Thomas Barlow grew up fishing the open waters and back lakes of Galvestonâs West Bay. In his 35 years of fishing the Texas Coast, heâs learned a tremendous amount about all local native fish species and has become quite skilled at catching the âbig three.â Barlow guides out of Galveston, Texas, and tournament fishes for redfish and speckled trout all along the Gulf Coast â from Texas to Florida. Since starting to compete in local tournaments in 2000, he has been quite successful on the local and national stages of various redfish and trout series. This year has been a good for Barlow with back-to-back wins in the Elite Redfish Series and a handful of other wins in regional tournaments.
Ricky Bort is a 55-year-old Matagorda constable who lives on the Texas Gulf Coast. Bort started his career as a bass angler, winning a Phoenix BLF back in 1995 and fishing events like the Red Man All-American. Bort eventually âswitched over to saltâ after a Red Man angler meeting when the field was asked about their interest in expanding to saltwater events. Bort is a widely respected multispecies pro.
For Chris Cenci of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., fishing is a passion with deep family roots. He has many fond memories of fishing with his dad and older brothers growing up. Since the early 1990s he has been participating in both inshore and offshore fishing tournaments. When asked about his tournament career he said, âI love tournament fishing because of the camaraderie and the chance to fish against the top competitors in the inshore saltwater game.â Chris has more than 30 professional redfish tournament top 10 finishes with seven wins under his belt. He co-founded the Power-Pole Pro Redfish Series in 2012 and served as the East Coast Division Director for four years. In 2006, his passion for fishing and creativity led him to start his own lure company â Slayer Inc. Lures.
Ten-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier and former Texas Bass Classic champion Matt Herren is a resident of Asville, Ala. He has fished more than 150 tournaments with B.A.S.S. and has logged 18 years as a professional bass angler. In addition to bass fishing, Herren is a fantastic golfer who competed at the sport through high school.
Derek Hudnall is from Denham Springs, La., and he is a pro on the Bassmaster Elite Series. Hudnall qualified for the Elites the Central Opens in 2018 and fished the 2019 Bassmaster Classic. In addition to professional angling, Hudnall helps mentor young anglers at Central High School in Baton Rouge, and two of his protégés have won multiple Louisiana state championships.
Ron Hueston of Naples, Fla., is a fishing guide in the Florida Everglades who has fished the entire coast of Florida as a professional angler. He has one several big fish awards as the guide. Hueston is also a former IFA Redfish Tour and FLW Redfish Tour winner.
Redfish angler Chris Kennedy of Metairie, La., has nine first-place finishes in his fishing career, including two Championship wins and a Team of the Year title. His last win was in the 2018 IFA event in Hopedale, La. In 2021, Kennedy and his teammate Chris Cenci just missed Power-Pole Team of the Year honors finishing second overall for the season.
Born and raised in Seguin, Texas, Travis Land has fished competitive redfish tournaments for the past 11 years. Landâs love for fishing started young when he would fish with his grandpa and dad on local lakes. He fished many local tournaments and decided to go pro in 2010. In his 10-year fishing career, he has fished many Redfish Tournament Series such as the Elite Redfish Series, the Elite Fishing League, the IFA Redfish Tour, Rudy’s Professional Redfish Series, and The Redfish Would Series. Land has been successful with several championship wins, along with numerous top-three finishes.
Captain Matt McCabe is owner of Pro Edge Fishing charters located in Slidell, La. He spends 150 days guiding clients inland saltwater fishing in the marshes and bays of south Louisiana. McCabe was actually born on the lower Texas coast, and he spent a lot of his early childhood in Rockport. McCabe is a longtime Skeeter/Yamaha team pro.
Mark Menendez is a 20-year veteran of the Bassmaster Tournament Trail from Paducah, Ky. Menendez has six Bassmaster Classic appearances as well as three B.A.S.S. victories including a victory in the Bassmaster Elite Series, the Opens and a Top 100 event. The long-time Bassmaster pro has more saltwater experience than the average bass angler from his home state of Kentucky.
Starting out as an 8-year-old southern boy, Ryan Rickard couldnât wait to fish on the weekends at the lake with his uncle and his passion for the sport began to grow rapidly. By the he entered his early teenage years, Rickard began to take up saltwater fishing and never looked back. Originally from North Carolina, Rickard now calls Brandon, Fla. home. From recreational trips to becoming a Florida guide to taking his passion on the road to compete, the sport and competition takes up a lot of Rickardâs time. He has had âtoo many top five finishes to count including an extreme amount of second-place finishes, but I have still yet to stand on stage in the top spot.â This desire to win is what drives Rickman to be better every time he gets on the water.
Residing in Tomball, Texas, Glenn Vann is 49 years old, married and has two children. His occupation is service and rigging manager for Mt. Houston Marine. Vannâs tournament accomplishments include: August 2021 Elite Redfish Series Port Arthur â first place; June 2021 Elite Redfish Series Kemah â first place; Galveston Redfish Series 2012 and 2014 â second-place team of the year. Vann has multiple top 10 finishes in Galveston Redfish Series, Rudyâs Redfish Series and Elite Series 2009 through 2016. His sponsors are Mt. Houston Marine, Demolition Experts, Down South Lures, JH Performance Rods, Baad Marine Supply, Custom Marine Concepts and Twice the Ice. Vannâs hobbies include bass fishing with his son and deer hunting.
Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., just finished his third season on the Bassmaster Elite Series. Walters won his first Elite-level event at the 2020 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Walters also earned an early victory in his career at the 2018 Red River Bassmaster Open event. Walters fished in College at the University of South Carolina and was a winner, taking the title in a Carhartt Bassmaster College Series event at Winyah Bay.
Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth, Texas, has fished 150 B.A.S.S. events during his pro career. With six Bassmaster Classic qualifications, Zaldainâs most recent tournament win was the 2015 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship at Sturgeon Bay. Zaldain and his wife, Trait, partnered with Bassmaster and Amazon in 2020 to launch a YouTube series entitled Zaldaingerous, which gave an in-depth look at life on the road during tournament season.
Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, bass angler Trait Zaldain, started fishing bass tournaments in 2012. Currently, she is fishing the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens in hopes of qualifying for the Elite Series and Bassmaster Classic. Zaldain also has her own line of fishing rods and reels available in stores.