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Vehicles are parked in most garages but not here. This garage is the Man Cave for Bassmaster Elite Series pro Ott DeFoe. On the upper level and to the left is another garage. You might call it the Woman Cave for Jennie DeFoe, a wife and busy mother of three children.
All captions: Craig Lamb
Photo: Craig Lamb
Downstairs in the Man Cave you will find DeFoe. The East Tennessean is into the “offseason.” That begins with unpacking and unwinding from the tournament trail.
Photo: Craig Lamb
Parked side by side are the better of two worlds for bass fishing. To the left is a NITRO Z21 and beside it the Grizzly 1754SC used by DeFoe to win on his home lake. That happened at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open, held on nearby Douglas Lake. He also won an Open there a few years earlier with a NITRO.
Photo: Craig Lamb
The Man Cave measures 37 feet deep and 29 feet wide, or just about the right size for storing the boats and all the tackle needed for any fishing situation. “Our house is custom built and we planned this space for all the fishing related gear and boats.”
Photo: Craig Lamb
“There is never enough space,” said DeFoe with a laugh. Jennie and Ott together installed the paneling and pegboard on all three walls. “Never again,” added Jennie. “We survived it but it took longer than anticipated.”
Photo: Craig Lamb
“I haven’t even finished unpacking after the AOY championship,” said DeFoe of the work in progress. AOY was the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship, held on Mille Lacs in early October. The tournament in Minnesota was the final trip for the Z21. DeFoe will unpack this boat, prior to ordering his rig for the 2018 Elite Season.
Photo: Craig Lamb
“I store BUFF headwear, clothes and Arctic Shield outerwear, other bulky items in these.” DeFoe likes these Bass Pro Shops Extreme Boat Bags. They are made with heavy-duty, water resistant of PVC tarpaulin. “They are basically indestructible and hold up for years of use.”
Photo: Craig Lamb
On a shelf filled with bass baits the box labeled “BPS Crappie Walleye Jigs” seems out of place. Not so with DeFoe. He digs into this box of tricks when an extreme ultra-light, finesse tactic is needed for finicky bass.
Photo: Craig Lamb
This stack of storage boxes contains lures arranged by type. The boxes are stored near the Z21 so Ott can see them while inside his boat. “I rotate through them depending on the patterns that I will find at a given lake.”
Photo: Craig Lamb
The only lure in the Man Cave not going through that rotation is this king sized, mock Rapala Original Floating Minnow. The brand is a sponsor and DeFoe chose it to decorate the Man Cave.
Photo: Craig Lamb
The pegboards are lined with Rapala lures, again for easy access when packing up the Z21 for a tournament.
Photo: Craig Lamb
Also on the wall is a variety of VMC hooks and jig heads. Those cover rigging needs for the entire water column. Mooneye jig heads for finesse, heavy duty hooks for shallow-water power fishing, and Neko rigs and tube jigs for shallow and deep applications.
Photo: Craig Lamb
On this space is a favorite. “I really like these Terminator Popping Frogs, for more than just their intended purpose.” The lures double as topwater baits and prove successful in that application during the Elite Series season.
Photo: Craig Lamb
Another must have are these Bass Pro Shops XPS Rod Socks. “I carry so many rods in the boat, like most of the guys, and the socks keep line and lures from getting tangled in the rod box.”
Photo: Craig Lamb
Feast your eyes on this eye candy. This wall is reserved for Rapala and Storm baits of every model, size and color.
Photo: Craig Lamb
These crankbaits cover any layer of the water column, all the way down to the DT-16 that is capable of running at depths to 16 feet.
Photo: Craig Lamb
Not far away on another wall is a section reserved for Bass Pro Shops Tournament Series soft plastics.
Photo: Craig Lamb
This Man Cave also functions as a trophy room. DeFoe traveled to Europe, where he represented Tracker Boats as an invited guest at a tournament hosted by the Italy B.A.S.S. Nation. He placed fourth in the event, held in 2014.
Photo: Craig Lamb
Here is one of the most coveted trophies of them all, at least so far. DeFoe won the 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series All-Star tournament in what would be a special year.
Photo: Craig Lamb
That same year, he won the Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year title.
Photo: Craig Lamb
This represents his latest win at the 2016 Open held on his home lake. The certificate is for the boat won as part of the prize package.
Photo: Craig Lamb
DeFoe built his tournament resume in East Tennessee and here is the proof of his progress from the early years.
Photo: Craig Lamb
“This really meant a lot to me, especially since it’s such a special group of people, many from my hometown,” he said.
Photo: Craig Lamb
The Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame recognized Ott as Professional Athlete of the Year. Hall of fame members include many star athletes from sports programs at the University of Tennessee.
Photo: Craig Lamb
Another special wall honors a family friend. Gary Scott Lindsey was a cousin who died in a boating accident.
Photo: Craig Lamb
“Gary’s father gave me three of his son’s favorite lures.” An annual tournament raises money for a memorial fund, with the proceeds going to area first responder agencies.
Photo: Craig Lamb
Abbie DeFoe endorsed the Man Cave with her handwritten message. Coincidentally, she did the same thing at the previous Man Cave.
Photo: Craig Lamb
Jennie created a family corner for the Man Cave that includes this portrait of Abbie.
Photo: Craig Lamb
Nearby are portraits of her siblings, Lizzie and Parker.
Photo: Craig Lamb
The family corner has a special message carried by the DeFoe family, which often travels together to tournaments.
Photo: Craig Lamb
“When Ott qualified for the first Classic I threw a surprise party for him at our church,” said Jennie. Here’s the photo of Abbie with the twins taken in 2012.
Photo: Craig Lamb
Another Classic memory is this Fathead. NITRO made them of all the team pros for fans to wave at the Classic weigh-in.
Photo: Craig Lamb
“We came across a sidewalk artist while on vacation in Myrtle Beach,” explained Jennie. “We asked the artist if he could paint a largemouth bass, but he’d never heard of such a fish.” A photo search from a smart phone helped the artist along as he painted the bass, which now hangs in the Man Cave.
Photo: Craig Lamb
The cave is tastefully decorated with family artwork, from Abbie’s signature to these works of art made by Jennie, Parker, Lizzie and Abbie.
Photo: Craig Lamb
“The walls for the garage and other spaces came factory made,” explained DeFoe. Superior Walls of East Tennessee specializes in pre-cast concrete walls for basement and crawl space foundations and other applications.
Photo: Craig Lamb
“We came across these while building the house,” said DeFoe. Native Americans, including those from the Cherokee and other tribes, at one time vastly populated East Tennessee.
Photo: Craig Lamb
“We plan to collect all the artifacts for the kids in our spare time,” he added.
Photo: Craig Lamb
DeFoe will be here when more of that spare time is available. “I’ve had it for a long time and just now had time to use it.” This is a fly tying station, where he plans to make feathered treble hooks and other terminal tackle.
Photo: Craig Lamb
