I’d had a solid career in tournament fishing before joining the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series last year, but the start of my first season on the Elites was brutal. I missed the cut in the first five tournaments I fished before closing out the year with four in a row. I ended the season with solid momentum leading into 2026, and it felt good to have confidence back out on the water.
Furthermore, that rough Elite beginning made me realize more than ever that my life was off kilter. It started during the Opens in 2024. I’d put so much into the sport for so long, pushing everything else out of my life, and it finally came to a head in 2024 and 2025. I love bass fishing, and I’m extremely thankful that I get to fish for a living, but I had spent too long with fishing at the top of my priority list. I needed to take a step back and get my life together. Once I reorganized my priorities to put my faith in God first, family second and my career third, that’s when I got back on track and began having fun on the water again.
When things are going poorly on the water, the stress and problems tend to snowball very quickly. The lucky ones among us realize that if you don’t get in gear quickly you’ll lose that precious opportunity to compete. Believe me, I know that it’s easy to get knocked off the tour and hard to get back in. But I also know that it’s critical to maintain balance.
There’s a bigger picture, outside of just blue trophies and Classic qualifications. That point was driven home to me during many bad tournament weeks. I remember specifically last year at Lake Hartwell, I was at my lowest point and felt like a complete failure, when a fan came out of nowhere at the service yard just to say hello and thanked me for being me. I was so blown away, and he obviously had no idea the mental state that I was in (or maybe he did), but that moment made me realize that the platform I have been blessed with is way more about being connected with people and hopefully having a positive impact along the way. The trophies will come when they are meant to as long as I keep things in perspective and keep the right attitude. I truly believe that.
Since I’ve gotten my life on the proper path, maintaining the priorities I listed before has become my most important goal. As this season started, I had extra motivation as my wife, Shelby, and I were expecting our first child. Now I have a family to support. That’s something to be thankful for, too. When I was 24, running around fishing 30 tournaments a year with few responsibilities and no possessions other than a boat and a truck, it was different, and truly it was easier. But I wouldn’t trade what I have now for the world. I wasn’t always a good friend, and I wasn’t the best version of me. I’d pushed out everything in my life except time on the water, and eventually that was going to be a recipe for disaster. When I had a bad day, it felt like the end of the world. I just needed to grow up, and I feel like my potential now is higher than ever before.
While it was a tough period in my life, I’m thankful every day that I went through it. I am who I am today because I went through that struggle. Life is all about learning how to grow in the valleys and appreciate the times when you are on top. I don’t have to be perfect. I just have to maintain my priorities and try to get a little better every day, both on and off the water. There will always be new hurdles to get over, but as long as I keep my perspective none of them are insurmountable. It’s also important to remember those fans who lifted me up — it’s a huge reminder that B.A.S.S. has provided us with a big stage, and everything we do, both good and bad, is highly visible.
I am extremely thankful for each and every day that I get to be a part of this sport, and I just pray that I can do the best I can with the opportunities in front of me.
