“ he does not allow outside influence to get in his mind .”
But as badly as Nelson wanted to hoist the AOY trophy , he didn ’ t spend the last day of the season glued to the live stream . He didn ’ t even find out about the dramatic final hour – which saw each of the top five finishers in the event , plus a few other anglers , nearly miss weigh in due to barge traffic in a lock – until Voyles called him . At the time , it seemed a real possibility that , should the group arrive late and fall to the bottom of the standings , it would push Neal above Nelson in the points . Nelson never gave that possibility much thought .
“ I ’ m a Christian , and I believe everything comes from the Lord above , and everything I do belongs to Him ,” Nelson explained . “ So if I ’ m supposed to take home that title , then I ’ m going to take that title home , and I ’ m okay with it . And if I ’ m supposed to show up and shake Michael ’ s hand and him take it home to his family , then I ’ m okay with it . So I didn ’ t even watch any of the coverage at all .”
That ’ s the other side of Nelson ’ s personality that Lowitzki believes sets him apart . On the water , he ’ s as intense as anyone . But at the end of a day or a tournament , he doesn ’ t let things linger . His mind doesn ’ t get muddled with what-ifs or worries about what other anglers are doing . He ’ s mastered the oft-repeated fishing axiom of controlling what he can control and not worrying about the rest .
“ He does not allow outside interference to get in his mind ,” Lowitzki said . “ He does a lot of homework , no doubt , a lot of research . But he ’ s absolutely not one of these guys that will call people and say , ‘ Hey , have you ever fished Clarks Hill ? What ’ s going on ?’”
ready for the next step
In addition to his trophy , Nelson ’ s stellar season earned him a spot in REDCREST 2024 and a promotion to the Bass Pro Tour . For many pros , it might seem like a no-brainer to make the jump to the BPT with its increased exposure for sponsors . But Nelson took a couple months after the season to mull his options . He ’ d said no to the Bass Pro Tour once before , following his 2020 AOY win .
Like many of his peers , when Lowitzki heard that Nelson still wasn ’ t sold on joining the BPT this time around , he was incredulous . But the more he thought about it , Lowitzki realized that ’ s perfectly Nelson . He truly doesn ’ t care what other people think , and he believes that , wherever he decides to fish , he ’ s going to catch ‘ em well enough to earn a living .
“ He believes in himself so much that he knows that if he doesn ’ t want to fish next year on the BPT , he ’ ll be able to fish again the following year ,” Lowitzki said . “ He doesn ’ t care about celebrity-ism .”
This time , however , Nelson has decided to take the leap ; he ’ s committed to fishing the Bass Pro Tour in 2024 . The timing is better for him and his wife than it was three years ago , and he believes the five-fish-limit format — which the BPT adopted in 2023 — suits his style better than every fish counts .
After all , Nelson isn ’ t going to be happy just to have a spot on the top circuit . His goals will be just as lofty . He believes he ’ ll be better equipped to achieve them thanks to his experiences this year — the not-so-fun ones , in particular . He proved that , even when things didn ’ t break his way , he could overcome any adversity by staying true to his positive , persistent mindset .
“ I think that day on Eufaula toughened my skin up a lot ,” Nelson said . “ It definitely solidified my character . … A great angler , if you ’ re fully committed with your full heart into what you ’ re doing , when you get jousted , you feel it . You bleed . And so I just felt like it ’ ll make me a much better angler this next year and going forward , because I ’ m like , hey , I can handle this .”
“ he does not allow outside influence to get in his mind .”
— Richard Lowitzki
PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA
48 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2023