Bassmaster Elite Series pros typically have the following lofty goals on their bucket list:
- Win a major championship.
- Qualify for the Bassmaster Classic.
- Gain non-endemic sponsors.
Check off all of the above on the list of 25-year-old Auburn University senior Matt Lee.
What makes the achievements especially remarkable is that they occurred before he even qualified for bass fishing’s premier league.
“It’s rewarding to get to the Elite Series through the Opens with such a great group of guys,” he said of the 2015 Elite Series rookies.
Lee’s path didn’t really begin at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens. He first took a longer, more daunting road through the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series. Success came soon — and with it, a bittersweet life lesson.
In 2012, Matt Lee faced his younger brother Jordan in rod-to-rod competition at the bracket-style national championship. It was an improbable matchup — based on the number of competitors — and only one of them could advance to the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.
Matt won in a close contest.
The win matured Matt Lee and left him pondering the future.
“I went from some random college kid with a dream to facing the reality of asking myself if I could really make a career of bass fishing,” he said.
There wasn’t much time to think about it.
In a flash, he would go from star-struck teenager at the Classic begging for autographs on a Bassmaster Magazine to appearing on its cover as a collegiate fishing phenom.
The mental pressure was overwhelmingly against him. At the time, Lee was a junior majoring in industrial engineering. Auburn’s program is widely recognized as one of the nation’s best — and toughest.
The Classic came and went in February 2013 — where Lee finished 46th. That spring, Lee struggled to balance school with fishing the Central Opens. Long days meant longer evenings. Tackle prep transitioned to homework and studying for tests.
The class load lightened in 2014 and opened the door of opportunity. Lee fished all three Opens divisions for a total of nine events. He qualified for the Elite Series through the Southern region.
“It made a huge difference because I could totally focus on fishing,” he said. “If I didn’t qualify for the Elites then, I just didn’t deserve to be there.”
A 13th-place finish at the Southern opener led to a seventh-place check at Lake Amistad, site of the Central opener. The early run of success was the turning point, and yet another sign of his destiny.
“I went from shallow patterns to drop shotting on a deep canyon impoundment,” he said. “It gave me the confidence to carry me through the season.”
Winning the collegiate championship came with perks that continue paying off all around. Through a relationship with Dynamic Sponsorships that he formed as part of his college win, he is now tied to Carhartt and Toyota, two key B.A.S.S. marketing partners.
What’s next for Lee depends on his ongoing encounters with destiny. If that trend continues, he’ll have even more bucket list goals checked off his growing list.