In April of 2012 Missouri’s Casey Scanlon won a Bassmaster Open tournament on Table Rock Lake. The victory earned his first birth to a Bassmaster Classic, the 2013 edition at Oklahoma’s Grand Lake.
Thirteen years later, Scanlon won his second Open tournament, which took place in April of 2025 at Norfork Lake, Arkansas. This win has him penciled in for his second Classic, which takes place in Knoxville, Tenn., in 2026. He will be inked in after fishing the final Div. 2 Open of the season at Leech Lake, Minnesota.
A former Bassmaster Elite Series angler, Scanlon competed in bass fishing’s premier tour from 2013 through 2016. Over the next several years, he focused mainly on various bass fishing events.
In 2023 he began fishing the Bassmaster Opens with the goal of again qualifying for the Classic.
“I love tournament fishing at a high level,” Scanlon said. “It doesn’t get any higher than the Classic. I’m excited to go back and experience it again.”
As a tad, Scanlon often fished a creek that flowed behind his grade school. He caught bluegill and catfish on anything he could liberate from the family fridge that might tempt bites.
Grandfathers John Scanlon and Leo Ellenbecker cultivated his fishing passion. Grandpa John often took him fishing for bass and crappie after school on a lake at his uncle’s farm.
“He was a carpenter by trade and made a wooden johnboat,” Scanlon said of his grandfather. “Sometimes three or four of my cousins would be in the boat fishing with us.”
He remembers catching his first bass out of the wooden craft on a purple 6-inch worm sporting a pink tail.
Grandpa Leo also took him fishing and hunting frequently and always had his TV tuned to the Bassmaster television show on Saturday mornings. These episodes infected Scanlon with the bass tournament bug.
At around age 13 he bought an aluminum johnboat with $400 he earned from mowing lawns. A single battery powered the bow electric motor. His father would strap the boat to the roof of the family’s Buick Le Sabre and drive Scanlon and a fishing buddy to 120-acre Shawnee Mission Lake, a state park in Shawnee, Kan.
“We’d fish until the battery ran out and paddle back to the ramp,” Scanlon said. “We did that for three or four years. That’s where I really learned how to fish for bass.”
In his freshman year at Shawnee Mission High School, Scanlon inquired about joining the Bassmasters of Greater Kansas City. The club’s policy was to have potential members participate on a trial run before being voted in. Kit Lueg, a seasoned member, invited Scanlon to fish with him. They have since become lifelong friends.
“I was 15 when I fished my first tournament with Kit at Lake of the Ozarks,” Scanlon said. “I caught a 7-pounder on a jerkbait and won. That changed my life. I’ve been pursuing bass all over the country ever since.”
In his junior year in high school, Scanlon acquired a Stratos bass boat powered by a 150 horsepower outboard and felt like “the king of the world.”
“It was more affordable to get into tournament fishing back then,” Scanlon said. “There were lots of used bass boats around for under $5,000.”
After high school, Scanlon matriculated to the University of Kansas to pursue a degree in business communications. Between classes, he worked at his landscaping company. On weekends, he consistently cashed in by fishing local bass tournaments. His winnings included two bass boats.
“I just couldn’t keep up with doing all three,” Scanlon said. “I chose to drop out of college after two years and focus on my business and tournament fishing.”
He currently lives in Eldon, Mo., where he can look out his window and enjoy a scenic view of Lake of the Ozarks. He guides for bass and crappie on his home lake and manages Scanlon Properties, a company he formed that specializes in new home construction.
Besides the Opens, he competes in Toyota Series events. Lueg, the club member who helped Scanlon get started, travels with him to tournaments and competes as a nonboater.
Scanlon’s sponsors include Wholesale Batteries, Bass Pro Shops, Nitro Boats, Garmin, Hayabusa Hooks, Mercury Marine, Costa Del Mark, Power-Pole and Russel Marine products.
