Who’ll it be? The three pros on our cover — Brandon Lester, Kyoya Fujita and Paul Marks — certainly have a shot. Or, maybe one of the favorites listed on page 15. The best way to find out is to follow the action all week at Bassmaster.com.
There are still times that I can’t believe that I actually won the Bassmaster Classic. It’s something that I dreamed about since I fished my first tournament at 10 years old. But until you’re standing on that stage and the scales are closed, it’s hard to truly understand how much it will change your life in ways both big and small.
The Classic victory definitely helped me on the sponsorship side, maybe not as much as it did in the early days of the sport, but it was still a needed boost. It also gave me a lasting achievement to hang my hat on. If you Google me, all of the top results feature something along the lines of “2023 Classic champion.” I like that, but I also like the little moments, such as when I’m driving down the interstate and people are waving at me and screaming like crazy people because they know who I am.
Of course, I feel like my victory had special meaning because I was the first Canadian and second international angler to accomplish the feat. That year was the first Classic to feature four Canadians, and any time you can do something before Chris Johnston does it, you need to be extra proud.
That week, a lot of Canadians came down for the entire event, and it seemed like more of them kept on trickling in all week. Some guy from southern Ontario rented a building, and they called it “Canada House.” It was pretty wild. I finally made it there late Sunday night … to finish the celebration.
In hindsight, it seems like it was a dream, but I know that I put in the time. You don’t get to the Classic, and you definitely don’t win one, by accident. To fish the Elites from where I live is a project. The closest one I’ve ever competed in was 9 1/2 hours from home. But the bottom line is that I love to fish. When I come home in between tournaments, I’m on the water as much as I can be. Even my friend and traveling partner Jason Christie can’t believe it. There’s just nowhere I’d rather be than here in Ontario, chasing anything that swims.
On Day 3 of my Classic win, I thought I might end up going home with my tail between my legs. On Friday and Saturday, I’d caught a limit of smallmouth fairly early each day, but on Sunday, I could only muster two. Lucky for me, it’s a tough place to fish. Still, I had an hour-long drive back to the dock, and the whole way I couldn’t stop thinking that I’d blown the best chance that I’d ever have.
I knew it was going to be close, but I still had to play the waiting game. It was absolutely brutal. But then I was on the stage with Dave Mercer. In another full-circle moment, Dave was the person who brought me up on stage at my first seminar years earlier in Winnipeg. Then Jason, who’d won the year before, handed over the trophy. I’ve watched it back a number of times, and I didn’t jump; I didn’t scream. I’m not sure that the win fully registered at that time. Still, all of the little factors that came together made it seem like it was meant to be.
The thing that I remember most is the Champion’s Toast that B.A.S.S. holds for the winner. I don’t know how many people crammed into that room, but it seemed like a who’s who of the fishing world, along with half of Canada — and all of their attention was on me. That’s what I tried to convey to Easton Fothergill when he won last year: Enjoy this moment, and the next couple of hours, because it’s the purest form of joy and achievement that an angler can experience.
It’s only been three years since I won the Classic, and a lot has changed in our sport in that relatively short amount of time. I was 40 years old when I won, but our last two winners were representative of a new generation. Easton was only 22. I don’t hold any grudges toward them for some of my struggles since then. I just need to catch more and bigger fish and I won’t have any problems. The other thing that’s changed is that you can’t have a bad day on tour. Weights that might have had you barely in the cut five or six years ago will put you in 80th or worse today.
What hasn’t changed is that the Bassmaster Classic is still our sport’s pinnacle event. I will watch from the sidelines this year as a fan of the sport and a passionate competitor. I’ve been there before, and I know that the winner’s life will change in ways he can’t yet comprehend.
