Alec Morrison hoists a hard-earned $ 50,000 check after a tremendous season . His average finish of 8.67 is the best by an angler on the Invitationals / Pro Circuit since Bryan Thrift in 2010 .
PHOTO BY JODY WHITE hen the final bell dismissed students from his high school each afternoon , Alec Morrison didn ’ t go to sports team practice or rehearsal for a band or play . He didn ’ t hang out with friends . Often , he admits , he didn ’ t even do his homework .
Instead , Morrison ’ s mom dumped his boat into Lake Champlain , a few miles from his home in Peru , New York . Just about every day the weather allowed it , Morrison would fish until it got too dark to see , then stow his rods and spend the next several hours idling back and forth , graphing .
“ I would just go out there and literally fish until dark ,” Morrison said . “ I spent a lot of nights fishing until dark and then graphing until like 3 a . m .”
For Morrison , that was his practice , his rehearsal . He ’ s been obsessed with catching bass for as long as he can remember , and since about age 10 , all he ’ s wanted was to fish for a living .
He ’ s off to a heck of a start . During his debut season touring nationally , Morrison won both the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year and Polaris Rookie of the Year titles for the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals , earning $ 50,000 , a new Polaris UTV and a berth in REDCREST 2025 . He also qualified to join the Bass Pro Tour next season .
The 25-year-old ’ s rapid rise to the top level of the sport might seem like it came out of nowhere . But those who observed Morrison ’ s work ethic , his electronics mastery and his innate understanding of bass behavior as a teenager have seen this coming for a while .
“ Everybody just saw the fire in his eye , the passion , the focus level at a very young age ,” said Bud Cipoletti , a fellow Champlain local who served as an early mentor to Morrison . “ And we all saw it coming , basically , his ascent to success .”
Morrison admires his 2024 AOY and ROY trophies .
Chasing his dream
Like most anglers , Morrison got his start fishing from the bank . Growing up on the shores of Champlain , one of his favorite spots was Point Au Roche State Park , where he ’ d occasionally run into FLW Tour or Bassmaster Elite Series pros on practice days and ask them questions . Once he found out it was possible to make a living traveling to the best bass fisheries in the country and competing in tournaments , he knew what he wanted to do for a career .
PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA
44 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2024