7 questions with Matt Herren

Matt Herren is a Bassmaster Elite Series pro in his 11th season on the trail. He is a veteran of 125 career Bassmaster Tournaments who has qualified for seven Bassmaster Classics and earned more than $850,000 in his Bassmaster tournament career. He qualified for the Elite Series through the Bass Pro Shops Southern Opens in 2008, and he spent the six seasons before that on the FLW tour.

He and his wife Candy live in Ashville, Ala.; they have two sons, who are both married and they have two granddaughters.

<b>Question 1:</b> Who got you into fishing and when did you fish your first tournament?</p>
<p><b>Answer:</b> My dad got me into fishing, my parents have pictures of me in diapers holding a cane pole. When I was 10 years old, dad entered me into a fishing tournament for our youth baseball league at a 60-acre lake in Trussville. It had a bream division, a bass division and several other individual divisions and I won the bass division; after that I was done for.

Question 1: Who got you into fishing and when did you fish your first tournament?
Answer: My dad got me into fishing, my parents have pictures of me in diapers holding a cane pole. When I was 10 years old, dad entered me into a fishing tournament for our youth baseball league at a 60-acre lake in Trussville. It had a bream division, a bass division and several other individual divisions and I won the bass division; after that I was done for.

<b>Question 2:</b> What year would you consider your best year as an Elite Series competitor?</p>
<p><b>Answer:</b> Thatâs hard to say. I had a sixth place in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings one year. Consistency has always been my goal, and Iâve had a couple of years where Iâve fished really clean, earning over $150,000 in the process. But, I guess 2014 was probably my best year, because I qualified for both the Bassmaster Classic and the Forrest Wood Cup, although winning the Toyota Texas Bass Classic in 2016 was pretty sweet.

Question 2: What year would you consider your best year as an Elite Series competitor?
Answer: Thatâs hard to say. I had a sixth place in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings one year. Consistency has always been my goal, and Iâve had a couple of years where Iâve fished really clean, earning over $150,000 in the process. But, I guess 2014 was probably my best year, because I qualified for both the Bassmaster Classic and the Forrest Wood Cup, although winning the Toyota Texas Bass Classic in 2016 was pretty sweet.

<b>Question 3:</b> Outside of fishing, what can you tell people about Matt Herren that they may not know?</p>
<p><b>Answer:</b> I love my family; my parents, my wife, my sons and my daughters-in-law, and my grand babies are absolutely the lights of my life. I love to compete, but my family is my world. Because I like to compete, I also like to play golf. I love the challenge of the sport, and I play a lot of it with friends when I am at home.

Question 3: Outside of fishing, what can you tell people about Matt Herren that they may not know?
Answer: I love my family; my parents, my wife, my sons and my daughters-in-law, and my grand babies are absolutely the lights of my life. I love to compete, but my family is my world. Because I like to compete, I also like to play golf. I love the challenge of the sport, and I play a lot of it with friends when I am at home.

<b>Question 4:</b> We know flipping is your strongest technique, and what youâre known for, but what is your favorite way to fish?</p>
<p><b>Answer:</b> That would have to be a spinnerbait. Itâs fun to cover water with the blade. Most of the time the fish are reacting to a spinnerbait, they are really shallow and hiding in cover. With a spinnerbait, I can cover those targets quickly, and when they eat itâ¦ boy that strike! I love it when they crush a blade.

Question 4: We know flipping is your strongest technique, and what youâre known for, but what is your favorite way to fish?
Answer: That would have to be a spinnerbait. Itâs fun to cover water with the blade. Most of the time the fish are reacting to a spinnerbait, they are really shallow and hiding in cover. With a spinnerbait, I can cover those targets quickly, and when they eat itâ¦ boy that strike! I love it when they crush a blade.

<b>Question 5:</b> If you could only fish one body of water for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?</p>
<p><b>Answer:</b> Neely Henry, because I can fish for spotted bass and largemouth in many different ways. Plus, Neely Henry is very special to me because itâs home. Itâs where my dad taught me to fish and where I learned to be a tournament fisherman.

Question 5: If you could only fish one body of water for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Answer: Neely Henry, because I can fish for spotted bass and largemouth in many different ways. Plus, Neely Henry is very special to me because itâs home. Itâs where my dad taught me to fish and where I learned to be a tournament fisherman.

<b>Question 6:</b> Youâve got four season events remaining in 2019, and the AOY championship â should you qualify â which looks promising? Which one are you most looking forward to?</p>
<p><b>Answer:</b> Iâve always loved to go up north, so I am really looking forward to Cayuga. Iâve had two really good finishes there, including a Top 10. And while I donât feel like Iâve mastered it or the smallmouth bite, I love being there because the fish arenât as educated as those in the South, which makes them easier to catch. Add to that the weather, which is cooler in the dead of summer, and Iâm looking forward to that tournament the most.

Question 6: Youâve got four season events remaining in 2019, and the AOY championship â should you qualify â which looks promising? Which one are you most looking forward to?
Answer: Iâve always loved to go up north, so I am really looking forward to Cayuga. Iâve had two really good finishes there, including a Top 10. And while I donât feel like Iâve mastered it or the smallmouth bite, I love being there because the fish arenât as educated as those in the South, which makes them easier to catch. Add to that the weather, which is cooler in the dead of summer, and Iâm looking forward to that tournament the most.

<b>Question 7:</b> What does it mean to you to be an Elite Series Angler?</p>
<p><b>Answer:</b> It means I earned my spot there. To be an Elite Series angler means you qualified and you earned your spot to be there. Outside of that â being from Alabama â B.A.S.S. means something to me, I grew up watching the <em>Bassmasters</em> on TNN with Ray Scott and Bob Cobb. Then in 1981, I saw Stanley Mitchell win the Classic in Montgomery, and I knew I wanted to be on that stage. Itâs a part of my heartbeat as a competitor. Iâm really blessed to be able to do what I love to do. It never occurred to me how many people Iâd get to meet on the road, Iâve got real friends around the county because of B.A.S.S., and thatâs one of the coolest parts about it.

Question 7: What does it mean to you to be an Elite Series Angler?
Answer: It means I earned my spot there. To be an Elite Series angler means you qualified and you earned your spot to be there. Outside of that â being from Alabama â B.A.S.S. means something to me, I grew up watching the Bassmasters on TNN with Ray Scott and Bob Cobb. Then in 1981, I saw Stanley Mitchell win the Classic in Montgomery, and I knew I wanted to be on that stage. Itâs a part of my heartbeat as a competitor. Iâm really blessed to be able to do what I love to do. It never occurred to me how many people Iâd get to meet on the road, Iâve got real friends around the county because of B.A.S.S., and thatâs one of the coolest parts about it.