When Brandon McMillan of Clewiston, Fla., won the final Bassmaster Southern Open of 2015 at Lake Seminole, he got a twofer. He earned a birth to the 2016 Bassmaster Classic, and he qualified for the vaunted Bassmaster Elite Series by finishing first in the Southern Opens' AOY standings.
McMillan grew up in Belle Glade, Fla., a short cast from Lake Okeechobee. He credits his father, Jimmy, for getting him hooked on fishing. McMillan was 5 or 6 years old the first time they fished a bass tournament together.
“Fishing was pretty much all I did growing up,” McMillan said.
By the time McMillan was 10 years old, he had fished in a dozen or so bass tournaments with his father. Ten years passed before he competed in another one. McMillan fished regularly during that span, but mainly in saltwater.
“My dad was more into saltwater then,” McMillan said. “We lived an hour from either coast and fished for snook and redfish almost every weekend.”
Those saltwater outings proved to be good training for bass fishing because the McMillan’s fished from a bass boat and cast topwater plugs and other artificial lures with baitcasting tackle.
After McMillan graduated from Santa Fe State College in Gainsville, Fla., with a two-year associate degree, he returned to Belle Glade and got back into bass fishing on Lake Okeechobee. This prompted his father to join him.
“My dad was my team partner or years,” McMillan said.
McMillan’s younger brothers, Jarred and Dillon, eventually took his place in his father’s bass boat.
During this phase, McMillan became a UPS driver, bought his own bass boat and began fishing bass tournaments in earnest. Lake Okeechobee’s dense grass beds allowed McMillan to perfect the punching technique that he used to win the Seminole Bassmaster Open.
When McMillan pitches a heavy 1 1/4- to 1 1/2-ounce punch weight to thick grass, his Texas rigged bait softly kisses the surface without making a splash.
“If the bait splashes going in, it spooks the bass before it has a chance to eat,” McMillan said.
He claims that the soft tip on his 7-foot, 11-inch flipping rod allows him to land heavy punch baits quietly. McMillan’s subtle pitching presentation often pays off when he fishes tournaments on lakes that don’t have grass.
“You can pretty well catch them flipping around docks and laydowns anywhere,” McMillan said.
Other lures in McMillan’s wheelhouse include spinnerbaits, crankbaits and swimbaits.
In 2009 McMillan watched his father weigh-in the winning catch at an FLW Tour event on Lake Okeechobee. Two years later, McMillan’s father watched his son claim first place at another FLW Tour tournament on Okeechobee.
“My dad passed away the following year,” McMillan said.
McMillan now lives in Clewiston, Fla., with his wife, Brianna, which puts him even closer to Okeechobee. Brianna has one semester left to finish a psych degree. The couple celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary during the Southern Open that McMillan won at Lake Seminole.
As much as McMillan would love to fish the Elite Series, he was financially unable to do so in 2016. However, he will be fishing the Southern Opens again in 2016, so the Elite Series may still be in his future.