Louisiana’s Randy Allen qualified for the 2008 Elite Series through a Bassmaster Opens Wild Card Qualifier at Lake Okeechobee. He jumped into the Elites full of enthusiasm, but, in hindsight, he believes that was a mistake.
“I should never have gone,” Allen said.
The first two Elite events that year were at Florida’s Harris Chain and Lake Tohopekaliga. The first time Allen laid eyes on these waters was the official practice days prior to the tournaments.
He had no experience on all but two of the other tournament lakes on the schedule. One of those was Lake Falcon, which Allen had been to once. The other was Amistad, which he had fished twice.
Allen did not cash a check in the 2008 Elite Series. And he did not return in 2009.
Last season, Allen qualified to compete in the 2015 Elite Series by finishing fifth in the point standings of the Bassmaster Central Opens. He vows to do better this time around, even though he has never been to most of the fisheries on the schedule.
“This time I’m doing it right,” Allen said. “I’m going to pre-fish the tournament lakes. There’s nothing like fishing coast to coast and border to border.”
Although Allen has fished all his life, the 56-year-old angler claims he got the bass tournament bug later in life than most anglers. He father, Ray Allen, fished bass tournaments “as far back as I can remember.”
Allen’s grandfather, John Allen, “fished every day he could draw a breath.”
When Allen and his cousins were tads, grandpa Allen would take them fishing at Toledo Bend. Armed with Zebco spincasting reels, the youngsters would cast for bass, crappie, white bass, bream and anything else that would bite.
“Granddad preferred crappie, but he wasn’t particular,” Allen said. “That’s back when the standing trees at Toledo Bend were still green.”
Allen grew up north of Shreveport where he has lived most of his adult life. He played football in high school and also at Northeast Louisiana University until he was sidelined by an injury.
“I got tied up with girls and forgot about fishing until I got out of college,” Allen said.
After graduating with a degree in building construction, Allen took a job with a pipeline transmission company. He also bought his first bass boat, a 16-foot VIP powered by a 70-hp Evinrude, which he launched mainly at Caddo Lake near Shreveport and Toledo Bend.
In 1983, Allen got a job selling chemicals to paper mills. He held it until 2003. The next year he and other investors started a Shreveport-based company, Synergy Technologies, which sells chemicals to poultry and beef processors.
Allen fished small local bass tournaments with his VIP bass boat. Building his career in the chemical industry didn’t leave time to expand his bass fishing horizons.
In the mid ’90s, when the Red River was impounded, Allen bought a larger Skeeter boat and started competing in bigger tournaments there.
“The Red River is what really did it for me,” Allen said.
Although Allen’s free time was limited, he decided in 1999 that he wanted to get serious about fishing Bassmaster tournaments. That meant fishing fewer local events and signing on to fish the Bassmaster Central Opens.
While all this was happening, Allen married his wife, Fredlinda, who is his biggest fan. Together they have raised four children, Brandon, 30; Dylan, 21; Amber, 27 and Samantha, 25.
Because the Red River is a shallow fishery, Allen’s strong suit is catching bass in skinny water. To help him develop his offshore skills and provide a place where he and his family can hunt, he bought a ranch 20 minutes from Lake Amistad in 2011.
“That has helped me a lot,” Allen said. “I’ve learned about things like drop shotting, structure spoons, swimbaits and football jigs.”
Even with his expanded skills, Allen said he believes the key to success in the Elite Series is finding fish.
“At the Elite level, everybody can catch them,” Allen said. “It’s more about who can find them.”