Stetson Blaylock received some tragic news just before this tournament began. His father-in-law, Mike White, died after a sudden, non-Covid related illness. Blaylock didn’t consider driving back to Benton, Arkansas, because he knew his father-in-law wouldn’t have wanted that. Friday afternoon, just before check-in time, all his emotions flooded together when Blaylock landed an 8-pound, 7-ounce bass.
“I know he was looking down on me today,” Blaylock said. “This whole week I’ve been fishing with a heavy heart. I knew that he wanted me to be here. That big one is for him and his memory.”
Blaylock had already had a good day Friday when he decided to look for a bass on a spawning bed.
“I looked and looked and looked,” he said. “I fished for a couple but didn’t get them to bite. With about 20, maybe 25 minutes before I had to be in, I saw this 8-pounder on a bed. Usually it’s not like this, but this fish was ready to go and bit within the first few pitches. I caught that fish and immediately had to cull to make it in on time. It was just a crazy day.”
Blaylock started the day in 38th place after weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces, on Thursday. He’ll go into Day 3 of the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at the Harris Chain in 5th place after weighing the second biggest bag of the tournament, 23 pounds, 7 ounces.
Blaylock and his wife, Lindsey, started dating when they were 15 years old. He’s now 34, so he’d known Mike White for over half his life.
“It’s all the emotions, the memories,” said Blaylock, as he visibly tried to hold his emotions in check. “When I’m out there fishing, I can focus on the day. But as I get through, it all comes back to me. We were team partners and fished a lot of tournaments together. We deer hunted together. We spent a lot of time together. He was more than just a father-in-law to me. All of those emotions came back at one time. To not be home and tell him bye, it’s hard.”