After only three days of practice together, Capt. Ryan Rickard and Bassmaster Elite pro Justin Atkins are acting like old friends, complete with pointed barbs.
Rickard had great rapport with Elite Chris Zaldain in winning the first Redfish Cup Championship in 2021 and taking second last year. Rickard, the only angler competing a third time, showed his good-natured ribbing when asked to compare Zaldain’s and Atkins’ redfish chops.
“One’s extremely, extremely hyper in Chris Zaldain,” he said, “and one is a really cool dude in this one right here. One’s really pretty, and this one right here is really ugly.”
Due to Atkins laughing, Rickard didn’t need to add he was kidding, but he did.
“There’s a lot of similarities because of how their thought process is, which is good,” he said. “These bass guys have that thought process that they can adapt to the conditions. Obviously, the personalities are different, but Justin and I’ve really jelled and jived.”
Atkins, who’s only previously caught a redfish or two by accident, said he’s enjoying Rickard’s company and the new experience of targeting redfish around Winyah Bay.
“It’s been fun,” he said. “It’s been cool seeing this part of the world and riding around with someone really knowledgeable about the sport and how it operates … then I got in the boat with Ryan.”
Zing. See it works both ways, but seriously …
“It’s been cool to pick his brain about how this works, what to look for, what he sees in certain areas. Compared to bass fishing, there’s so many similarities.”
Queried on the best redfish tips Rickard has offered, Atkins had trouble picking just one.
“Probably better life advice than fishing,” Atkins said. “He’s a really good dude. But he’s just shown me what to look for in the water, how the tides work, how the fish travel. It’s been a great experience soaking up a lot the information.”
Like with Zaldain, Rickard said Atkins brings that different perspective from the bass world, mainly techniques and ideas.
“Their mindset is similar to us, but sometimes it’s even more out of the box,” Rickard said. “As an example, yesterday he was just thinking about some things my mind wasn’t thinking about. ‘Hey, let’s look at this. We may be missing some with this style.’
“Sure enough, we pulled up and did what he was saying and we caught some. I was glad he said that because I wouldn’t have stopped there. I just wouldn’t have done it.”
Saying it was just a textbook bass fishing spot, Atkins passed this time on ribbing Rickard about not seeing it himself. Sometimes new friends get a pass, but it was evident both have expanded their circle of friends in the fishing world.
