I’m in! In for my 14th Bassmaster Classic that is – and I couldn’t be happier.
I just finished my 20th season on the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, and I was fishing the Bassmaster Tour before that. My first Bassmaster Classic was in 2005 at Pittsburgh. Making a Bassmaster Classic is always a special occurrence.
I’ve missed the past couple, and it seems to be getting a little harder to make them now. It’s not necessarily because of the competition, because it’s always been a real accomplishment. I think it’s because as we age, our lives become more complex.
In the early days of my career, I could make that my sole focus. As Sonja and I have had the kids, and my business of Missile Baits has grown, it put a different level of perspective on things. It means I have a more well-rounded life and makes each and every Classic that much more special.
I left the last event at La Crosse this season pretty disappointed I hadn’t reached my goal. I had fished well most of the season, but a bomb at Lake Tenkiller and a few things throughout the year left me the first man out of the cut for the 2026 Bassmaster Classic in Knoxville, Tenn.
I had a media event I went to for SEVIIN reels. As I was driving there from La Crosse, I analyzed each event and each mistake, whether a decision or execution I should have done something different on. I started wondering if I was going to be able to compete at that level again.
Then Emil Wagner won the Lake Champlain Bassmaster Elite Qualifier event, and he became a double qualifier. So I made it into the field – I was jacked up.
I also realized I was being a little hard on myself. I fish in the toughest league in the sport with the most events to fish in a year, and I accomplished the goal I had set for myself at the beginning of the year.
Yes, it took some help from other anglers, but I put myself in the position to benefit from that. I realized I am competitive. I’m really looking forward to being in Knoxville in March as a competitor and not only being in the show.
I’ve got a great team that will handle everything on the show floor for Missile Baits, and I get to go chase that dream of being a Bassmaster Classic champion.
While being in the Classic field doesn’t change my timeframe for preparing for the season — we still start in February at Lake Guntersville — it certainly does add another layer of excitement to the preparation at the end of the year.
