Every year anglers enter the Bassmaster Elite Series and the first few events of the season stereotypically predict how their careers may unfold. If rookies struggle out of the gate they are labeled as guys that aren’t ready for the biggest of big stages, but for those that not only take the punches, but dish them out often catch the attention of the fishing world.
Three Bassmaster Elite Series rookies have not only done so in the first two events, but are in Houston, Texas for the Geico Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. Jesse Wiggins, Alton Jones Jr. and Skylar Hamilton are just a small sampling of the impressive rookie class that has arrived for the 2017 season. They all won Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens in the 2016 calendar year, which has them in position to change their careers come Sunday evening with a possible Classic trophy.
Jones Jr. has followed in his father’s footsteps almost perfectly as the 25-year old Texan has made a name for himself so far in his young career. For the Jones’ to be the 5th father-son duo to fish in a Classic together puts them in exclusive company, but Jones Jr. knows that with any bad day on the water that his season can take a turn in any direction. Having two Elite events before the Classic has propelled these three rookies, Jones included, into the biggest event of the year with more confidence and momentum than they could’ve ever imagined.
“With the two Elites before the Classic I knew it was either going to be a good or bad thing,” Jones said. “As much as anglers rely on confidence it’s important to get off to a good start. Now I feel like I can be myself this week because I realized these guys put their pants on the same way I do.”
Jones tallied efforts of 25th and 33rd to start the year and that equals $20,000 and a lot more confidence that he can take to the bank as well. Jones Jr. is one of the 5 Texans in the field, but probably the one with the least amount of pressure and eyes on his every move. With two anglers from just down the road in Keith Combs and Todd Faircloth and two Classic champs in his father Alton Sr. and Takahiro Omori; Jones Jr. can fish free of worry and pressure, but with the killer instinct of someone with nothing to lose.
“I’ll have plenty of friends, family and my fiancée here to support me this week,” Jones Jr. said. “It feels as much like home as it could be even though I’m a few hours away.”
For Jesse Wiggins, he knew he could fish at this level, but paying for it would be another story for a young angler that started with humble beginnings in Cullman, Alabama. Wiggins notched a win at his home lake in 2016 and it has only propelled him to where he is sitting now. He qualified for the Elite Series and started off his 2017 Opens season with another win, this time in Leesburg, Florida on the Harris Chain. Two Opens victories in as many years and two Classic qualifications before he competed in his first truly shows how fast Wiggins has rose to the forefront.
Wiggins captivated the fishing world as he was the star of Bassmaster LIVE at Cherokee Lake and he nearly took home the title after leading for 2 of the 4 tournament days. His 3rd place told him everything he needed to know about the competition level on the Elite Series.
“I’ll never say I’m comfortable fishing against these guys, but I’m not scared because I know I can catch some,” Wiggins said. “Cherokee did wonders for my confidence, but I still have the utmost respect for these guys and I know that they will catch them at every tournament we fish.”
Satisfaction isn’t easy to come by with Wiggins as he wants to be better at every event and catch them with the best of them. He will launch his boat with an unclear pattern this week at Conroe, but that may have him as dangerous as he can be. Wiggins claimed to have found one spot where he could catch fish at Cherokee and we saw how impressive that ended up being, more than he could’ve imagined. With double-digit bass swimming in Lake Conroe he could freely fish and stumbled up a giant bag because so many options are in-play this week.
“I’ll never be satisfied with what I found in practice because these anglers will whack them in the tournament,” Wiggins said. “You can get on one stretch here and completely change your event and move to the top of the standings. Anything is possible.”
Anything is indeed possible at the Geico Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods as Skylar Hamilton would be fishing a lights-out campaign to start his career if it wasn’t for Jones Jr. and Wiggins catching them just as good.
Hamilton chose to start his Elite Series career in an Xpress Boat, which is aluminum in nature, but also provides him the comfort of fishing his way. Hamilton can negotiate through any type of cover and get in the trickiest places because of the rig he chose, something that excites him and led to his Opens win in 2016.
The 22-year old angler is calm, cool and collected, but most of all is mature beyond his years.
“Fishing the Opens is where a lot of my confidence comes from,” Hamilton said. “That is where you build your strengths and test yourself against the best locals, Elites and other Opens pros on numerous fisheries.”
Hamilton has approached the Elites as beating 109 other guys instead of needing to be the VanDam’s, Swindle’s and Reese’s of the world so knowing he only needs to beat 51 other guys has helped him stay relaxed.
“You can never tell who is going to win any certain event with these guys,” Hamilton said. “Having the chance to win is the ultimate goal and it’s been my dream for as long as I can remember.”