After a two-year absence from professional angling, Massachusetts pro Byron “BJ” Haseotes will return to Bassmaster competition this week at the first Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open of the year on Virginia’s James River. Haseotes lost his 16-month-old daughter Evangelina (“Evi”) in January 2012 after she underwent a grueling round of surgeries and setbacks that would test any family.
Despite his long hiatus from professional competition, Haseotes is grateful to his sponsors – companies like Skeeter, Yamaha, Lucky Craft and Gulf Oil – for remaining by his side during his family’s horrific ordeal. “I want to thank them for waiting it out with me,” he said. “You can’t ask for anything more than that.”
“I want to win but I’m happy just to be back here on the water, regardless of whether I finish first or last,” Haseotes said. His wrapped tow vehicle and empty trailer will be a familiar sight at tournament launch sites this year as he puts in sun up to sundown practice sessions to conquer the steep learning curve for an angler raised fishing the “ponds” of Massachusetts. “I have trouble getting off the water,” he confided.
Although Haseotes has not previously fished the James River, he has substantial experience interpreting the behavior of tidal water fish – mostly in the saltwater near his Cape Cod home. As the back of his Vineyard Vines t-shirt indicates, he carries that saltwater experience with him on tour.
Each practice day starts with a call home to his wife, Tiffany, and son, Byron III. Haseotes comes from a tight-knit, Greek-American family, one of six children, all of them still living in Massachusetts. He’s considered moving south to be closer to the majority of the B.A.S.S. tournament lakes, but noted that he needs to stay close to the relatives he considers his closest friends. Another possible solution? “Maybe the whole family could move,” he suggested.
After losing his infant daughter, this is BJ’s first road trip to a fishing tournament. As such, he finds it hard to say goodbye on his early morning call home. Since Evi’s death, he’s become even more protective of his young son.
Even though the northeast is often considered finesse fishing territory, Haseotes favors the techniques honed on southern impoundments. “I love flipping and pitching and power fishing,” he said. “I’m a ball of energy, always moving.” Heavy tackle techniques may dominate this week, but if the bite gets tough, he won’t be afraid to pull out the spinning tackle to eke out critical bites.
As a pro who wasn’t raised in a bass fishing family from birth, and who didn’t fish his first tournament until he was nearly 20, Haseotes feels that he has a lot of catching up to do. He likened his single year on the Bassmaster Elite Series to a college education in competitive angling. Now he seeks to utilize every little trick in the book to turn a rough start into a long-term career.
In the rear compartment of his Skeeter — his office on the water — Haseotes carries a Ziploc® bag with family pictures. Some show his father, others show his daughter Evi, lost too soon. “We named her ‘Evangelina,’” he said. “If you take off the ‘E’ and the ‘V’ at the beginning and the ‘I-N-A” at the end, it leaves you with ‘Angel.’ That’s how I think of her, as my angel.”
Haseotes poses with a stocky James River bass. Last year, it took an average of just over 14 pounds a day to win the Northern Open on the James and over 10 pounds a day to make the Top 10. He’ll need to have at least one quality kicker like this a day to contend for the title and the Bassmaster Classic spot that comes with it.
