It took Bryan New longer than he wanted to reach a major fishing circuit, but he wanted to do it right and not add stress on himself or his family.
Growing up fishing on the banks of Lake Wylie, New, who will be 32 in February, knew early he wanted a bass tournament career. When high water sent a dock float to his shore and nobody claimed it, New had his first watercraft. Along with a plank of wood, it served to expand his fishing opportunities.
“Can you imagine being out on the water and seeing some 8-year-old kid out paddling around with a two-by-four on a jet ski lift?” he said. “That was Bryan New.”
Now, with two victories in his 18 B.A.S.S. entries, New heads into his second year on the Elite Series feeling somewhat established, confident and styling with a new boat.
“I’ve never owned anything new in my life,” New said. “Never had a new truck, never had a new anything. Now I have a new Falcon boat. I’m extremely excited to work with those guys.”
A new home base was also in order. The News moved from Belmont, N.C., to wife Brittany’s hometown of Saluda, S.C., where they have better jobs and a family support system. New traded in painting road stripes for a part-time gig in extermination and moisture management with Brittany’s uncle, but that’s on hold.
New is in full tournament mode. When contacted, he was busy organizing waypoints and finalizing preparations for the season-opening Florida swing. After a scouting trip to the Harris Chain before the Elite off-limits, New will return to the scene of his first B.A.S.S. tournament, the 2020 Basspro.com Eastern Open on Kissimmee. He won there, then a year later won his first Elite event on the St. Johns River, site of this year’s opener.
While his first forays into the Sunshine State starting a decade ago were “terrible … I hated Florida,” New said something finally clicked. He finds fishing there this time of year predictable and fits his style, and the state now holds special status as where his dream was realized.
One step forward, two steps back
New began what he called travel fishing around 2012, doing everything in his power to become a professional fisherman. Although he found some success, he learned making it on a major tour wasn’t a slam dunk.
“My journey, I was so ready for it to happen right now,” he said. “When I was a kid, I always wanted to be the youngest pro, the youngest to win the Classic, the youngest to win AOY.
“Past that, I started looking at the bigger picture. I realized how hard it is to come, and how easy it is to go. That’s when I started really paying attention to the money side of it. That’s a huge part of my story.”
Not wanting a short career, he said he wouldn’t commit to a major tour unless he had money to fund a season and enough left over for another “if I don’t make a dime.” So New bided his time.
“It can be extremely stressful, put a burden on your family, on your finances, all of that,” he said. “That’s why I took the path I did, why I didn’t go out on a limb to do it.”
His time came in 2019, when he grossed $230,000, winning the Ray Scott Championship while also qualifying for the FLW Tour. Financially secure and ready to fish a major circuit, New said the stars fells out of alignment when FLW changed ownership.
“Rumors flying around. I’m wanting to do it. The buyout happens. I read what their plans are and I didn’t like it,” he said. “That buyout was a setback. I finally made the money. I got the salary left over. I qualified. Then you hit the roadblock with the buyout.
“So I figured if I have a future in fishing, I need to go fish the Opens and try to qualify to the Elites.”
After doing the math, New said it made sense to only fish the Eastern Opens. His plans were quickly amended after winning at Kissimmee, which cleared his path to the Elites. Not only did he qualify for the 2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, but his earnings allowed him to enter the Central Opens. He went on to win the 2020 Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year title.
“If I don’t fish both divisions, one, I don’t win AOY, and two, I don’t qualify for the Elites,” he said. “If I don’t qualify for Elites, I don’t go win my first. If I won the second Open, I would have already missed entering the Centrals. It had to be that first Open for everything to happen the way it has.”
New said he realized that’s a pretty amazing set of occurrences, but it’s simply the culmination of working toward his life’s goal.
“What we’re doing fishing, it’s no different than life,” he said. “It’s our job. It’s our dream. It’s what we’ve worked for. Very fortunate that it’s as fun as it is, but it’s just like anything else.
“Everybody has a goal, a dream. They work their way toward it, work their way, get close and don’t get there. Maybe they get a setback but keeping working, then eventually get a break. Work a little harder, then eventually it happens.”
It happened in Florida
New went into his first Elite event knowing Florida is hit and miss, that big bags are hard to come by four days in a row. With 12 pounds after a weather-shortened Day 1, he felt OK to stand 22nd. With one of the seven bags topping 20 pounds on Day 2, New reached ninth. Then 21-0 had him begin Championship Sunday in sixth, just 5-7 off the lead.
“I had no inkling I could win that day,” he said. “First Elite, Top 10, I was happy with that.”
Catching his limit quickly, New took the lead by mid-morning. When he got over 20 pounds, he knew he would at least move up the standings for a bigger paycheck. New said the coup de grace came in a fortunate pass in lily pads just south of Lake George.
“Literally, the only reason I stopped there was because I didn’t want to go through the idle zone,” he said. “Then I catch those two great big ones. At that point, I knew there was legitimate chance.”
Looking back, New said his gallery should have clued him that he was in the hunt. He got a great feeling once he began the ride back to Palatka. The iPad in his boat was lighting up, and while he didn’t read any texts, he saw some names of the messengers.
“It was all these people who know I can’t be looking at this stuff,” he said. “So I knew something special was going on. Coming across George and I see that, and all the sudden the bottom falls out. It was pouring rain, but I never felt a drop of rain. I was just smiling the whole way back.”
New brought in the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the day, a 5-14, in weighing the second-largest bag of the event at 26-4. He won by almost 10 pounds with 79-7. Etching his name in B.A.S.S. record books was huge, as were all the benefits of winning.
“Obviously, that win was a tremendous help financially, exposure-wise,” he said. “It made it a lot easier for me to build new partnerships. It gave me the confidence. I’ve got the first new boat I’ve ever had. I’m biased, but I’m more comfortable in this boat than I ever have in my life. I’m so picky and technical, that this is a huge thing to me.”
No stress fishing sophomore season
New heads into his second year on the Elites with optimism he can continue his success. It helps he’s starting on places where he’s won. The Southern Opens get under way on Kissimmee Feb. 3-5, with the Elite at St. Johns the following week, Feb. 10-13.
More importantly, he said he can fish relaxed this season.
“I have zero financial stress on me,” New said. “I may not make any money, but I’m not going to lose any. That’s part of the reason that it took me so long to get here. I know mentally you cannot be on top of your game if you’re worried. There’s no way you can perform to your greatest potential.”
After the second Elite on the Harris Chain, the countdown begins for the Classic on Lake Hartwell, March 4-6. New scouted the nearby fishery and reported he found some ammo. Even though he held a disdain for the lake in the past, he assessed his chances to realize another lifelong dream.
“One in 55?” he quipped. “I’m extremely excited. I started understanding Hartwell a little bit. In the 2020 Open, I just missed a check, but I know what I did wrong. It was a good tournament because I learned. I’m not going to say it can’t get here soon enough, but I’m ready.”