By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor


When Andy Montgomery was asked if there was anything fellow Elite Series pro Cliff Prince could do for him to show his appreciation for helping Prince qualify for the 2015 Bassmaster Classic, Montgomery had a simple request.

"I'd ask him for a free Port-o-John," Montgomery said. "I thought it would be pretty cool. I want one."

Prince, who owns and operates a portable sanitation business in Florida, laughed when he heard about Montgomery's odd wish.

"That'll work. I can help him with that," Prince said.

Whatever arrangements the two ultimately agree on, there's no denying Prince will always look back on the 2014 season and remember it was Montgomery's victory at the Lake Norman Southern Open that opened the door for him to earn a berth to his second career Classic.

Following a 16th-place finish at the Elite Series Angler of the Year Championship in Michigan last month, Prince found himself in 40th place in the points, one point shy of making the Classic via that route. His only remaining hope was to win the Norman Open himself or hope another Classic-qualified angler won it as he'd be next in line to receive a bid if another double-qualifier emerged. It was a longshot, but possible.

"When I didn't make it after the AOY, I started looking back to the first tournament," he said. "It just goes to show how much every bite counts all year long. I lost four 4- to 5-pounders at Seminole and two 8- or 9-pounders at the St. Johns. If I land one of those, I'm in the cut and if I catch both I would've been in the Top 12 there. Every bite you get is so crucial. If you lose a fish that you can cull with, more often than not it can cost you $10,000."

Montgomery, who hadn't fished the first two Southern Opens, had fished his way into the Classic with a strong showing at the AOY event. He didn't even have to fish Lake Norman, but it's one of his favorite lakes and he didn't want to pass up a chance to compete at a fishery that helped him learn his craft.

When Montgomery prevailed last Saturday, it meant Prince could exhale – he's heading to the Classic.

Nervous Wreck

After he weighed in on day 2 of the Norman Open and it became apparent he wasn't going to make the Top-12 cut for day 3, Prince packed up his boat and started his journey back home to Florida.

"I just got in my truck and drove," he said. "I couldn't take it. I got to the Florida-Georgia line and got a hotel room. I woke up at 4 a.m. Saturday and felt like I was going to fish a tournament. It was weird. I drove the rest of the way home and started looking at the blog."

He saw one report that David Williams, the leader after days 1 and 2, was struggling on the final day and Montgomery was making a charge.

"I also knew that if any of those guys caught a 5-pounder, they'd have a legitimate shot at it," he said.

As the weigh-in got closer, his parents came over to his house along with his in-laws. He hooked his computer up to his television to they could watch the live stream on the big screen. He couldn't stand to be in the room as the 12 finalists came on stage.

"I went outside and started cooking burgers," he said. "I couldn't stand to watch it."

Not long after, his wife, Kelly, came running out of the house screaming, for joy mostly.

"I thought it was over," he said, "but Andy had just weighed in and taken the lead. It was a nail-biter right down to the end. I was just trying to do something to keep my mind off of it. Let me put it this way: I could've gone fishing all day and not been as tired as I was from all that stress. I was mentally shot."

Late-Season Stumble

Prince was in decent shape points-wise after BASSFest. He was 27th and well inside the Classic cutoff, however, missed cuts at the Delaware River and Cayuga Lake dropped him to 40th heading to Michigan for the AOY Championship.

"I went up there with the thoughts that if I had a Top-20 that I had a legitimate shot at the Classic," he said.

Day 1 at Escanaba was the ultimate struggle for Prince as he was without a fish until 11 a.m.

"I didn't get on any of the spots that I'd found fish on," he said. "The fish weren't just everywhere up there. They were on very specific spots."

At one point, he found himself running around in Little Bay de Noc heading to an area he'd hoped to fish. He saw a fellow competitor's boat in the distance and opted to peel off.

"I saw a Yamaha boat and thought it was Todd (Faircloth)," he said. "I had another point I wanted to go to so I turned and left. I found out later it was Dean Rojas. After day 1, I talked to Dean and explained my situation to him and asked if he would mind if I fished there with him he next day."

He later learned that Marty Robinson, another angler on the Classic bubble, was also hoping to fish that area and had a similar chat with Brandon Lester, who was fishing close to Rojas.

When Prince got to the area on day 2, Robinson was already there, but waved Prince in and each proceeded to catch 21-plus pounds. Robinson finished 13th in the tournament, Prince 16th. The final AOY points saw Prince with 560 points in 40th place and Robinson in 41st with 558.

"Hats off to Marty Robinson," Prince said. "I wouldn't have caught what I caught had it not been for Marty. I'm not the type to put my hat down and go fish on top of somebody."

Robinson had also fished the Norman Open, but finished 44th, meaning he's now the odd man out of the Classic. Prince said he reached out to Robinson after the Norman Open to express his appreciation once again.

"I just told him, 'Man, I'm sorry. I hate it for you,'" Prince said. "Looking back, if he'd have said, 'No,' up at the AOY, I couldn't have caught what I did and been in the position I was in."

Means So Much

Two years ago, Prince made the Classic after a solid rookie season on the Elite Series, but had an average sophomore season and missed it by a wide margin.

"The first year I made it, it all happened so quick that I didn't realize how big of a feat it really was," he said. "Last year, I missed it by a long shot and I thought, 'This is harder than I thought.'

"This year, I figured I'd get off to a good start, but I got behind the 8-ball again. I was in the middle of the pack for most of the year. I see how hard it is now and what it means. It means more and more the more you fish. It's the same thing as fishing a local trail and making their Classic tournament. If you miss it, you're bummed out."