What Truck, Boat and Outboard does George run?

TR21PD Triton Boat

Pro XS 250 TM Mercury Outboard

F-250 Super Duty (King Ranch) Ford Truck

My Sponsors

Ardent Reels “Rule the Water”

St. Croix Rods “Best Rods on Earth”

Fringe Tackle

Bio Edge

What George does for a living:

What you should know about George:

U.S. Army CW4 Test Pilot (Retired)

Member of Bassing America/ American Bass Anglers since 1985. ABA Tournament Director (20+ Years) Founded Colorado Division and Ran South Texas Division for 15+ years. Original ABA Pro Staff Member. Contributing writer for American Bass Anglers magazine and other fishing publications.

Graduate of the University of Indiana Bass Fishing Institute and Tim Tucker “How to become a Professional Angler/Promoter” Seminar.

How George started fishing

Always loved fishing. Joined Bragg Bass Busters, MBAA affiliated club and MBAA/ABA in the early 80’s at Ft. Bragg, NC. North Carolina “Rookie of the Year”, North Carolina District, MBAA North Carolina State Champion 1988. After that there was no turning back!

Aspirations or goals with fishing

Transition to “Full Time” fishing career promoting the industry and sport, sharing experience and my lifetime of knowledge, encourage the next generation to take up and continue the sport.

Favorite way to fish

Punchin’; No matter if it’s matted Hydrilla at Guntersville, Amistad, or Florida lakes or the thick timber/brush of Falcon, vertically dropping a 1 ½ oz bait, and setting the hook and having to battle a monster in close quarters is hard to beat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUxmrtXg5DQ 

Most exciting fishing experience

How George preps for a tournament

Three favorite search baits

Best tournament finish and what you did that day when you were fishing.

Bass Champs State Championship, Falcon Lake, TX; Partner and I weighed over 40 lbs of fish with an 11+ kicker and finished second! Punched submerged timber/brush and Carolina rigged deep rock humps with 10” lizards.

Most proud of the consistent top 10 finishes in the Annual ABA Military Team Bass Tournament; Longtime friend and tournament partner and I have finished in the top 10 in all but 2 of the events. Always a fun event catching most fish on topwater, Buzzbaits and Frogs.

Most challenging part of tournament fishing

When tournaments don't go my way

Advice to give to an aspiring tournament angler:

Don’t be shy; started my tournament fishing career with a Zebco and small Plano tackle box.

Don’t rush in; take the time/first few years to learn as a non-boater. I owe all my success to my initial years in MBAA/ABA fishing out of the back of the boat of some great guys who taught me much of what I needed to know to be competitive in tournament fishing. (Boaters/Pros always take the time to show the new folks what you know.)

Be versatile; don’t stick with fishing your “home lake”/ never fish the same lake more than twice in a season. “Real” tournament fishermen can be dropped on any lake and remain competitive.

“Pro” stands for Promotions; aspiring to be a tournament Pro is about promoting products, the sport and the industry and tournament trails that keep it alive and in the end has very little to do with how many tournament wins you have or how much money you win.

Some shared general bass fishing techniques for people just getting into the sport