Winning a Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series event is something I have always dreamed about doing, and achieving that goal at the Lippert Bassmaster Elite at Lake Martin was amazing. Now that I have that trophy, it doesn’t seem real. Every time I walk by it, I do a double-take and need to remind myself it is actually mine.
Securing that first win in my home state of Alabama was particularly special. My fishing partner from high school and his family were there to watch it. My whole family and my girlfriend were able to share the moment with me. There were hundreds of people there who knew who I was just from competing against them. It was cool because there were so many people cheering for me who already knew me.
As I looked at the crowd after I won, I saw my mom, dad and girlfriend all crying, and that moment will stick with me for a long time. Then I saw Gerald and LeAnn Swindle, and they were both crying, and I had never seen ‘G’ cry before. That cluster of people being there and rooting for me was awesome.
Coming into my rookie year, I knew the first two events at Lake Guntersville and Lake Martin would be my best chance at winning a trophy this season, just because I had spent so much time on both fisheries. Guntersville didn’t go as planned, but I knew I had to go into Martin and not think about that event.
After my pre-practice, the bass were set up how I wanted them. Then, I had a perfect practice essentially. They were doing exactly what I wanted them to be doing. I just had to catch them and land them.
The spotted bass were getting really close to spawning. The males were up super shallow getting ready, and the females were right behind them. A largemouth might stage way out, but spotted bass will be close behind the male and a lot of times they’ll pair up and then go to spawn. It was easy for me to find bucks because I knew the females were not far behind.
Day 1 was a lot tougher than I expected, and I tried to force the largemouth into biting a little too much. After catching 11 pounds, I thought I was going to be way down the standings. I ended up in 15th, so I knew I still had a shot, but I needed some big bags. I wasn’t sure winning would be entirely possible, but I also had a feeling I could catch 14 pounds of spotted bass if I focused on that all day.
I started the second day trying to chase largemouth again, and it wasn’t happening. At that point, I knew I needed to run new water. So, I ran to a pocket I have never fished in my life and within 10 minutes, I caught 13 pounds. They were everywhere, and they were all big. The third day I pulled in there and had almost 15 in a matter of 12 minutes. I knew if anyone stumbled, I had a shot if the bass stayed put.
My daily totals increased every day. On Lake Martin, it is easy to stall out at 9 pounds. So, after I caught 12 pounds each day, I just trolled around until I saw what I thought was a bigger bass. I picked and chose which bass I wanted to throw at instead of throwing at every single bass.
The most important fish I caught all week was at the end of the third day. I stopped at one spot in Wind Creek close to takeoff. I made one cast and caught a 3 1/4-pounder, which got me over 14 pounds. I knew I put myself in a position to win after catching that one. Without that bass, it would have been really close.
I’m not sure what it is about the dice-style bait that spotted bass love, but it is something you absolutely have to have in your arsenal at any spotted bass fishery. I went into it knowing I could catch some on it. I figured I could catch the same quality on a Neko rig, but they were not wanting to go all the way to the bottom with the Neko rig. They were slow and lethargic. There was something about the dice bite, though, that they liked.
It was sunny for three of the four days of the tournament, and I tried to position myself in a way where my shadow wasn’t casting in front of my boat and where I was trying to put my bait. The bass can see your shadow from a mile away, so trying to keep my shadows off the bass was super important, especially the ones I was trying to look for with my eyes up shallow. I also went with the wind, so the waves weren’t slapping against my boat.
Essentially, I wanted to get my bait to the bass before they saw me or heard me.
The final day, we had a decent amount of rain, and I figured it would move the fish a little bit. And it did, they weren’t nearly as shallow. I had to back out a little bit and catch them a little deeper. I also knew I would have to absolutely smash them, because the weather set up perfectly for Brock Mosley to land some big largemouth.
Winning this tournament got me back in the points race after leaving Guntersville with a 65th-place finish. I still have a shot at Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year and Pro Guide Bassmaster Rookie of the Year, so I’m going to swing for the fences. I’m going to try and win another one and win AOY and ROY.
I’m going for it all. Why not? I’m going to fish my heart out and see how it goes.
