At any other point during his career, catching just over 10 pounds at Sam Rayburn Reservoir and notching a 143rd-place finish during a St. Croix Bassmaster Open presented by SEVIIN would have devastated Miles Burghoff.
This season, however, Burghoff carries a new perspective, one that can only be realized after one of the most difficult and scary years of his life caring for his daughter Rylee. Last February, careers were put on hold when Rylee, 10 months old at the time, was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood cancer.
“I’ve been about as hardcore about the sport as anyone can possibly be, so if I ever thought I would say having a bad tournament would be okay with me, I would have laughed at that notion,” Burghoff said. “It used to be the worst thing that ever happened to me was a bad tournament. Now I don’t care. I just care about the process.
“It is a wonderful perspective. Honestly, that perspective is probably the biggest gift I’ve ever been given.”
After eight months and eight different chemotherapy treatments at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Burghoff is thankful he and his wife Katie can say Rylee is now cancer free as of Aug. 21, which is by far more important to the Dayton, Tenn., pro than any bass ever will be.
Sam Rayburn marked the first Open for Burghoff since hastily leaving practice for the 2024 season opener at Lake Okeechobee when doctors detected a tumor in Rylee’s abdomen three days before the tournament kicked off.
In the months that followed, the family was filled with what felt like a never-ending anxiety. They moved into housing at St. Jude, where Rylee would undergo hours of chemotherapy treatments for what doctors call a neuroblastoma. While the cancer responded to the treatment, nothing was guaranteed.
“We were living in fear, for sure. It was inescapable anxiety all of the time. It is cancer,” Burghoff explained. “We got bits of encouragement and hope along the way. Her cancer responded very well to treatment, but we had no idea. The first family we befriended with the same cancer, their child died while we were there. And we are also seeing all these other families with the same cancer that aren’t doing great. I’m a social guy normally. I want to put myself out there and get to know people. But, my goodness, you kind of insulate yourself in a way in order to keep confidence in the process almost. Seeing so many families that were worse off was really difficult.”
In June, Rylee underwent surgery to remove most of the primary tumor from her abdomen, a huge step in the road to recovery. The Burghoffs remained on edge until a PET scan and a bone marrow biopsy were negative in late August. Doctors and nurses showered Rylee with confetti when it was time to be discharged.
When their cancer journey first began, Burghoff thought it would be he and Katie who would carry the load for Rylee. In his reflection, it ended up being quite the opposite.
“I thought my wife and I would be her rock throughout the process. But she was our rock. Watching her was … she calmed us down,” he said. “She handled it so well. The whole process, though, is terrifying, and it is exhausting. It is hard to take care of a baby and keep them still while they are getting chemo pumped into them for six or more hours a day. It was a hard process, but she pulled us through it.”
The entire fishing world had the backs of the Burghoffs too. As both Burghoff and Katie were forced to put their occupations on hold, a GoFundMe page was created and donations poured in from fellow anglers and fishing fans. In total, over $140,000 was raised for the family. The entire Opens EQ field sent a giant poster to St. Jude in support as well.
“I want to say thank you to the fishing community for everything they did for our family,” Burghoff said. “It was such a scary scenario financially, on top of everything going on health wise with my daughter. The fishing community stood behind us.”
Rylee, now almost 2, is back home in Dayton. The family dog Doppler is one of her best friends, and she spends much of her time looking at her books. Burghoff has also noticed his daughter loves the water and enjoys catching toy fish with her magnetic fishing rod.
The family knows they aren’t quite out of the woods yet. The five-year mark is when confidence greatly increases that cancer will not return. For now, though, they are enjoying life back in their hometown.
“It’s gone right now, and I’m confident it will remain that way, but you don’t know,” Burghoff said. “We do have some relief right now just kind of being able to get back to normal. And obviously I get to fish tournaments again and get back to my passion, but none of that will ever go away, at least until the five-year mark.”
Burghoff, who spent several years as a Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit angler, is officially in his second season as an Opens pro. In his year away, the landscape of tournament fishing has changed dramatically. That will take some time to adjust to, Burghoff acknowledged.
He has already made some adjustments to his list of goals after the first week back. Most of it revolves around learning forward-facing sonar, but Burghoff believes his newfound perspective will only help him achieve his goals in the long run.
“For me, I’m kind of coming back to a whole new era of bass fishing,” he said. “It sounds silly, but over the past year, everything has changed. Everything. Look at the demographics and the young anglers who are learning this forward-facing sonar and the techniques that dominate along with it.
“I don’t have as much of an ego as I used to. So, I’m taking this opportunity, with the humility I have learned throughout this process, to dedicate myself to forward-facing sonar and learn that. I’ll use this as a learning year, take my licks, pay my dues again and we’ll be back on top.”
It seemingly hasn’t taken him too long to adjust, as Burghoff finds himself in fifth place with 40-1 heading into the final day at Kentucky Lake. He dedicated his Day 2 catch of 25-6 to the children currently being treated at St. Jude.
