Schedule Made Dunkin's Decision An Easy One

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

The black rubber bracelet on Luke Dunkin’s left wrist serves as a constant reminder of where he’s been, but also where he wants to go.

The words “Forrest Wood Cup” are imprinted on the bracelet – it served as Dunkin’s all-access pass as a co-angler at this year’s Cup at Lake Ouachita, where he finished 34th. His hope is that he’ll get another one next August. If he does, that’ll mean he qualified for one of the sport’s marquee events as a rookie pro.

“I’m not taking it off until I get a bracelet for the 2016 Cup,” he said recently while sitting in a cabin along the shores of Lake Guntersville. “That’s my daily inspiration.”

The 2015 season was Dunkin’s first full go an FLW Tour co-angler – he had fished two Tour events out of the back of the boat in 2013 – but his experience on the water extends far beyond his co-angler days. He nearly qualified for the Bassmaster Tour as a 19-year-old in 2002, then went to work for T-H Marine after college in 2005 and has been around the fishing industry ever since.

He figured next year would be the ideal time to jump to the front deck after finishing 18th in co-angler points. With two regular-season tournaments on the Tennessee River (his backyard) and the Forrest Wood Cup at Lake Wheeler (another TVA lake), he’ll spend plenty of time on water he’s very familiar with.

“I would’ve been content with another year as a co-angler, but with the (2016) Cup at Wheeler Lake, there would’ve been a lot of what-ifs if I didn’t at least try,” he said. “Making the Cup this year and being at the banquet and seeing it all, I told my wife, ‘I want to make sure I give this all I’ve got.’

“There’s nothing like a good year to get you fired up and some good things happened for me. I really feel like the timing is right to give it a try.”

Two Passions Collide

Dunkin has been around bass fishing his whole life, but his first passion has always been song-writing.

“I’ve been a song writer as long as I can remember,” he said. “I used to write poetry and then got into song-writing through music my dad listened to … Steve Earle, John Hiatt, that type of music.”

He continued to write and play music through high school, college and beyond, even after taking a full-time job with T-H Marine and while fishing tournaments around northern Alabama. In 2013, he recorded his first album entitled “64” in Muscle Shoals, Ala. (“It’s on iTunes,” he says bashfully).

“I played heavily for a long time,” he said. “I still play a good bit, but it’s hard to balance that with everything I have going on. I still write a ton when I can.”

His music background has intersected with bass fishing on many occasions. He says his friendship with Elite Series angler Gerald Swindle is rooted much deeper in music than fishing. He played the McDonald’s Big Bass Splash with country star Blake Shelton back in 2009. He’s played at various industry events and it’s helped him network with business contacts while giving him an outlet for his passion.

Far From a Rookie

Dunkin says he’s “lurked in the shadows for a long time” when talking about his bass fishing background. He grew up not far from the Tennessee-Alabama border and cut his teeth fishing the nearby TVA lakes.

“Being from this area and fishing the Tennessee River helped,” he said. “I’ve known Timmy Horton since I was 13 or 14. When I was 16, I fished some Redmans as a co-angler. I never set the world on fire, but I could catch fish.”

He says missing the Bassmaster Tour by two places in 2002 “was probably the best thing that happened to me,” because the following year, he started working for T-H Marine, where he now works as a sales manager for the one of the largest boating accessories manufacturers in the country.

One advantage he had over other less experienced co-anglers this year was he’s been around the block with many of the pros. He’s been in their boats in non-tournament situations. The pressure of fishing with veteran anglers didn’t affect him.

“I’ve been fishing for so long that I’ve fished with all of these guys over the years for fun,” he said. “I didn’t learn a ton to be honest.”

He practiced with Wesley Strader for each tournament this year and said he “learned a lot on how he breaks things down,” Dunkin said. That sort of information will be useful next year when he’s running the trolling motor.

Surprise, Surprise

The first two tournaments this season for Dunkin were a classic tale of day-2 disasters. At Lake Toho, he caught 10-05 on day 1 and managed one fish on day 2 to finish 57th. At Smith Lake, he caught an 8-03 limit to start, then zeroed on day 2 and wound up 110th.

At the third stop, the annual Beaver Lake event, it started to feel a little bit of the same. While fishing for smallmouth in clear water on day 1 with Kevin Stewart, he bagged 7-07 that had him in 18th place. His day-2 partner, former co-angler standout Nick Hensley, was also fishing in the clear water and that gave Dunkin a shot of confidence.

“I remember telling Wesley I think I have a shot at this,” he said.

He had a better bag on day 2 and while riding to the weigh-in, he checked the standings and started to think he’d win in a runaway.

“Everyone was telling me I had it, but then Todd Lee weighed in a big bag and my stomach just sank,” he said.

Ultimately, though, Dunkin’s 10-11 stringer was just enough to pull off the win by 4 ounces. It was a thrill, to be sure, but he got the biggest kick out of his peers coming up to him and patting him on the back.

“I’ve been around this for so long,” he said, “that when Larry Nixon walks up and says, ‘Good for you,’ when that happens, it’s like, ‘Man, I’m back in this.’ It was the coolest thing short of my kids being born and meeting my wife.”