Halfway to the Dream - 2022 Bassmaster Classic
Humminbird and Minn Kota Pro, Wes Logan, opens up about his journey to reach his first-ever Bassmaster Classic.
Every bass fisherman has a different story and hails from a different part of the world. But all serious tournament bass fishermen share the same dream. Competing in the Bassmaster Classic. Humminbird® and Minn Kota® pro, Wes Logan had such a dream—and that dream is coming true.
The first step of that dream began to blossom in 2019 when Logan signed up for the Bassmaster Opens with the main goal of winning an event and earning an automatic bid into the 2020 Bassmaster Classic. Going into each event, he had the mindset of swinging for a win. The win never came, but he recorded some impressive finishes, including two Top 5s, a 10th, and a respectable 31st place finish across the four events.
The reality of qualifying for the Bassmaster Elite Series didn’t cross Logan’s mind until the third event when he was sitting in 3rd place and contending for overall points in the Central Division and one of the few Elite Series Rookie spots. After the last event, Logan claimed the #1 spot in the Central Opens and had officially qualified for the Elites Series. At that point, Logan was presented with a new set of goals.
The Next Level: Bassmaster Elite Series
“After qualifying for the Bassmaster Elite Series, my main goal moving forward was to be consistent. I wanted to make good decisions, fish clean and at the end of each tournament know that I fished as mentally clear as I could. I feel like I did that during my rookie year on the Elite Series but unfortunately didn’t have the breaks I needed to be successful that year.”
After completing his Bassmaster Elite Series rookie season in 44th place in Angler of the Year standings, Logan just missed his dream of competing in the Bassmaster Classic by three points. He then set his sights on improving in year two and punching his ticket to the 2022 Bassmaster Classic. After finishing his sophomore season with a 13th place finish in AOY standings, he did just that.
Quite the improvement from one season to the next, and when asked, Logan attributes a few things to that. “I really approached the next season with the same preparation and mindset. I fished cleaner and I executed better on the opportunities that I was presented with.”
“In the 2021 season I was able to run the new Minn Kota Raptor® shallow water anchors, and with the tournaments we had and how I like to fish, Raptors were a key player for me. Specifically, at Lake Fork. The Raptors are super quiet which helped because I wouldn’t spook any of the fish that I was trying to sight fish.” Logan mentioned.
“In my second year, I took more time to really get dialed in on the Humminbird MEGA 360 Imaging®, which ended up really helping me in all of my tournaments. One tournament in particular was Guntersville, I finished second by throwing a vibrating jig on offshore grass and I could see all of the holes and ditches in the grass, which allowed me to make the perfect cast every time—it made me extremely efficient in that event.” Added Logan.
“The combination of my MEGA 360, Raptors and my Minn Kota Ultrex® trolling motor at Neely Henry really helped me fish effectively. Being that Neely Henry is a current-based fishery, I could systematically use both my Ultrex and Raptors to position myself in the current to best present my bait. That was one of the biggest determining factors in winning my first Bassmaster Elite Series trophy.” Logan added.
See how Wes claimed victory on his home waters of Neely Henry Lake in this tournament recap article.
Looking Forward to the Dream Becoming Reality
“It means the world to me, truthfully. Bass fishing is my world, it’s how I make a living, it’s what I’m addicted to. I think about it every day and as a bass angler, the Bassmaster Classic is the tournament you want to get to.” Says Logan when asked what it means to fish the Bassmaster Classic.
“Now that I have qualified for the Classic, I have high expectations for myself. I want to stay consistent in making it back to the Bassmaster Classic year after year. If I can do that, I will put myself in more opportunities to potentially win it.” Logan added.
“All I wanted to do as a kid was to compete in the Bassmaster classic and not to just fish it but to win it.” Added Logan.
Join us in cheering on Wes as he makes his first Bassmaster Classic appearance on March 4th, 2022.
In addition to Wes Logan, there are eight more Humminbird and Minn Kota Pros fishing the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic at Lake Hartwell:
- Brandon Card (Salisbury, North Carolina)
- Seth Feider (New Market, Minnesota)
- Jeff Gustafson (Keewatin, Canada)
- Ray Hanselman Jr. (Del Rio, Texas)
- Matt Herren (Ashville, Alabama)
- Lee Livesay (Longview, Texas)
- Brandon Palaniuk (Rathdrum, Idaho)
- Chad Pipkens (Dewitt, Michigan)
- Josh Stracner (Vandiver, Alabama)
- Chris Zaldain (Fort Worth, Texas)