By Brady Harp – AC Insider

Jordan Lee. Brandon Palaniuk. Jacob Wheeler. Every year, it seems that there is a new youngin’ that takes the fishing world by storm. Every year we try to label which angler is the next “generational talent” to stake their claim in the industry. And in the first season sans-Kevin VanDam, this year feels more pivotal than most in terms of identifying who is going to fill the cosmic void left in the GOAT’s wake. But what if it weren’t that simple?

What if the new-age of fishing isn’t identified as an individualistically-dominant sport, but rather a collective effort from a wealth of anglers? I find it more than coincidental that the year KVD retires, the sport sees an overwhelmingly successful crop of rookies competing, and winning, at the highest level.

Perhaps this is symbolic of a passing of the torch between eras? These young guys are here to stay and are ready to leave their mark on this storied sport- in their own way. Best get to know ‘em.

Why are these guys doing so well? It’s too easy, and quite frankly lazy, to pin it on merely a greater capacity to understand Forward Facing Sonar (FFS). That assuredly plays somewhat of a role, but fish are fish, and you still have to make them bite one way or another. What if these young anglers are simply better prepared to compete at the highest level and therefore have more refined skills well beyond their years?

This crop of rookies is the first to truly get a complete youth-oriented experience of tournament fishing. Sure, any previous generation had more weekend and club tournaments to fish than they could handle as they grew into the sport, but nobody has had the opportunity this crop has. This new wave of anglers has cut their teeth competing in national-level events on the junior, high school, and collegiate levels all in advance of professional-level events. Much like a prodigy golfer or star quarterback that has trained their whole lives tuning their craft, this group of rookies finally have had the same opportunity to compete against those on their same level and gradually build-up their craft over time.

In short, this generation is better equipped to fish on the national stage at a much younger age than their predecessors. The lights aren’t too bright.

Meet John Garrett: a grit-and-grinder through and through that refuses to take all the credit for his success. You’ll see what I mean.

John is the epitome of this new era of fisherman. Hailing from Tennessee, he helped construct his high school’s fishing team just as the sport was materializing in the prep ranks. Surely, the recent rookie champion was naturally a dominant angler, right? Wrong… at least according to him.

“I’ll be honest, we only had one good tournament in all of high school. It was at Wheeler lake, and we had just enough to qualify for the national championship which featured all of 10
boats. And I think we finished 9th,” John told me, laughing.

At the end of the day, John was a senior in high school without a ton of tournament success sifting through what the future held, and he didn’t think it would be college, much less fishing professionally. Pretty ironic if you’re familiar with his collegiate success.

So how did this Tennessee kid with no ambitions of going to college go on to complete one of the most storied collegiate careers ever? He wouldn’t take credit for it.

“It started with [Fishing Coach] Garry Mason at Bethel. He saw something in me he must have thought had potential and offered me a scholarship. I’m extremely thankful he did. Without that, I probably would be a fishing or hunting guide, I’m really not sure. I wouldn’t be where I am now, that’s for sure.”

So back in 2014, how did this freshman in college, lacking much tournament success, put the pieces together? Surely, he put his nose to the grindstone and made it happen with just good, old-fashioned hard work, right? Wrong. Again, he wouldn’t take credit for the jump in success.

“Man, I didn’t even think I could compete with these guys. I was just excited to fish. I learned so much from just being around the team, talking fishing, and soaking up everything my older friends would teach me like a sponge.”

John didn’t hold back when talking about how much he realized he had to learn, either.

“My freshman year, we fished an event on my home lake, Kentucky Lake. All day, me and my partner were making fun of everyone we saw throwing Alabama rigs and running all over the lake. Turns out, those dudes smashed ‘em while we zeroed. Day 2, we swallowed our pride, threw the [Alabama] rig, and caught 26 pounds.”

It was this dose of humility that I believe began John’s upward trajectory in the college ranks. It takes a certain level of open-mindedness to realize you’re always growing as an angler.  John figured that out to the detriment of his peers.

Fast forward a few years later, and John had taken the fishing world by storm. It’s 2017, he’s won the Bassmaster College Classic Bracket and earned a spot in the Bassmaster Classic. Not to mention, he got his 2017 Bassmaster Opens paid for, along with some industry relationships that have stood the test of time.

“Ever since the College Class Bracket, I’ve had fantastic relationships with Strike King, Lews, Skeeter, Yamaha, and Hypertech. They have supported me without question from the beginning. I can’t thank them enough.”

Now, call it an obsession, call it a man chasing his dream, call it whatever, but John competed both in a majority of the Bassmaster Opens and the College Series that year. Thankfully, there isn’t an hour enrollment requirement to compete collegiately, as he relayed it was this unquenchable thirst to compete that left him in need of a 5th year to graduate Bethel with his degree in Business Management.  Graduation left John with a choice: do I go back home, settle down, and find a job? Or do I chase this dream of qualifying for the Elite Series one time? Anyone that’s kept up with fishing the last few years knows the answer to this question.

John competed, successfully I might add, in the Opens for 4 full seasons. Much has been made of how grueling the competition has become, and John is the shining example of to what degree. John finished his first few seasons on the Opens well within the upper-echelon of anglers, yet was left without an Elite Series bid.

“Every year, I said it was going to be my last attempt at it. And every year, I would do just good enough that I would give it another go the next year. And every year, it was the same result. I really did feel like I was just a day late and a dollar short with fishing professionally.”

But really, just how close was he to qualifying for the Elite Series? Flashback to June 2020. John is in the thick of the points race in the Opens and is leading the event at the Arkansas River. A win all but ensures an Elite Series qualification and guarantees a spot in the Bassmaster Classic. If you don’t know where this is headed, go ahead and get the Kleenex’s out.

“It’s Championship Day. The water was just chocolate milk, completely muddy. I was having a good tournament and went to make a cull. I thought, correctly, that I already had 5 in the box, but the water was so muddy in my livewells, I couldn’t see in there at all. I managed to grab 4 of my fish and probably counted them 10 times, making sure I was only adding a 5th fish. What I couldn’t see was that one of my fish had slipped out of his cull tag and had gotten stuck between my recirculation vent and the middle divider in my livewell. I ended up figuring out what happened minutes later after I had begun to fish with 6 fish in the boat, and knew I had to make a call (as this is a Bassmaster rules violation).”

John had a camera boat on him, so there was no way to act as if this honest mistake didn’t happen, but I fully believe he would have owned up to this even if there was nobody within three miles of him.  It’s who he is. John self-reported the incident, was penalized 2 pounds, lost the tournament, and more importantly, ended up losing a tiebreaker for Elite Series qualification. Brutal. Absolutely crushing. How do you come back from that?

Call it a test of character, call it a showing of his true colors, call it whatever you want. But John rebounded like he always did. After a few more seasons in the Opens, he was able to qualify.  Why bring up this snapshot of arguably the lowest point in his career? To know John is to know his character. And I’d say it’s the truest sense of unraveling just the kind of person John is. The immediate response to do the right thing without complaining? You don’t see that often. That’s genuine.

A piece of those grueling seasons that isn’t talked about enough is the sacrifice it takes to compete each and every year traveling across the country. John’s a self-proclaimed blessed man, because, well, what else would you expect from him?

“This profession, man, it asks you to be pretty selfish. I’ve been blessed with a supporting cast that not only lets me fish, but encourages me to do so with the freedom and mindset you need. I almost felt bad. It takes a certain level of selfishness to compete every year, away from those you love, without making much money in the process. Any year before this one, I’d be guiding hunts back home during the winter but be competing in The Opens all through the spring and summer. It takes a wild support system in order to be able to do this.”

The support system referenced? Call it a one-two punch between his wife and grandpa.

“My wife, Morgan, and I have been together for over ten years, and we’re approaching four years of marriage. She’s such a blessing. I’d say I’m selfish, but not her. Her support gives me the freedom to chase these fish. Especially now that we’ve just welcomed in Blaire, our nine-month old, she’s been everything. I want to be at home with them all the time, but whenever I’m on the road I know she’s taking care of things. It means the world to me.”

Life at home is taken care of, but where does his grandpa come into play?

“My grandpa is the one who introduced me to fishing. He taught me how to cast, fish, everything. He boat captained for me in high school. And when it was time for me to fish the Opens, he jumped in them with me as a co-angler, traveling with me, spitting gas, everything. I know he loves to fish as much as the next guy, but I know he did it just to spend time with me. That’s everything, knowing you’ve got a family that loves you and cares so much for you. I definitely can fish clearer because of it, for sure.”

And there it is. Now it all makes sense. If you asked people who John is as a person, they wouldn’t say he’s the center of attention type. They wouldn’t say he’s the most outspoken. What you would hear is that John’s a family man, wise above his years, and as dedicated to his craft as they come. Just look back at his family dynamic and it’s easy to see why. All the loyalty, love, and selflessness that his family showers him with? He gives it back to everyone else.

Call him a pro’s pro. Call him a dang good dude. Or just call him John. I’m sure he’d love to say hey.