Remembering Joby Smith

Honoring the service yard savior who worked tirelessly behind the scenes at Bassmaster tournaments.

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Joby Smith, longtime Johnson Outdoors service technician, unexpectedly passed away on March 26, 2026, during the Bassmaster Elite Series tournament at the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Columbus, Miss. 
His passing was felt far and wide among a tight-knit grieving family of anglers, staff and industry representatives whom Smith worked beside and called his road family. 
That grief particularly resonated with the brotherhood known as the service yard saviors of men and women who work tirelessly behind the scenes to support the anglers. 
Smith provided tournament support for brands that include Minn Kota and Humminbird, broad categories that include fishfinders, trolling motors, battery chargers and shallow water anchors. 
Smith was a native of Alabama based in Minnesota, where he enjoyed his off-duty passions of ice fishing and wild turkey hunting. 
Smith began his career 37 years ago with Johnson Outdoors. He traveled at least 185 days a year to more than 25 tournaments across various leagues, including the Elite and Opens series. Days began long before sunrise and oftentimes ended after sunset. 
In a Bassmaster.com feature for the Service Yard Savior franchise, Smith was quoted as saying this about what he most liked about his job. “I love the people. These service guys are like having family on the road. No matter what you need they offer to help, no questions asked, and they’d do it anytime, anywhere.”
As he traveled the country, Smith became a fixture in the bass fishing community and a friend to everyone he had the pleasure of meeting. 
His real gift was the gentle kindness, humor and attention he brought to every conversation. 
Smith enjoyed a special connection to the B.A.S.S. family, who united to honor him by creating and wearing mourning ribbons during the Elite tournament in Mississippi at the Tenn-Tom tournament. The ribbons were made of yellow and gold fabric, the brand colors of Hummingbird and Minn Kota. 
Smith’s brothers in arms on the service teams honored him and some were pallbearers at his funeral on March 31, 2026. They represent opposing brands and do their jobs for them, but the unwritten code of the service yard is that everyone pitches in regardless of affiliation. 
On Friday morning, the next day after his passing, Elite Series emcee Dave Mercer called for a moment of silence prior to the official takeoff on Day 2. That was followed by a call for the anglers to sound their boat horns for 10 seconds, an honorary salute that lasted much longer.