Skeet Reese has geared his entire 10-year pro career toward one goal – winning the BASS Angler of the Year (AOY) award.
Less than an hour ago, he reached that goal with his 10-05 day-3 catch (and 14th-place finish) at the Toho Bassmaster Elite Series.
He was the last angler of the 50-man field to weigh in, and as he emerged from backstage, he raised his hands – and his bag of bass – in the air.
He already knew he had the title – he'd known it since earlier today when he boxed his fifth fish. But as the crowd cheered and he stood just moments from his dream, emotion began to show.
His face turned flush, tears welled in his eyes, and as he presented his bag to BASS tournament director Trip Weldon, he said: "This right here is for all my friends, my family, and all my sponsors for supporting me all these years."
Quest For Five
Reese didn't need to catch much to clinch today – he needed to finish 35th or better to win AOY. But at the same time, he didn't want to catch too much. He was ready for the season to end, and said he wanted to catch enough to finish 13th, then have "one heck of a blowout tonight."
"My main focus was to go catch about 4 or 5 pounds," he said. "If I did that, I felt I'd have it pretty much locked up. (But) once I started fishing, the competitive side (of me) started flowing again."
"It's been a phenomenal year," he added. "I kind of came in with a little different attitude this year – wanting to win. I'd had enough Top 10 finishes over the years. I came out a little more focused – more determined to get a win this year."
Means Everything
About what this AOY title means to him, he said: "It means my career to me. I've built my career chasing one of these trophies. I can't tell you what it means."
At that point, he walked down from the stage to embrace his wife Kim and his two daughters.
Moments later, with his family onstage, he added: "It feels great (to win). It really does. To go head-to-head against Kevin (VanDam) all season made it much more rewarding. If you win, you want to beat the best, and he's definitely the best in modern-day angling. I take my hat off to Kevin."
Reese's father was at the weigh-in – something Reese said was a "shock" – and he also thanked his sponsors.
"I've never been one to give sponsor plugs – I hate shameless sponsor plugs," he said. "But those sponsors that have stuck with me over the years, and supported me, and allowed me to pursue my dream – Champion, Lucky Craft, Mercury, Lowrance, Berkley, Lamiglas – thank you so much for allowing me to live my dream."
He's told BassFans many times through the years that he'd rather win AOY than the Bassmaster Classic. He repeated that conviction again today.
"(The Classic) is winning one tournament. Anybody can do that at one point in time – have a right day and win a tournament. To win AOY – it doesn't matter if it's a local club, BFL, Weekend Series, or Elite Series – to win means you were the best day after day for the whole season.
"For 44 competition days this year, I got to be the king."
Notable
> VanDam, who finished 19th, said: "I fished hard and did the best I could. It's been a fun year, and a great race. Skeet's pretty stout. One thing I've always tried to do is be real gracious when I win, and when I lose. This has been a tough event for all of us. It's been a stressful week. I'm glad this season's over, and now I'm going to do a little deer hunting."
