After a couple of weeks to reflect, winning the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Clarks Hill Reservoir presented by SEVIIN has started to sink in, but the idea that I will be fishing the 2026 Bassmaster Classic at the Tennessee River hasn’t settled in yet.
The Classic is such a surreal thing. Fishing the Opens, qualifying for the Bassmaster Elite Series is the goal, but making the Classic still seems like a long shot. The fact I made it won’t sink in probably until I start official practice. I think it will be in my wheelhouse. There will be a lot of cranking and shallow fishing I believe.
Clarks Hill was a tournament I was really excited about, but I didn’t think I could win it just because of the guys who were fishing it — like Paul Marks and Emil Wagner. Those blueback herring guys are so talented, and there are so many niche techniques for catching those herring fish. But my strong suit is highland reservoirs, and Clarks Hill checked some of those characteristics. Now, getting to look at that piece of tournament hardware is a good reminder I can be competitive in the Opens.
In middle school and high school, my dad and I traveled down to the Pasquotank River in North Carolina from our house in Virginia Beach to fish tournaments. The first tournament I ever won with my dad was there, and that was when it only took 14 to 15 pounds to win there. High school fishing wasn’t as established where I was, but then I went to Auburn and started with the College Series.
The first Classic that made an impression on me though was the 2015 event at Lake Hartwell that Casey Ashley won. It was the first Classic I ever attended. To that point, I had never thought about making the Classic, but attending and seeing the boats being pulled through the arena put in perspective how big it is.
Jordan Lee winning at Lake Conroe also had a big impact on me. My path led me to Auburn University and watching him — someone who was on the same path — made me realize going to the Classic and being an Elite angler is actually achievable.
I chose Auburn because I wanted a couple different things. The high school I went to was a small private school, so I wanted to go to a big university with a good business program and a fishing team. Jordan being an alumnus definitely had some influence in me choosing Auburn for sure.
As a student-run club, Auburn really helped me learn how to prepare for an event on and off the water. I learned how to travel and how to go to an event for a week, practice and learn lakes you’ve never been on.
Learning how to travel is huge. There are a lot of little things you don’t realize until you do it. For example, plugging in the boat and looking for hotels with good lighting as well as good parking for the boat. Also, changing when things don’t go well and how to adapt to and overcome adversity.
The realization I could potentially fish in the Opens happened during my junior year and continued into my senior year. I really started to fish a lot more those two seasons and practiced harder. While I did everything I could to prepare, it really wasn’t until my last event of my first EQ season in 2023 I felt I could really be competitive.
My first year I had a terrible season. I made so many mistakes, and the talent of the field surprised me. Looking back at it I’m not even sure I was ready to go into the Opens when I graduated. I was behind on my electronics skills.
With this now being my third year on the Opens, I think I’m better now than I ever have been. My last couple of tournaments have started to prove that.
Now that I’m Classic qualified, I’m trying to decide how I will approach the rest of the season. I’m not sure if I’ll just fish for points or try to keep winning. Regardless, I need to work on my consistency and continue to work on my weaknesses.
