During his six years as a Bassmaster pro, Knoxville, Tenn., resident Ott DeFoe has qualified for the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods each of those years. Defoe has earned two 11th-place finishes, a fifth and a fourth, but last year was his lowest finish yet at 25th. That’s better than half of the field, which isn’t bad at all.
“Each year, the desire to win gets stronger, no question about it,” DeFoe said. “We all want to win every event, but to win the Classic would take my career to the next level, and I want to win this year more than ever. In looking back, I’ve fished conservatively to make the last day of the event, and that has certainly cost me before. This year will be different.”
In true John Madden fashion, DeFoe said you can’t win the Classic if you aren’t fishing on Championship Sunday. There have been fisheries where the Super Bowl of bass fishing required a conservative approach, but Conroe has some real giants in it, and an angler can turn his day around with only a few casts.
“There have been times when it’s clear you can’t win because of being so far back in the pack, but on Conroe one fish can change everything,” he said. “I’m a firm believer that when it’s God’s time for you to win, it’s going to happen. I’ve had a great string of finishes lately, and that’s obvious on paper, but it doesn’t always come together very pretty.”
He said just being at the Classic is important, and there are a lot of very talented anglers who are not here that certainly could be.
“You don’t always make it here, and I won’t take the opportunity for granted,” he said. “I work very hard to do as well as I can, but I also keep an open mind about my expectations. Nobody is as hard on me as I am, and like everyone else here I hate to lose. But, I’ve learned to narrow my thinking to staying more focused on the fish, and I’ll worry more about winning when the possibility is in front of me.”
DeFoe knows full well the pressure and stress that comes with fishing a tournament of this magnitude, but he also knows that if he can curtail his mindset and remain on-point, big things can happen.
“To win on Sunday, whoever gets to hoist that trophy above their head, will have their name etched into the rafters of bass fishing history,” DeFoe said with a twinkle in his eye. “That’s my dream, it’s my family’s dream, and it’s all of the 52 competitors’ dream who are fishing this week. I can’t even begin to explain how wonderful that would be for me and all of those who have supported me over the years. I want it, and I want it bad.”
To have a shot at making history, DeFoe and the entire field will begin the quest tomorrow as competition officially kicks off at 7:20 a.m. at Lake Conroe Park in Conroe, Texas. Weigh-ins will be at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, beginning at 3:15 p.m. — and it’s FREE.