Lanier , so you ’ ve basically grown up around fishing , fishing tackle and one of the best spotted-bass lakes in the world . What are some key things you learned while growing up in that environment ?
[ Lake Lanier ] is big water with offshore fishing , and when forward-facing sonar came out , I was the first one on the lake using it . I ’ ve been using it since 2018 , and Lanier is the place to learn it . Emil Wagner and Matt O ’ Connell are also from Lanier . We don ’ t fish together , but we see each other all the time . We were mostly just competitors , and I guess we ’ re friends now , too .
You ’ ve been fishing since you were 3 years old with your dad . Are there any memories as a kid that stand out as key moments that pushed you in the direction of being a professional bass angler ?
Not really . I always liked to catch the biggest thing I could wherever I go . I try to catch big stuff . The biggest one was a grouper around 500 pounds , somewhere around there , down in Florida in May 2020 . You use a rope and really big lines to catch ones that big ; I used a 20-pound jack crevalle ( as bait ).
You made the High School National Championship your freshman year fishing for North Forsyth High School and then fished some more Nattys after that . Did you have any thoughts as a high schooler that you wanted to be a professional bass angler ?
I actually fished the National Championship all four years . At the time , I didn ’ t really think about being a pro . It all just happened while fishing some BFLs . I had success around the house , and I did the Savannah River Division and won the points there , then Regionals in Alabama , and then won the All-American – it all just happened so fast , it feels like it happened in a snap of the fingers . Now I fish all the time . I was just doing it all for fun , and now it ’ s turned into this . I love fishing . I don ’ t watch anything on YouTube or anything that has to do with fishing , I just love to go fishing .
Lake Lanier is on pretty much everybody ’ s spotted-bass bucket list these days . Do you think it ’ s the best spotted-bass fishery in the country ? And how has that fishery changed in your lifetime ?
Yeah , there ’ s nowhere close to it , and it takes 20 to 23 pounds of spotted bass all year round ( to win tournaments ). They have gotten bigger the last few years , but forward-facing sonar has helped , too , and there ’ s not really any secret spots anymore . But the fish have definitely gotten bigger the last few years , and nobody knows the answer to that .
Beside Lanier , where is your favorite place to fish and why ?
That ’ s a tough one , but it would be the Great Lakes – [ whatever is ] the next place I go to on the Great Lakes . I like going to new places on the Great Lakes where the fish have never seen a lure , like out in the middle somewhere where they ’ ve never seen baits or anything .
Looking at the long term , you ’ re only 23 years old , which is an age where most people are just figuring out what they ’ re going to do for a living . What are some of your longterm goals in the bass world , and do you have a game plan for getting there ( or are you just taking it one tournament at a time )?
I ’ m just trying to catch as many fish as I can and get as many sponsors as possible so that it makes sense financially to keep doing it .
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2024 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 73