Both anglers from the Top 3 teams in the team portion of this event had their weights zeroed after Thursday’s weigh-in, and they’re now fishing individually for two days. The man with the highest two-day weight will claim the last spot in the 2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk when it’s held March 19-21 on Lake Ray Roberts in Fort Worth, Texas.
It’s the chance of a lifetime, for sure. Let’s get to know each of the competitors chasing a dream in the Classic Fish-Off.
Captions: Andrew Canulette
ANDY WALLS
Age: 33
Hometown: Grand Rapids, Minn.
Occupation: Manages a sporting goods store, specializing in fishing gear.
Team Trail: Minnesota B.A.S.S. Nation
Home water: Gull Lake (Minn.)
Favorite fishing style: Flipping.
Favorite lure: Any creature bait.
Biggest bass ever caught? 8 pounds.
What one word best describes you? “Honest.”
What one word best describes the Harris Chain?: “Different.”
Best memory of any Bassmaster Classic: “I’ll never forget when Mike Iaconelli won in New Orleans (in 2003). I watched on TV that day and from then on, I knew I wanted to be a professional angler.”
What happens when you win the fish-off and secure the last spot in the Classic?: “I can’t say it would mean everything, because I’d still want to win that sucker. But getting my foot in the door, getting that first opportunity, the taste of it – it would be life-changing. It’s what I’ve always wanted.”
DARYL ADAMS
Age: 49
Hometown: Senoia, Ga.
Occupation: Process manager for a manufacturing plant.
Team Trail: Alabama Bass Trail
Home water: West Point Lake
Favorite fishing style: Throwing a Senko worm shallow.
Favorite lure: Senko worm.
Biggest bass: 9-6
What one word best describes you? “Country.”
What one word best describes the Harris Chain?: “Awesome.”
Best memory of the Bassmaster Classic: “All of them have been good.”
What happens when you win the fish-off and secure the last spot in the Classic?: “It would be very hard to talk with me if I did get in. I won $35,000 with a guy once, and I could hardly talk. I’m sure this would be worse.”
JORDAN WIGGINS
Age: 29
Hometown: Cullman, Ala.
Occupation: Runs an HVAC business.
Team Trail: Alabama Bass Trail
Home water: Smith Lake (Ala.)
Favorite fishing style: Top-water.
Favorite lure: ChatterBaits.
Biggest bass ever caught?: 9 pounds
What one word best describes you? “Laid-back”.
What one word best describes the Harris Chain?: “Love it. That’s two words. But I do love it.”
Best memory of any Bassmaster Classic: “My brother (Jesse) almost wining it two years ago (during the 2019 Classic on the Tennessee River in Knoxville, Tenn.) That was awesome.”
What happens when you win the fish-off and secure the last spot in the Classic?: “It would be unreal. It would mean the world to me. As long as it’s one of us, either me or (Sams).”
KEITH MAYFIELD
Age: 43
Hometown: Senoia, Ga.
Occupation: Director of an excavation operation.
Team Trail: Alabama Bass Trail
Home water: West Point Lake
Favorite fishing style: Shallow junk fishing.
Favorite lure: Any worm.
What one word best describes you? “Funny”.
What one word best describes the Harris Chain?: “One word doesn’t cut it. At any time you can work on them here.”
Best memory of the Bassmaster Classic: “When KVD tied Rick Clunn for most wins.”
What happens when you win the fish-off and secure the last spot in the Classic?: “It would mean the world. It would be a really humbling experience.”
KEITH TUMA
Age: 47
Hometown: Brainerd, Minn.
Occupation: Owns small sales and manufacturing company.
Team Trail: Minnesota B.A.S.S. Trail
Home water: Gull Lake (Minn.)
Favorite fishing style: “I love throwing a frog.”
Favorite lure: “Definitely the frog.”
Biggest bass: 9-6
What one word best describes you? “Ambitious.”
What one word best describes the Harris Chain?: “Amazing.”
Best memory of any Bassmaster Classic: “There’s so many different memories stuck in my head. I loved watching KVD hold that trophy while that (fireworks) display goes on. Seeing that, watching people I know, like Seth Feider, compete in the biggest bass tournament in the world.”
What happens when you win the fish-off and secure the last spot in the Classic?: “You have the opportunity to see it on TV, and you think you can do that. In reality, I know it’s so much more than that. Ninety percent of it is mental. So just to be in a class with those guys, you know, they’re pros and I’m just a guy. It’s an opportunity to fish on a level I’ve never seen before.”
WESLEY SAMS
Age: 38
Hometown: Cullman, Ala.
Occupation: Works in the auxiliary department at a local community college.
Team Trail: Alabama Bass Trail.
Home water: Smith Lake (Ala.)
Favorite fishing style: “Smith Lake is a deep and clear-water reservoir. I like it there.”
Favorite lure: “Either a shaky-head or a football jig.”
Biggest bass ever caught?: 10-2
What one word best describes you? “Family.”
What one word best describes the Harris Chain? “Good.”
Best memory of the Bassmaster Classic: “When I was 12 or 13, a guy who is a good friend of ours qualified for the Classic at High Rock (Lake in North Carolina in 1995). I can remember getting on the little computer we had and trying to find Craig Daniel’s name on it. He was a hometown hero for fishing in the Classic. We all dreamed of doing that one day too.”
What happens when you win the Classic Fish-Off and secure the last spot in the Classic?: “That would be the most awesome thing.”
