Matty Wong qualified for the Elite Series by being the 2021 B.A.S.S. Nation champion. His history of professional level B.A.S.S. tournaments is short. It includes only two other events – a 73rd-place finish in the Southern Open at Lake Kissimmee earlier this month and a 21st-place finish in his first Elite Series event – at the St. Johns River last week.
Wong is one of a 10-member rookie class on the Elite Series this season. Only one rookie finished better than Wong at St. Johns – Mayasuki Matsushita, who was third. Many of his fellow rookies, including Matsushita, struggled on the Harris Chain yesterday. Wong did too. He finished in 91st place with a limit weighing only 6 pounds, 8 ounces. Wong is having a better day. He caught the 3-pounder pictured here at 11:26 and added a 2 1/2-pounder minutes before, giving him a 10-pound, 4-ounce limit that has him in 75th place on BassTrakk at 12:30.