The Cast

The Cast: Davy Hite through the years

Davy Hite's career as a superstar angler and trusted voice of Bassmaster LIVE is one of a kind. Watch Sunday, Jan. 11 at 9:30 a.m. on FS1.

Posted on
Captions by
Craig Lamb
Davy Hite’s bass fishing career history is like none other in the sport. For 23 years, Hite competed in 252 B.A.S.S. tournaments, beginning with the Bassmaster Invitationals, and progressing through the Top 100, Tour and finally the current Elite Series. 
After retiring from competitive fishing in 2016, Hite was recruited to join the broadcast team of The Bassmasters TV series, now Bassmaster LIVE. 
The show producers recognized Hite for his wisdom, knowledge and expertise that would allow him to relate to his peers as a pro angler, while connecting with fans and the audience. 
The combination was the perfect fit. The Bass Fishing Hall of Famer is highly respected as a revered voice of the sport, while passionate about promoting and preserving its future. 
On Hite’s angling resume are eight Bassmaster wins, including the 1999 Bassmaster Classic on the Louisiana Delta near New Orleans. Hite twice won the prestigious Bassmaster Angler of the Year title in 1997 and 2002. 
Hite was 27 years old when he quit his full-time job in South Carolina to pursue his lifelong dream of fishing professionally. “It was a leap of faith,” he said. “Some of my friends thought I was crazy. This is different, but at the same time it’s a a leap of faith, as well.”
Hite first fished a couple of B.A.S.S. events in 1989 — he even recorded a second-place finish to earn his first check of $4,400. Things really took off for him in the 1993 season, when he won more than $50,000 in 10 events.
Hite won his first event in 1994, the Alabama Invitational on Lake Eufaula. His $35,000 payday topped his previous best of $30,000 for taking fourth in the B.A.S.S. MegaBucks the year before.
It took him another two years to win his second tournament, which again came in Alabama.
Hite won $45,000 at the 1996 Alabama Bassmaster Top 100 on Lake Neely Henry, really establishing himself as a force on the circuit.
A handful of top 10 finishes in 1997 led him to the Angler of the Year title, and in 1999 he became one of the few anglers to hold both of bass fishing’s top titles when he won the Bassmaster Classic. There are only 12 men who have won both.
Hite fought through 100-degree temperatures in late July at the Louisiana Delta to bring in 55 pounds, 10 ounces during the 1999 Classic.
He earned his $100,000 prize, topping his closest competitor, Denny Brauer, by nearly 10 pounds.
In his 23 years competing, Hite totaled more than $2 million in career earnings.
He also won the Forrest Wood Cup title in 1998.
A title in Michigan was one of his eight tournament victories.
Hite earned cash and prizes totaling $110,000, his biggest payday to date. But a trip back to Louisiana late in 2001 would see him top it.
With another grand in bonus money, Hite earned $111,000 in the Louisiana Bassmaster Tour event on the Red River.
Hite became one of the most popular anglers on tour.
With momentum from 2001, Hite added a second Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year title in 2002. Hite is one of only 11 anglers with more than one Bassmaster AOY title.
From 2002-05, Hite posted top 12 finishes in four consecutive Classics.
Of the 14 Classics he fished, Hite finished in the top 25 11 times.
In 2005, Hite ended a four-year victory drought by winning the Elite 50 on Arkansas’ Lake Dardanelle.
A year later, Hite blew away the field at Clarks Hill Reservoir in Georgia.
It was Hite’s seventh B.A.S.S victory, and it came during the inaugural Elite Series season.
A victory looked in the offing in 2010 at Guntersville as Hite busted bags of 24-7, 27-0 and 28-6 for 79-13 and the lead heading into Championship Sunday.
But the magic didn’t come as Hite only managed 13-6 and missed the Century Club belt and the title. Skeet Reese topped 100 pounds and made Hite runner-up.
The following season, Hite broke through with his eighth Bassmaster title, tying him for sixth all-time in wins. Hite did damage near Pickwick Lake Dam in totaling 84-9 over four days.
“I don’t take for granted winning No. 8, I promise you,” Hite said at the time. “This is as meaningful to me as the first one I ever won. It’s like a drug; I can’t describe the way it feels to win one of these things.”
“I wanted it bad. I’m just going to be honest here, although I hate to admit it: Probably at No. 4, 5 or 6, somewhere in there, I kind of took it (winning) for granted. I wanted this one as bad as the first one I ever won.”
Hite was emotional on stage as he garnered the $100,000 check and berth into his 14th Classic, his first since 2009.
Hite fished the Red River in his most recent Classic. The resident of Ninety-Six, S.C., finished in the money 140 times in 254 total tournaments, including 45 top 10 finishes. He’s looked forward to his new endeavor in fishing.
“I view this more as a transition, rather than a retirement,” he said at the time. “In a perfect world, I wish I could keep competing for a few more years. But this was a golden opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”
“This is a way for me to continue to have a positive impact and stay involved with the sport of bass fishing, which has meant everything to me,” he recalled.

Related