Introducing Myself
Get to know the reigning Forrest Wood Cup Champion in his own words
When FLW contacted me about doing some blogging I was immediately excited. I am a very vocal person. I love to talk to people, express my ideas and hear other opinions on topics and situations. I think the only way to ever grow and be an open-minded person is to hear other’s thoughts and opinions as well. I was also overcome with a little bit of anxiety because writing hasn’t always been my best friend. In fact, I enjoyed an English writing class in college so much that I took it twice! With that in mind, I decided I’d start with the topic I know best – myself.
For starters, I was born March 3, 1990, in Columbus, Miss. I always have co-anglers or marshals I tell that to that say, “gosh you are young, I was (insert grown-up activity here) in 1990!” Enough of the small stuff though, let’s talk about how I got to where I am now.
I was not much different than every other professional athlete as a child. I was consumed with the sport that I now call my profession. My dad has owned a Ranger Boat since before I was born, so trips to the river were pretty much an every weekend thing. My honey hole as a kid was a gravel pit lake in the woods behind the neighborhood I lived in. I spent every available minute at that lake fishing. I knew it – and the few bass that occupied it – like the back of my hand.
In middle school and high school my love for fishing tournaments really took off. My dad and I started fishing full divisions of team events all over north Mississippi. I spent countless Friday nights rigging tackle while my friends were out getting into who knows what. Having to take girlfriends home at 8:30 p.m. so I could get in bed for my tournament the next day cost me a few of those, but that’s ok, that part of my life worked out pretty good too!
At 19 things got a little more serious, I signed up to fish the Bassmaster Weekend Series as a co-angler and the Mississippi Division of the T-H Marine Bass Fishing League (BFL) as a boater. I went on to win the Weekend Series National Championship as a co-angler that year, earning a smooth $50,000 dollars. For most 19 year olds that could be dangerous, but the only thing my money was getting spent on was fishing equipment. I upgraded my electronics and bought a set of Power-Poles to go on my Ranger and at the ripe age of 20, I started fishing the Costa FLW Series events. After two years of fishing Costas I could see really quickly that I was forming a habit of working and fishing instead of going to school. So, at 22 I went back to school and enrolled at Mississippi State University. It was the best decision I ever made.
Life has a funny way of taking you down one path just to show you that was the wrong one. At the time, I thought that fishing bigger multiple day events was going to be my way to the big time, but I was wrong. During my time at State I met a ton of great fisherman, some that are still great friends of mine competing against me and on the B.A.S.S. Elite Series. The real key to my college adventures that set my career off was through the people I met working in the fishing industry for companies that helped our bass team.
For my first year on the FLW Tour, it boiled to Jimmy Mason. Jimmy and I were both working for PRADCO at the 2014 Bassmaster Classic on Guntersville and after some brief conversation we hit it off as friends. Little did I know, Jimmy would help me land a job in Florence, Ala., on Pickwick Lake, the place I wanted to live since I was a kid. He also helped me land a second job a few years later with LakeMaster that allowed me the time off to fish the Tour this year. My two main sponsors my first year on Tour also came through people I met because of college fishing. Pretty much the rest is history.
As for my first year on Tour, it went better than I could have ever dreamed it while sitting in class. Two top 10s during the regular season, making five out of seven checks and winning the Forrest Wood Cup. It was an unbelievable experience and I have to thank FLW for running the best tournaments and providing this opportunity for people with a dream like mine.
I have a few topics I would like to discuss in future blogs, but I would really love to know what you would like to hear from me. Simply go to my fan page on Facebook and send me a message on a topic you would like my opinion on. Anything from lakes, baits, seasonal patterns or any other fishing-related topic you can think of. Until next time, tight lines and God bless!