Gerard Butler’s passionate portrayal of Spartan King Leonidas anchored the dramatic tale of courage, commitment and honor depicted in the 2007 film, 300.
But while confronting an invading Persian army didn’t work out well for the Spartans, reaching the impressive milestone of 300 Bassmaster tournaments brings a sense of accomplishment and achievement to a pair of familiar faces — Stephen Browning and Charlie Hartley.
Hailing from Hot Springs, Ark. and Grove, Ohio, respectively, both have competed at multiple Bassmaster levels, including the Bassmaster Elite Series.
A 10-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier, Browning has made the top-10 41 times, with three Opens wins — Red River (2013, 2014), Ross Barnett (2018) — and a 1998 Top-150 victory at Logan Martin.
Hartley has notched 10 top-10’s including a 2016 Opens win at the James River, and has fished two Classics.
We caught up with these veteran pros during the Day-1 weigh-ins.
Meaningful Moments
Browning recalls his first Bassmaster event — the Arkansas River, 1995 — when a tough day lit a fire that ultimately led to a most amazing experience. He’d go on to finish 22nd, but the opening round brought a gut punch that lit the fuse on his motivation.
“I didn’t have a very good day and the guy I drew told me not to quit my day job,” Browning recalls. “I’m gonna be honest, that inspired me a lot when I got back on the water the next day.
“Since then, I’ve kept a positive attitude and traveled from the east coast to the west coast and north and south. It’s been a great journey.”
Two years after his Bassmaster debut, Browning found himself competing in the sport’s grandest event — the Bassmaster Classic. Finishing seventh in that event at Logan Martin was nothing short of amazing, but for an angler still young in his career, that first weigh-in bought an indescribable thrill.
“My favorite Bassmaster moment was that first time I was pulled through the weigh in,” Browning said. “I had been to several Classics and people had told me, ‘Wait ’til you feel the adrenalin rush going in there.’
“I happened to be in second place after the first day, which made it a little better. But that particular event was one of the highlights of my career.”
Coming full circle: Notably, Hartley fished his first Bassmaster event at Kentucky Lake in 1993 and, while his was a humbling experience, it also proved strategically enlightening.
“I don’t think I weighed a fish in that event,” Hartley said. “Norio Tanabe became the first Asian angler to win a Bassmaster tournament and he won it on a suspending jerkbait. That was before suspending jerkbaits were available (in the U.S. market).
“I stayed over a couple days after that to try and learn that technique, because that was a rude awakening — my first Bassmaster event and he’s catching them a way I’d never even heard of. Being from Ohio, I thought those big Smithwick Rogues were just for muskies.”
A student of the game, Hartley immediately put his newfound knowledge to work.
“I won a bunch of money on that big Rogue,” Hartley said. “I ended up using that bait a lot because I learned about it in that tournament.”
The Impact
Along with the many tactical lessons, Hartley said his participation in Bassmaster events has personally impacted his life. Everyone fishes with success in mind, but community and camaraderie have been his motivators.
“I never looked at a payout, I didn’t look to see where I’d have to finish to get my money back,” Hartley said. “When I first started, I knew when I went to a Bassmaster event, I was going to see a new lake and see my buddies and learn more in one week than I’d learn in a year on my home reservoir.
“For so much of the first 10 years, every tournament was a brand new experience. Like, ‘Wow, now I know this trick. The next time I see this, I’ll know that trick.’”
The Motivation
Growing up in a family of baseball players, Browning was surrounded by competitive spirit. He felt the drive to succeed too, but his heart was on the water.
“It has always been the absolute love for catching bass that motivates me,” Browning said. “I don’t fish for anything else. I don’t bream fish, I don’t crappie fish, I don’t catfish. I just absolutely love those special days when you make all the right decisions and everything clicks. That’s what I wake up and try to do every day I’m on the water.”
Calling flipping deep grass with a heavy jig his favorite technique, Browning describes a deeply endearing relationship with Bassmaster.
“I’ve known the staff, the writers, the B.A.S.S. family and they are always looking out for you,” he said. “They wish you the very best and I truly believe they are the one organization that, regardless of how you do, they treat everyone the same.”
Hartley agrees: “Everyone says ‘Hi Charlie,’ ‘Hi Mr. Hartley.’ They treat you like a VIP and I just can’t believe the time has gone this fast.”
“I’m not as competitive as I used to be, but even 300 tournaments in, I’m proud to be here and it’s still somewhere I want to be.”
