A flood of memories came rushing back to me as confetti surrounded me and the Ray Scott Trophy when I won the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour in Fort Worth, Texas. I couldn’t help but to think back to the 2023 College Classic Bracket at Milford Lake and how much that tournament changed my life, and then thinking about how nothing in my life in the last 19 months would have happened without winning that tournament.
Everything has seemed so meant to be. There has been a plan set out for me by the Lord, and it has been pretty evident in multiple instances. It’s been pretty insane to live through the past two years.
Winning the Classic is definitely a dream come true. It is crazy how unreachable the Classic feels, even when I am one of the 56 anglers competing. But in Fort Worth, it got more and more real as the tournament went on. When my final weight flashed on the computer, it was a feeling of shock. After that, the memories started flooding back to me. It was almost a peaceful feeling.
I felt like I had reached the top of the mountain — from being in the hospital bed and then climbing and climbing from there to the apex of the sport. I was completely on top of the world, and it was peaceful in a sense. It will forever be one of the top moments of my life for sure.
I have come to realize and embrace my fishing identity. I have to keep changing, and I operate completely on the fly.
When you have that gut feeling to leave and do something else, you have to act on it immediately. There is a reason you get the feeling that something isn’t right. It doesn’t matter where you go or what you change, something has to happen. That is the biggest thing I’ve learned in the last four years. If something feels off, something has to change and you have to do it immediately. The quicker you make that change, the longer you’ll have to make the correct adjustment.
Several of those instinctive decisions made a big difference at Lake Ray Roberts.
Lake Ray Roberts was unique for me in a couple ways though. Normally during practice, I put the boat in the water and there is no telling where I will end up at the end of the day. But this time was a little bit different with the weather conditions. The wind was so intense. I was watching the forecast by the hour and trying to base practice on what the wind will be doing during the tournament. I had to plan out my practice a little more than I normally do. I knew based on the wind forecast for the tournament, I was only going to be able to hit a couple of key areas. I tried to plan it out in that sense.
Day 1 was unique as well, again because of the strong winds. Only one of my areas was out of the wind. It was almost a blessing though, because it made me lock in to an area for a whole day. That’s not how I operate; I usually bounce all over the place. It worked out, for sure, because I caught a 3 something and a 6 1/2 early in the morning. I wanted to leave so bad, but I was seeing just enough activity and just enough fish to make me stay. I had eight bites and landed six of them for almost 25 pounds. It was mentally trying, but it allowed me to save my other areas and break them down the rest of the week.
Every day, the fish population would shift a little. It would be colder in the mornings, so the bass would start deeper, and as the day went on they would shift into the pockets. I was running hard-bottom areas in 5 to 10 feet of water. The lake is obviously a forest, but there was only a small percentage of trees I was interested in.
Going out Day 2, I wanted to start where I caught them on Day 1 because I had a couple giant bass follow my stuff and not eat. I had to go see if they were still there, and sure enough they were gone. I did catch two bass, but before long I got the feeling that what I was doing wasn’t right. So I pulled the trolling motor and left for my other area. I got settled in and it was fireworks after that. I left that area about noon with around 28 pounds.
At that point, I had done my job and then some. I went practicing the rest of the day. I wanted to find more places I could go the final day. I upgraded one more time with a 5-pounder and saw a bunch of big ones I didn’t even throw at. It was a huge confidence boost being able to experience that productive practice in the afternoon.
Where I caught that 5-pounder is where I started Championship Sunday morning, and I only saw one bass and I couldn’t get it to bite. I got out of there pretty quickly and went to where I caught them on Day 2. Lee Livesay and Ben Milliken were also in the area as well as a bunch of spectator boats. There was so much commotion, so I went to the back of the pocket. When I worked my way out, the bass all of a sudden showed up. I caught a 4-pounder and lost a 7-pounder, and as soon as that flurry started it, it shut down. It was a big mental hurdle to get over losing that 7-pounder. I thought for a brief period I had lost the Classic, but I know better than to sit there and dwell on it.
The entire day was mentally trying. I was seeing big ones all day long, but I just couldn’t get them to bite. There is this golden rule of fishing: You don’t leave fish to find fish. I break that rule all of the time. I’m always leaving fish to go find other ones. I’m trying to pick off the easy ones. If they make me really work for them, I’ll go find an easy one somewhere else. That is what I had to do on Day 3. I left where I caught them Day 2 and went where I caught them Day 1 and caught three more keepers. I was seeing nice bass, but they weren’t acting right. I knew I was looking at the winning fish, but I got a gut feeling that I needed to leave and check a new zone. I felt like I was drowning in that area, and I couldn’t get things going. I was faced with a decision: Do I go back to where I caught them Day 2 or do I go to the new area where I started the morning?
My gut told me to go to the new area, so that is where I went and I caught that 8-pounder. Always follow your gut and never second guess it.
