After the first three tournaments in Division 1 of the 2026 Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens presented by Battery Tender, Florida’s Bryson O’Steen occupies second place in the division’s Angler of the Year standings. He’s right on track to achieve his fervent goal of qualifying for the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series.
“Making it to the Elites is something I’ve always wanted in life,” said the 25-year-old angler. “I can’t live without it. I have to achieve that goal.”
He was born and raised in Live Oak, which is about 45 minutes from Gainesville and 40 minutes from the Georgia state line. He credits his grandfather Curtis Keen for introducing him to bass fishing and instilling his passion for tournament angling.
He caught his first bass, a 3-pounder, while fishing Suwannee Lake with his grandfather and his father, Stephen.
“I was 4 years old,” O’Steen said. “They handed me a Zebco 33 outfit and let me cast around a 6-inch watermelon lizard. I set the hook by myself.”
By age 8 he had graduated to a Bass Pro Shops baitcasting outfit and began fishing local team derbies with his grandfather, mainly on the Suwannee River. Some of his other early tournaments were on the Bienville Plantation and with a Walmart Children’s Network Bass Trail that raised funds for less fortunate children.
“We won the Walmart tournament when I was 8,” O’Steen said. “I caught an 11-pounder on a watermelon red Zoom Magnum Speed Worm. That’s still my biggest bass.”
Northern Florida fishing
Although Florida abounds with premier bass lakes, O’Steen pointed out that the waters near his home are stingy and heavily fished. They forced him to excel with shallow-water bass tactics. The Suwannee River taught him how to read tides and fish jigs, shaky heads and topwater baits in a current.
He’s certain that these challenging fisheries also trained him to grind, stay strong and become an “instinctual fisherman” who can change strategies on the fly.
“My instinctive ability helped me in the Open tournament on Lake Norman,” O’Steen said. “I fished a 7-inch glidebait in the backs of pockets the first day looking to catch big, hungry, postspawn females. I wound up in 63rd place with about 11 pounds.”
The next day his instincts led him out to main lake pockets, urged him to slow down and to fish secondary rocky points with a shaky head and to skip a jig under docks. These tactics yielded a 15-10 limit and a 23rd-place finish that jumped him to second place in AOY points.
College and beyond
Prior to fishing the Opens, O’Steen competed on the college bass team at Florida Gateway College in Lake City, Fla. The high school he attended did not have a bass team, so this experience proved vastly different than fishing tournaments with his grandfather.
He was no longer limited to the challenging waters near home in northern Florida. The collegiate events took him to storied bass lakes all over the country.
“Those were some of the best days of my life, for sure,” O’Steen said. “Learning how to understand different lakes and to adjust and expand prepped me for the Opens. You can’t live or die in one area. You have to adjust on the fly and not be afraid to fish new water. If you don’t, you’ll be left behind.”
During his initial foray into the Opens last year, these lessons helped him make it to the first of the three Elite Qualifiers. He failed to advance through the EQs and longs to have a do-over this year.
When not fishing, O’Steen works for Keen’s Buildings in his hometown, which is owned by his uncle Kevin Keen. The business sells and builds a variety of steel buildings, from barndominiums to boat ports.
“I’m so incredibly thankful for my uncle,” O’Steen said. “He has helped me so much along the way and lets me off work to fish the Opens.”
O’Steen’s sponsors include Keen’s Buildings, Boogerman Lures, North Florida Sonar, Copperstate Tackle, McDuffie Marine and Sporting Goods, Phenix Rods, Blazer Boats and Caffeine & Carbines.
