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JORDAN HIRT
2022 TBF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PROPELLED IOWA NATIVE TO BURGEONING BASS-FISHING CAREER
Jordan Hirt
As recently as 2021 , Jordan Hirt felt far away — literally and figuratively — from his hope of fishing professionally . If the Iowa native wanted to enter anything resembling a major tournament , he had to drive about three hours to Lake Okoboji or six-plus to the Mississippi River . Competing in TBF events required crossing state lines and joining the Nebraska chapter .
Less than three years later , Hirt is preparing to start his second season traveling to some of the top fisheries in the country through the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals . And coming off a 24th-place finish in the points and three top- 20s during his rookie season , the 32-year-old figures to be a legitimate contender for Angler of the Year and Bass Pro Tour qualification .
Hirt ’ s big break came when he won the 2022 TBF National Championship on Lake Conroe by sacking up 47 pounds , 1 ounce across three days . The Living Your Dream prize package , which included entry fees for the 2023 Invitationals season , allowed the self-described “ bass fishing nerd ” to do just that . Prior to the start of the 2024 campaign , Hirt reflected on his rapid rise and explained how he ’ s kept his momentum rolling while fishing much farther from home .
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2024 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM
Q . How much tournament fishing were you doing before your National Championship run ?
A . “ My problem , being from Iowa , was we didn ’ t have an Iowa TBF-affiliated club ( prior to 2023 ). So I spent my time running around lake to lake in Iowa and just fishing basically every weekend when I didn ’ t have to work — all the weekend series tournaments , club tournaments , opens , stuff like that . The year that I won ( the National Championship ) was the second year that I had entered into the TBF of Nebraska , and that year ended up being a good year setup-wise for me . I went down and fished the Nebraska state tournament on Lake of the Ozarks , and I ended up winning that tournament , which qualified me to fish the ( National Semi-Finals District 8 championship ). Nebraska hosted the tournament that year , and they put it on an Iowa lake , which was Lake Okoboji . And I ended up winning the regional tournament , which qualified me for the nationals on Lake Conroe . And I went down and practiced my three days , which was just the official practice — I wasn ’ t able to go down prior to the official practice — and found some good fish and wound up winning the national championship .”
Q . At that point , was a touring career on your radar at all ?
A . “ Oh yeah , absolutely . I was the nerd in high school who carried around the FLW magazine and was obsessed with bass fishing since I can remember . But being in Iowa , I basically just cut my teeth fishing local events in south central Iowa and Okoboji and some of the lakes that were a little bit closer to home — which , still , I think our closest lake is like an hour , hour and a half away .”
Q . When you won the National Championship and earned paid entry fees into the circuit of your choice , did you feel confident you could hang fishing a national schedule and competing on the Invitationals ?
A . “ The win at Conroe was a huge boost of confidence . I had jumped out of the Iowa circuit a little bit and went down and fished a couple opens on Grand Lake and the Ozarks , and prior to Conroe , we didn ’ t do so hot when we would leave the state . But once I got to Conroe , I had kind of dialed in a little bit better on my electronics and all the different techniques and whatnot , so I felt more confident going in . But yeah , the win on Conroe was definitely a confidence booster that I felt like I could compete outside of my state .”
Q . So Lake of the Ozarks and then Conroe were your first two big wins outside of Iowa . Was there something that clicked that led to that success on lakes you weren ’ t as familiar with ?
A . “ I think my biggest deal was just really dialing in on fish movements and what they do in different weather conditions , whether they ’ re relating to the bottom or up off the bottom . That year and a couple years prior to the TBF wins that I had , I really honed in on some of that , and instead of fishing spots was fishing for fish , whether I was finding them on side imaging or LiveScope . It was that adjustment versus , oh , this is normally a good spot , we ’ re going to spend the whole day fishing this one piece of cover , live or die by it . Making quicker decisions when things were not working out has helped with my success in the last few years .”
Q . I ’ m sure Okeechobee was a really intimidating place to start on the Invitationals , and
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