Of all of the stories in professional bass fishing in 2024, the rise of Drew Gill may be one of the biggest highlights. The fishing phenom burst onto the national scene and won two events with Major League fishing on the Tackle Warehouse Invitations and Bass Pro Tour.
He also wound up second in points, behind only Jacob Wheeler on the BPT. It was a season for the ages for a rookie, and the Bajío pro Gill has now had some time to look back at the year and start planning for next season.
Reflections on an Amazing 2024
Coming into the year, Gill had high expectations after finding success at the Toyota Series and Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, but he couldn't predict the success he would have this year.
"It was obviously a pretty stellar year," Gill said. "I came into the year hoping to compete and let people know I was here to play at the top level. I was fortunate to have some success at the first event, which snowballed from there."
The year's first event was on Louisiana's Toledo Bend Reservoir, and Gill finished third. "That was the only one that I pre-practiced for, and I was really hoping to lock up a Top 10 to start my year and was fortunate to do that," he said. "That gave me the confidence I needed to compete the rest of the year."
Gill had several other highlights and great showings during the season, including winning on the Chowan River in North Carolina. "The Chowan was the hallmark of my season, for sure," he said. "That win solidified my year and was a massive blessing."
Adjusting to the Format and Keys to Success
The change to the MLF every fish counts format was new for Gill this year, but he made it work and quickly adjusted to it. The biggest changes he saw were in fish management and locating winning areas.
"As I started to get more comfortable with the format, I realized you have to be on the winning population of fish even to have a chance," he said. "If you're not in the winning areas, the place with the biggest fish population, you can't compete like you could with a five-fish format. That's just one thing I realized as I became more comfortable."
One of Gill's most significant keys to success was undoubtedly his expertise with forward-facing sonar. His peers regard him as one of the top anglers in the game with this technology, and everything he does, including the sunglasses he wears, makes it more efficient.
"It's just like looking at your phone with sunglasses on; you need to choose a lens color that takes in a lot of light," he said. "You don't want any lenses that dull the colors, so I primarily wore two pairs of glasses all year. I wore the Calda with the blue lenses and Toads with the green lenses."
He prefers the glass version for both, even though each is also available in polycarbonate lens options. "The glass lenses are very light and comfortable and don't feel dense. Plus, the lenses are very clear, and you get vivid colors that are still very bright," he said. "Bajío was the first 'nice pair' of sunglasses I ever bought for myself, and now, even though I'm not purchasing them anymore, they are what I choose to wear. I've been nothing but pleased with them."
Looking Ahead
Next season, Gill is shooting to do even better and hopes to compete for an Angler of the Year title. It's a lofty goal, but he has the skills to achieve it.
"I think setting a goal for anything other than AOY is selling yourself short," he said. "I set that as my goal because choosing one event you hope to win is even harder because so many factors go into winning a single tournament. Angler of the Year is insanely hard to claim, but I like to set goals to chase."
He'll have to remain consistent like he did in 2024 to do it. "It takes repeated success across the country, and you need to wrack up those Top 10s," he said. "That's the goal, to win Angler of the Year, which is really hard to do with Jacob Wheeler in the field, but that's my biggest goal for next season."
The young Gill has already turned heads and made a name for himself, and the sky is the limit to what he can achieve in professional bass fishing. He has the skills and mindset to make this a long and rewarding career.
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