Citing financial reasons, Matt Reed has decided to step away from the Bassmaster Elite Series after 13-plus years of competing in Bassmaster tournaments.
Reed is coming off back-to-back finishes in the 90s at Toledo Bend and Lake Texoma, disappointing results for the Madisonville, Texas, native. He said the poor finish at BASSFest was the tipping point.
“I needed to get paid at Texoma,” Reed said via phone Tuesday. “We have three events left up north and they’re all 1,600 miles one way for me. We had $16,000 in entry fees left so it would probably cost me $23,000 to $25,000 total and if I got paid in all three, I’d make $5,000. That didn’t make sense to me.”
In a June 14 post on his Facebook page, Reed alluded to a “major change” in his schedule and that he’d be open for guide trips on Lake Fork between June 21-30, the same general time frame as the Cayuga Lake Elite Series.
“I just wasn’t willing to take the gamble any deeper,” he added. “It made no sense to continue financially. I’ll miss my road family and the events, but I will not miss the stress and financial risk, the parts that nobody imagines that we go through.”
Reed’s departure leaves the field for this week’s Cayuga Lake event at 107 anglers. He’s the third angler to withdraw from the circuit this season, following rookie Matt Vermilyea, who pulled out in April, and Byron Velvick, who retired after the first event. As of early Tuesday afternoon, B.A.S.S. had removed Reed from the Elite Series field page on its website.
The 54-year-old Reed cashed checks at Winyah Bay and Wheeler Lake this season, but finished 93rd or lower in the other four tournaments, leaving him 102nd in points.
Reed qualified for three Bassmaster Classics. His lone B.A.S.S. victory came at the 2004 Central Open at the Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. His best Elite Series finish was a runner-up effort at Grand Lake in 2006.
Reed said he will continue to guide as he has in the past, focusing on Lake Fork and Falcon Lake, venues where his clients have legitimate opportunities to catch 10-pound bass. He plans to still compete in tournaments, but he doesn’t envision himself attempting to requalify for the Elite Series.
“I will miss what I do, because in my mind that’s what I do,” he said. “I’ll still fish tournaments somewhere somehow. In fact, I’ll fish one next weekend that makes financial sense. It’s a $500 entry with a chance to win $50,000. There’s a good chance I show back up, but not at B.A.S.S. I don’t see myself going back to requalify. This is all brand new. I’m going to make a reasonable living guiding and that money will be mine instead of pouring it back into B.A.S.S.”
Already, he’s enjoying being able to participate in events that he’d have missed out on had he continued with the Elite Series. On Monday, he was a boat captain for a youth tournament at Toledo Bend. He’s also attended several of his granddaughter’s softball games.
“That’s the stuff I haven’t gotten to do and stuff that, in the grand scheme of things, is way more important,” he said. “I’d love to still be doing it, but I’m perfectly okay with the decision I’ve made. I just want to thank the fans over the years who’ve supported me. I hope that when they think about what I did, they think that I was one of the guys who did it right.
“I have no regrets. I enjoyed it. It was an awesome run, but I haven’t caught them good the last few years. There are no excuses in our game. We don’t get any sick days. I gave it all I had.”
