By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor


Stetson Blaylock isn't looking at the 2017 season as a quantum leap forward in his career. Instead, it’s just another step in the direction he’s been working toward for the past 10 years.

After finishing second in the Southern Division of the Bassmaster Opens this year, he secured an invitation to the 2017 Bassmaster Elite Series, something that he fell just short of each of the past three years. After much thought, he decided to accept the invitation and will compete as an Elite Series newcomer next year following a successful eight-year run on the pro side of the FLW Tour.

“I’m happy with the way things turned out,” he said. “I felt like things happened at the right time. It’s been a long time coming and I’m excited for the future. In my eyes, it’s just bass fishing. That’s how I’m looking at it. It’s definitely not a step backwards. It’s a positive step and a step that for four years I’ve been trying to take.”

He’ll join David Fritts, Mark Daniels Jr., Jacob Wheeler and Gerald Spohrer in the latest batch of anglers to migrate from the FLW Tour to the Elite Series.

“I’m really excited for the future,” Blaylock added. “Bass fishing is a game of decisions and momentum and being where you need to be at the right time. I feel like I’m moving in a positive direction. I still have work to do to get where I want to be. I’m never going to be perfect, but I will keep working to get there. 2016 was a great season and I’m proud of what I was able to do. It’s about being consistent at every event and seeing where I end up.”

Thankful For His Roots

Blaylock said he felt a sense of pride in his ability to rebound this year and nail down the qualification spot that eluded him in 2015, when he finished one spot shy of securing an Elite Series invite. He did it with three top-15 finishes in the always-competitive Southern Opens.

“It all goes back to the very beginning when I started fishing,” he said. “It starts with most guys who are out there when they are young and they dream of starting a pro career.”

For Blaylock, that dream started to take shape with FLW. He competed at the BFL level in addition to fishing as a co-angler at the FLW Tour level for five seasons. In 2009, he moved to the front of the boat and captured his only Tour victory (at Lake Norman) which was accompanied by a $200,000 payday.

From there, he grew into one of the most consistent performers on the Tour, qualifying for the Forrest Wood Cup in seven of his eight seasons as a pro, including the last six straight. His 3rd-place showing in points this season marked his sixth straight top-25 finish in the Angler of the Year race and was his second top-3 finish in the last four years, a span during which he amassed eight top-10 tournament finishes.

“I have no regrets about where I started,” he said. “I want to thank FLW for the last 10 years of being able to support my family and fish for a living and enjoying that ride, along with the sponsors they allowed me to work for with them.

“It helped me start my brand and grow it to where I am today. This move has no negative reasons behind it. For me, it started young. I want to fish the (Bassmaster) Classic. It’s at the top of my list and there are only a couple of ways to get there. I want to do it. It’s every fisherman’s dream to fish the Elite Series.”

Goals Won’t Change

During his FLW Tour career, Blaylock witnessed the departure of several top competitors who’ve made the move to the Elite Series. His name will soon be added to the list that includes Jason Christie, Brent Ehrler, Randall Tharp, Justin Lucas, Jacob Powroznik and Brett Hite, among others. Despite the change in organizations, he doesn’t anticipate altering the expectations he puts on himself.

“My number goal in every event is to win,” he said. “It’s something that’s hard to do and it gets harder every year because the talent level increases each year. I’ve been very close in the last couple seasons, but it’s been a wrong decision here or there that didn’t lead to victory. I don’t hold them over myself. I just move on, but I want to win. Whether it’s a club tournament here at home or an Elite Series next year. I want to win and I will try to work harder than anybody else and hopefully make it happen.”

Being able to focus on the on-the-water decisions and what patterns are emerging requires the business side to be in order and Blaylock’s experience with that will give him a bit of an advantage over some of the less-experienced members of the rookie/newcomer class of 2017.

He hasn’t secured a title sponsor for 2017 yet, but is excited about the companies he will be working for. And with the Elite Series season slated to kick off in early February, things are accelerated a bit more than in past years.

“It makes it easy,” he says of having experience managing the business side. “The sponsor and marketing side of being a tournament angler is not easy, as anyone who’s done it knows. Having years out here has helped me and having contacts in the industry has helped as well. Each company has its own mind and direction on what they want to do. You can never tell and it doesn’t matter how green or experienced you are, if a company wants to work with you and has the money to spend, they will.

“I’ve learned over the years you have to keep your chin up and work hard for your sponsors and roll with what you get. Some things happen that you don’t understand in a good way and also in a negative way. It’s part of the life we live.”

Blaylock is anxious to get the season started. He’s excited to see some new fisheries and some familiar ones – Lake Dardanelle is one venue where he has some experience. He doesn’t plan on making any drastic changes to how he approaches tournaments. He’ll continue to follow game plans that have worked for him in the past and see what happens.

“I’ve never been a guy to go out and try to impress people,” he said. “Bass fishing is a passion I love. For me it’s about going out and supporting my family. Fortunately, the companies I work with and will work with are very supportive of my beliefs and devotion to my family. They understand there are more important things than fishing, but my top goal is to promote them and perform in tournaments.

“It’s never been a get-famous thing for me. I’m more about making a living fishing and I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to do that. It’s still a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too.”