I knew for several years I wanted to try and take my tournament fishing to the next level. I began competing in BFL (Bass Fishing League) bass tournaments in 2017 and my passion and love for the sport have since skyrocketed. So in 2022, I was finally ready to take the next step by fishing regional Triple A bass tournaments with Major League Fishing via the Toyota Series.
I quickly discovered that the “next level” of bass fishing requires more time, commitment, and hard work than I ever anticipated… and I LOVE IT! I committed to fishing 2 Toyota Series events this year in the Northern Division. And based on how I performed in those 2 events, I would fish the 3rd.
The first 2 events I fished were on the Potomac River and Lake Champlain. I quickly realized that these Triple A Regional events bring out the best of the best in regard to competition. And truthfully, I was overmatched in 2022. My level of experience and knowledge of the new waters wasn’t nearly good enough. I also underestimated the amount of time I needed to put into practice time to be able to really break down a new body of water quickly.
In my first Toyota Series tournament on the Potomac River, I actually found a couple of areas of quality fish and weighed in a limit of bass on the first day of the event. But due to my lack of experience and knowledge of the water, when those areas dried up on day 2 I was lost and only weighed in 3 fish which dropped me way down the leaderboard. On the 2nd event on Lake Champlain, I was able to weigh in a limit of smallmouth bass each day however the size of quality that I really needed to be competitive in the event just wasn’t there. I weighed in 12lbs the first day and 14lbs the second.
However, I learned a lot by fishing at this level. I learned that I love competing at this level. I love the preparation and time that goes into practicing for these events and trying to break down these new bodies of water. I learned that I need to increase my practice times and really try to dial in a quality bite. Just catching limits isn’t nearly enough at this level. I learned that even though you’re competing against the best of the best, you’re really only competing against the bass.
So now the question is, will I fish them again? At some point, yes. When will that be? I’m not sure just yet. Maybe next year, maybe the next. But my passion is only growing for this sport and I’m really ready to commit and do whatever it takes to succeed.
You can checkout my YouTube channel to see how I did on those 2 Toyota Series events.
