We're Fishing the Classic!

After a tough start to the season, I had a good run in the second half of the season to finish 28th in points on the Bassmaster Elite Series and I have qualified to fish in my first Bassmaster Classic March 6-8 at Lake Guntersville in Alabama!  This is the biggest accomplishment of my fishing career, something I'm proud of and very excited for!

The highlight of the season took place in late-August at Lake Cayuga out in New York.  After a good tournament the week before at the St. Lawrence River where I landed a 12th place finish, I had a great week at Cayuga and ended up with a 2nd place finish.  

After leading the tournament for the final couple of days, it was a little disappointing to finish 2nd but it was a great tournament and I didn't leave a lot of opportunity out on the lake.  It was a lot of fun, that lake has a bunch of big bass in it! 

One of the highlights of the week at Cayuga was that my wife Shelby was there to experience everything with me...she is my best supporter and it was great to share this week with her!

The whole season on the Elite Series was a great experience.  I had so much fun with my crew of buddies that I stay with during the season - Seth Feider, Chris Groh, Chris and Cory Johnston.  We started a new tradition during the season as well...hooking up with our northern buddy Dave Mercer for Friday night dinners the weeks of the events.  Dave has been a big help throughout my career, including bringing me up on stage for my first seminar many years ago and simply giving me advice along the way, he's a good friend!