BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Jason Hill has never
owned a bass boat, but he didn't let that stop him from pursuing his favorite
hobby of bass fishing. Instead, he strapped his canoe to the top of whatever
vehicle he owned at the time - from an old sedan to an SUV - and fished the
ponds and smaller bodies of water near his home in Holderness, N.H.
Now, the situation has changed. By winning Fantasy Fishing presented by Toyota
on Bassmaster.com, Hill now has a fully rigged Triton bass boat, and the canoe,
a gift from his grandparents long ago, will be sidelined - at least for bass
fishing purposes. His new Triton 18XS boat is equipped with a Mercury 150 Pro
XS motor and comes with a Triton single axle trailer, a MotorGuide
trolling motor, a Lowrance HDS-5 Gen 2, a Tempest
Prop and 8-foot Talon shallow water anchors. His prize also includes a $2,500
Bass Pro Shops gift card and a B.A.S.S. branded jersey, bringing the total
prize package to $45,318.
"I've been telling myself I would buy a bass boat for years," Hill
said. "It's something I've always wanted. Being a teacher, you don't make
a whole lot of money for extra things, and to win a boat, especially one that
is so awesome and more than I ever would have been able to buy myself, is
incredible."
Hill, a middle school English teacher and high school soccer coach, grew up on Squam Lake (No. 76 on Bassmaster's
"100 Best Bass Lakes" list) where his grandparents and parents had
pontoon boats he could fish from. Hill still lives near Squam,
the place he'll debut his shiny new boat. Lake Winnipesaukee, a fishery he
doesn't venture onto often with the canoe, probably will be his second stop.
"I really cannot believe this has happened to me," Hill said.
"I've never really won anything before. During the last few weeks of
Fantasy Fishing, I went with a gut feeling of the guys I thought would do well.
The last couple of tournaments were smallmouth events, and I leaned toward
anglers who were good on smallmouth."
Hill first started playing Fantasy Fishing a few years ago when his childhood
pal and fishing buddy Joe Vanasse started a group.
This year's game on Bassmaster.com began in early 2013 and lasted until the Bassmaster Elite Series ended with the Aug. 22-25 Plano
Championship Chase. To enter before each of the eight regular season
tournaments, contestants choose five anglers from five different buckets into
which the Elite field of 99 anglers was sorted. Each angler was worth a number
of points based on his performance during the Elite season.
Hill and his buddy had a friendly rivalry to see who had better picks, but
neither excelled with their choices.
"This year was pretty much the same until there were about three
tournaments left in the season," Hill said. "I realized I had gone up
in the rankings to the Top 30, so each tournament I focused a little more on my
picks and tried to keep in mind the percentages of ownership of each of the
anglers. I figured if I made smart picks, I might have a chance to win. I
really didn't think I would until the last tournament when I was in second
place. I was fortunate I picked Mark Davis, an angler not many picked, and he
finished second in the last tournament. I couldn't believe it."
As Hill's opportunity to win grew, so did the encouragement of Vanesse, who lives in Minneapolis, Minn. After the Plano
Championship Chase, Vanesse was confident his buddy
was the winner.
"He kept leaving me messages saying that I won," Hill said. "We
were waiting for the points to be updated, and I honestly thought I hadn't won.
One of my anglers (Aaron Martens) missed the weigh-in and dropped from third to
12th place. I still had three anglers in the Top 12. I kept saying no way, but
he was so excited for me. He said, 'Now you're not going to be able to carry
your boat on top of the car.'"
Hill is eager to take his best friend out on a bass fishing outing in the
spring, and he has others clamoring to go out on the boat.
"We have several avid fishermen on the soccer team, and the state of New
Hampshire recently adopted high school bass fishing as a sport," Hill
said. "(When the soccer team heard), they said, 'Coach, now that you have
a boat, you can be our fishing coach, too.'"
Hill, who had Aaron Martens as one of his top picks, said the Alabama pro is
one of his favorite anglers.
"He's fantastic, and he had a fantastic season," Hill said. "I'm
surprised more people weren't picking him. Mark Davis is one of my new
favorites. I don't know a lot about him, but I plan to learn more and follow
him more closely. His performance in that last tournament is part of the reason
I won."
About B.A.S.S.
For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has served as the authority on bass fishing.
The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and an expansive
tournament structure while connecting directly with the passionate community of
bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.
The Bassmaster brand and its multimedia platforms are
guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading
publications - Bassmaster Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times
- comprehensive website Bassmaster.com and ESPN2 and Outdoor Channel television
programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge
content true to the lifestyle.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster
Open Series, Carhartt Bassmaster
College Se ries, Bassmaster
Wild Card, B.A.S.S. Nation events and the ultimate celebration of competitive
fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.
B.A.S.S. offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members and remains
focused on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is
headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.
Advertising