Heading into the third and final Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier of 2026, Louisianan Brennan Flick holds third place in the EQ point standings. The goal of becoming a Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series angler is nearly within his grasp.
Flick’s success is more impressive when you consider his full-time job as a Non-Destructive Testing technician for offshore gas and oil rigs. He inspects and evaluates materials and structures to identify defects and maintain the integrity of critical components.
“I’m basically in the rust business,” Flick said. “Everything is rotten in saltwater.”
Between work and bass fishing, Flick may spend nearly as much time on the water as on Terra firma. He is constantly on call. Any given assignment may last from a day to a month or more. Extended tasks require that he live offshore in a boat. In a busy year, that could amount to 200 days.
When he’s called on to go offshore during a Bassmaster Open or EQ, he must turn down the job and lose the income.
“I have to make up for the missed paycheck by finishing in the money at whatever tournament I’m in,” Flick said. “That’s part of the deal I made with my wife, Courtney.”
Making family time for Courtney and their three young children is another aspect of Flick’s high-wire balancing act.
“I couldn’t do any of this without Courtney,” Flick. “She holds the house together.
Born on the bayou
Although Flick fished for bass while growing up, it was just one of many outdoor pursuits. As a youngster, he began tagging along with 6-foot, 6-inch, uncle Peanut Michell, a commercial fisherman. His uncle set traps for crawfish and crabs and put out hang lines for alligators in southern Louisiana marshes.
When Flick grew big enough to seriously help his uncle, these outing allowed him to earn an income. He worked with his uncle until he went to college.
“Some of the gators were so heavy it took everything we had to pull them into the boat inch-by-inch,” Flick said.
He grew up aware of competitive bass fishing because his uncle and grandfather, Cidney Mitchell, would team up to compete in local tournaments.
“Back then I had three bass rods and all of them were rigged with a black and blue jig,” Flick said. “Either they were going to eat a jig, or I wasn’t going to catch them.”
Bunting for baseball
Flick didn’t get involved in tournament fishing until his mid-20s due to his passion for baseball. While pitching for Central Catholic High in Morgan City, La., the school claimed two state championships.
In one of his two years attending Louisiana State University at Eunice, a junior college, his team claimed a national championship. After college, he signed with the San Francisco Giants. He played minor league ball for four years before they released him.
A few years later, his friend Zack Poole asked him to fish a local six-tournament bass circuit. Flick agreed. They set out in a 16-foot aluminum skiff that had a tiny front deck and a hand-controlled electric motor clamped to the side that Flick steered with his foot.
“We got our teeth kicked in the first three tournaments,” Flick said. “Then we finished second, first and second in the last three. I loved it. Most of all because I missed being competitive in baseball.”
The tournament bug prompted Flick to buy his first bass boat — a used 18-footer that set him back $3,000. Over the next several years, he fished a wide variety of local tournaments and upgraded his rig three times. In 2023, he won the national Angler of the Year title for ABA.
“That’s when I got it in my head that I might actually be able to fish professionally,” Flick said.
Heading to the Opens
He fished the Bassmaster Opens for the first time in 2025 and started fast. He nabbed seventh at Sam Rayburn Reservoir and followed up with a 15th-place finish at Kentucky and Barkley lakes. Then, he bombed at Norfork and Leech lakes.
In 2026, Flick has been “Mr. Consistent.” His best showing thus far is fourth at the Norfork EQ, a lake that pummeled him the previous year with a 197th-place finish.
“If not for my sponsors, I wouldn’t have this opportunity,” Flick said
His title sponsor is Byrnes Mechanical in West Monroe, La. His other sponsors include D’Arbonne Marine, Patton’s Plumbing, ARK Fishing, Offshore Energy Services, Greg Russel Construction and Simmons Sporting Goods.
