While fishing the professional tour for nine years and taking part in several Bassmaster Classics, I spent a lot of time wondering what it would feel like to finally realize my dream of winning one.
I wondered what it would be like to raise that trophy in front of all those people inside the arena and to make that speech in front of all my peers and sponsors later that night at the Champion’s Toast.
Now that I’ve actually been able to do those things, I can tell you that winning the Classic doesn’t end there.In fact, winning the tournament may have been the easy part.
I certainly don’t want to downplay how hard it was to beat 55 of the best fishermen on the planet. That’s not what I’m saying at all.
But what I’ve experienced since I walked off the stage at Bon Secours Wellness Arena that Sunday night has been pretty unbelievable. Unless you’ve been through it before, I don’t think there’s any way you could be prepared for it.
When I woke up at 4:30 Monday morning after the Classic, I had more than 260 text messages on my phone.
Some were interview requests. Some were from family. Some were fans sending congratulations.
I tried to respond to every one of them.
Then on Tuesday, I was on the phone more than I’ve ever been in my life. A lot of times, I’d be talking on the house phone and texting on the cell phone with a computer in my lap looking at emails all at the same time.
It was a crazy day, and that’s just now slowing down.
I’ve done radio interviews in Canada, Seattle – just about anywhere you can think of – and I was a guest on “Ike Live” with Michael Iaconelli.
But don’t think for a second that I’m complaining.
I’m flattered that so many people want to talk to me, and the most stressful part of it is making sure that I get to everybody.
My girlfriend, McKenzie Hartman, is helping me with my schedule, and a lot of the stuff is being filtered through my sponsors.
I’ve also reached out to Kevin VanDam for a little advice on how to handle all of this. I reached out to him because he’s been here more than anyone else and because he’s a good fellow that I’m proud to call a friend.
The number one thing he told me was, “Do it all.”
He said, “Even if it’s an interview request from a newspaper reporter who doesn’t know anything about fishing and only has 10,000 readers, you should take the time to do it because that’s a chance to educate 10,000 more people about the sport.”
That’s the kind of guy Kevin is, and that’s why I went to him.
With all the success he’s had and as many times as he’s stood on a big stage, you never hear one person say a bad thing about him.
That’s exactly what I want to be…even if it doesn’t leave much time for sleep.