My goal for this year’s Bassmaster Elite Series was to qualify for the 2026 Bassmaster Classic. My dad, Stephen’s, goal was to return to the Elite Series via the Bassmaster Opens and the Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers. We hope to someday be fishing the Elite Series at the same time.
Poor performances at the end of the Elite season prevented me from making the Classic. My dad fared better and qualified for the EQs.
As an Elite Series angler, I’m allowed to fish the EQs without participating in the Opens. I decided to do so because I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to fish tournaments with my dad, to travel with him, room with him and work together as a team.
I also saw it as a way to keep the rust off and stay sharp for next year’s Elite Series. I normally spend the offseason in the deer woods and playing golf.
Since I had failed to qualify for the Classic, fishing the EQs would give me another shot at earning an invite to bass fishing’s biggest show. If you win an EQ, you’re in the Classic.
Lake Champlain
The first EQ at Champlain was weird. Even though I roomed with dad, he couldn’t tell me what he had found in practice. Champlain is on the Elite schedule next year. Once the schedule is announced, the rules prohibit Elite pros from getting information from non-Elite anglers.
I could tell my dad what I had found, but he couldn’t reciprocate. We were walking on eggshells. It made for some unusually quiet nights at the motel.
My dad did poorly, finishing 93rd. At a place like Champlain, where heavy limits prevail, it’s hard to make up ground when you have a bad start. Even worse, his odds for making the Elites practically vanished after his first day of fishing the EQs.
I did better, landing in 52nd place. I chose not to employ forward-facing sonar (FFS) and chase suspended bass in the middle of the lake. I did that to better prepare myself for the Elite event at Champlain next year, which is a non-FFS tournament.
I’m very proud of how I did at Champlain. I’m almost certain that if FFS had not been in play, I would have finished much higher.
Wheeler Lake
We really enjoyed the next EQ at Wheeler. It’s not on the Elite Series schedule next year, so dad and I were able to share information. We hadn’t done that for years.
Both of us previously fished a few tournaments at Wheeler but really didn’t have a ton of experience there. We approached the lake as if it were new to us and worked to figure it out on the fly.
We started in practice trying off-the-wall stuff. But we soon returned to our shallow-water roots. We ended up fishing different sneaky creeks with squarebills, ChatterBaits and flipping. It was really cool to see the two of us put our heads together and dissect that place.
My dad had a great event and nabbed eighth place. I finished 37th.
Lake Okeechobee
The final EQ is at Lake Okeechobee. We’ve both had success there in the past. The best fishing always seems to go down in limited places in much larger areas.
We’ve had our best luck putting the trolling motor down in one section of the lake and dissecting it to find the productive niches. We’re both super excited to fish there and to see how it plays out.
