Daily Limit: Ratliff answers the call

Bradley Roy poses with Nick Ratliff (center) and his teammate Ben Riggs in 2014.

Nick Ratliff, fresh off qualifying for the 2019 Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, wasn’t surprised he had a call coming from Lancaster, Ky., but he was taken aback that it was current Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year leader Bradley Roy.

“I was super overwhelmed,” said Ratliff, a senior from Campbellsville University who had just outdueled Nolan Minor in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Classic Bracket presented by Bass Pro Shops. “He probably thinks I’m rude. I was really quick with him.”

Roy was OK with the brevity of their chat.

“He did seem a little overwhelmed,” Roy said. “I’m sure he had a lot of other calls. I didn’t keep him on very long. I just called to tell him I was paying attention – I guess the whole world was.”

Yes, a Classic berth draws eyes, and the tight competition shown blow for blow on Bassmaster LIVE added to the intrigue. Many of the viewers, certainly those from The Bluegrass State, were pulling for the Campbellsville University senior, including Roy. The Kentuckians actually first crossed paths in 2014, when Ratliff and Elizabethtown teammate Ben Riggs won the Bradley Roy High School Open on Herrington Lake. Ratliff had a 4.66-pound big fish in his team’s 8.78 total.

“He was showing signs he could do really well early,” said Roy, winner of the 2004 Junior Bassmaster World Championship. “So, I thought it’d be cool to call him up.

“No. 1, he’s from Kentucky. He’s not too far down the road from me. I’ve also fished Milford Lake in a Federation Nation Championship. It was cool he kind of came full circle. I told him the next place I’d see him is at the Classic.”

Ratliff said it was great gesture that he appreciated. 

“He called and congratulated me,” he said. “We talked about how awesome it was to be going to the Classic. I wished him good luck the rest of the year in the AOY, and that was really the extent of it.”

Roy considers shortened AOY chase

Roy was asked to size up his chances of winning the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year title now that the Huk Bassmaster Elite at Upper Chesapeake Bay presented by Mossy Oak Fishing was cancelled.

“It is good, and it could possibly be bad,” Roy said. “It’s less tournaments I have to keep my lead, but it’s less room for error.”

He supposed he might have had a great event on the Chesapeake then a mediocre one this week in the Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence presented by Black Velvet, or vice versa.

“And it would have all kind of averaged out,” he said. “Now I basically have to have a great tournament here. It kind of eliminated a little room for error.”

Roy leads a runaway pack of four with 617 points. Justin Lucas is 10 points back in second while 2012 AOY winner Brent Chapman is third with 602 and Josh Bertrand fourth with 597. Ott DeFoe stands fifth, 63 points behind Roy.

The cancelled event did solidify that someone in the breakaway should be able to fend off the pack and win the AOY title at Lake Chatuge, Roy said. For now he’s concentrating on St. Lawrence, even though the title has come to the forefront of his mind.

“It is now that I’m on the road,” he said. “Honestly, I haven’t sat around and thought about it. The points are going to take care of themselves. It’s not something I’m going to dwell on, because I’m not going to let myself mentally get sucked into that.

“If I finish in the Top 12, I probably keep the lead. That’s the goal.”

Ratliff shows off the 2-11 smallmouth that earned the Classic berth.

Magnitude of feat sinking in

Like when toddlers get quiet in the house, Ratliff knew his opponent, Minor of West Virginia University, was up to no good. At least as far as he was concerned.

And that was catching fish. Ratliff figured Minor was rallying since he hadn’t heard any boat movement on Kansas’ Milford Lake after they checked in and went back out. He found out what really went down when he watched their Bassmaster LIVE show.

“I went back and watched all of his fish catches,” he said. “Nolan was just pouring it on, really putting on a show. The majority of the afternoon when I ran around struggling, I had a feeling like I didn’t have enough but I really didn’t know he had done that much. I had no clue.”

Ratliff surged to a big lead in the morning, then Minor went on a run to pull ahead before Ratliff rallied with three fish to win by 4 ounces. It made for an enthralling web cast.

Ratliff said B.A.S.S. officials did a good job not letting the competitors see teammates or parents so there would be genuine surprise on stage for the reveal of who would be going to the Classic.

“When I caught that last fish, no one went over the top,” he said. “Just a lot of ‘Good jobs.’ Even when we came in, they didn’t change their expression. They didn’t smile at me or anything.

“When I got up on stage, I didn’t look out and make eye contact. I knew I’d have to talk before the reveal and I didn’t want to be overcome with emotions.”

His feat hit him now that he’s seen the show, and he is realizing the magnitude of comeback catches.

“It’s probably ridiculous how many times I’ve watched that last fish catch,” he said. “I had no clue how much it meant. I was just out there fishing trying to catch as much as I could.

“It’s the biggest fish of my life, and it’s like a 2-11.”

Lake Fork is famed for big fish, like this 17.67-pounder caught by guide Mark Stevenson in 1986. The former state record, which was named Ethel and lived out its life in the Springfield, Mo., Bass Pro Shop, was the first in the Toyota ShareLunker program.

Texas Fest to feature famed Lake Fork

Expect big things as Lake Fork, the crown jewel of bass fishing in the Lone Star State, was chosen to host the 2019 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The Elites will ply the famed fishery near Emory May 2-6, when “fishing could be off the charts,” said Dave Terre, Chief of Inland Fisheries Management and Research for the TPWD.

Terre said it was about that time of year when Elite angler Keith Combs weighed in 110 pounds over three days in winning the 2014 Texas Bass Classic, the predecessor of Texas Fest. On one day, Combs had a 42-pound limit that included a 10-14.

The Texas bass record of 18.18 pounds was caught in Fork, which holds 45 percent of the ShareLunker entries in the state and seven of the state’s top 10 big bass.

“The opportunity to showcase this world-class bass fishery on the Bassmaster stage, with a special tournament format we helped create, is something really special,” Terre said for this story.

Elite bracket field doubled

Double the pleasure, double the fun, but triple the amount of Elites advancing to the 2019 Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. That’s the idea behind the expansion for the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster Classic Bracket.

B.A.S.S. decided to increase the field for the Oct. 23-26 event on Carters Lake in Ellijay, Ga., from eight to 16 competitors after the cancellation of the Huk Bassmaster Elite at Upper Chesapeake Bay presented by Mossy Oak Fishing.

“One of the things we regret about having to cancel the Elite event at Upper Chesapeake Bay is its impact on several anglers who were hoping to gain extra points and earn a spot in the Classic,” B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin said for this report

After all but the B.A.S.S. Nation and Team Championship berths are awarded, the first 16 Elites out of the Classic cut in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year point standings will be invited to fish. After one day of competition, the Top 12 will be seeded in three brackets. The winner of each of the three brackets receives a berth to fish the Classic on the Tennessee River out of Knoxville, March 15-17, where the field will be 52 anglers.