Story by Hunter Sales | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
As a college baseball player, my coach always preached “control what you can control.” As a college fishing coach, I sing the same song to my anglers.
Whether this means maintaining your equipment, showing up prepared, retying your line, or getting over a lost fish, these little nuances can be the difference between success and failure. In the professional fishing industry over the last few weeks, it’s evident that many anglers are passionate about the changes taking place.
When change strikes, as it inevitably will, all you can control is how you will respond to it. In this article, I’m going to do my best to summarize my journey, the choices that have shaped my career, and my ideas on what the path forward can hold. This is tough to do in one column, but I believe there are countless young anglers who can learn from the path of many professional anglers.
Throughout the early days of my college baseball career, I struggled to realize that there would be a day in my life that I wouldn’t pick up a bat or glove. For three seasons, I worked hard to maximize the little natural talent that I had, but more often than not found myself sitting on the bench behind an SEC caliber third baseman. This hard work with minimal return built upon the already strong work ethic that my dad instilled in me beginning in my tee ball days.
The summer after my junior year of college, the B.A.S.S. College Series made a visit to Cherokee Lake. Cherokee Lake sits less than five minutes from our university and was a lake that I had frequently fished when growing up. One of my best friends from the baseball team agreed to fish this tournament with me. Spoiler alert: We got our teeth kicked in! I didn’t realize that this event would soon lead to a crossroads for me.
The buzz around our local fishing community was exciting as news spread that Carson-Newman had created a fishing club. I had no intentions of quitting baseball before my senior year or even exploring a career option besides law school. Even so, God had other plans as sign after sign kept telling me to explore this avenue. I created a five-year business plan and set-up a meeting with the Chief Financial Officer of our university. I fully expected to present my plan, get shut down, walk back to baseball practice, graduate in the spring, and go to law school. I left the meeting with a job offer that included a small salary and a full-tuition MBA scholarship.
In my head, the MBA would help me get into law school, so I decided that this would be worthwhile. The catch? I had to give up baseball. I experienced a wide range of emotions when making this decision but couldn’t help feeling that God was shutting one door but opening another.
With the newfound free time, I began fishing more than ever from my 1999 Ranger R93 that I had went in halves on with my dad. I certainly did not experience immediate success, but in the two years of pursuing my MBA degree, I posted three Top 10s in college events, secured my first sponsorship (a boat deal with the local Bass Pro Shops), and won my first BFL. Now I had another decision to make, continue exploring a fishing career or go back to my original plans and apply to law school. After some friendly trash-talking from an industry associate, my competitive fire was lit and I decided to begin fishing the Bassmaster Opens.
The first few years fishing the Opens were great. I found myself inside the check cut as many times as not and had a couple of narrow misses for Elite Series berths. Sponsorship dollars weren’t great, but with a stable salary and living at home, I was making it work.
In 2022, I decided to fish all nine Opens in pursuit of the Elite Series. I had a good year in terms of tournament results and growing my brand, but still found myself a few key fish away from accomplishing my goal. In 2023, I had the toughest year in my fishing career. I could point to a lack of preparation, a reluctance to adapt to changing fish behaviors and technology, or distractions with work, but ultimately, I just didn’t catch them. I fished all nine Opens without earning a check and finances were tough for a 26-year-old living at home on a modest salary. To the world, I was living the dream, traveling the country and fishing 150 or so days a year. Internally, I was faced with conflict and an uncertain feeling about my future in fishing.
Our team at Carson-Newman University was doing great, and I knew that God was working through me to reach young anglers. Mentoring these anglers is one of my greatest joys in life, but I seemed to be getting further away from my personal goals. Even with my brand and marketing reach at the largest point in my career, I was uncertain if I would be able to attract enough sponsorship dollars to pay my entry fees and credit card bills. Once again, I was at a crossroads: Should I double down on a fishing career or pivot?
I prayed seriously about this decision and began talking with potential sponsors about my 2024 plans. Throughout this process was a decision to continue fishing the Bassmaster Opens with its nine event schedule or the NPFL with a six tournament schedule. The NPFL schedule had far fewer conflicts with our college events, and I felt that I would be able to utilize the three extra weeks to prepare for events instead of feeling so strung-out. Almost to the penny, I was able to come up with enough sponsorship dollars to pay my entry fees, boat wrap, and insurance for the year. I immediately focused my attention to improving my skillset.
Looking back at the great year I’ve had in the NPFL so far, I’m very thankful for all of the lessons I’ve learned throughout my life. We all make choices about how we approach every day. It’s far easier to complain about your situation than it is to push the chips to the center of the table and get to work. I’ve been in many situations that felt like the end of the road, but each time God has provided answers and a light shining on the path I was supposed to take. It’s no secret that there are many anglers at a crossroads in their careers right now. Perhaps we are in one of the most pivotal moments in bass fishing history. I encourage everyone to keep the faith, keep the positivity, and let’s all get back to work.
NPFL Angler Profile
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