Former OSU Fisherman Wins Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship

If you’re not aware OSU has a club fishing team. Some may remember they won a national title a few years ago. One of the stars on their team during the late 2000’s was James Elam.

Elam was the club president during his time on campus in Stillwater. Now he’s one of the top professional fishermen in the entire country. This past weekend he won the Toyota Bassmaster Elite Angler of the Year tournament at Chatuge Lake in Hiawassee, Georgia.

James has officially won his first Bassmaster Elite Series event!https://t.co/1SNMUjLMAI

— James Elam (@JamesElamFishin) September 23, 2018

This is his third career tournament win. His total career earnings are now at $534,475, not to include sponsorships. Bassmaster details his big win here.

With his season slipping away, and a chance that his consecutive Bassmaster Classic streak would end at three, Oklahoma pro James Elam dug deep into his mental reserves. He found a last burst of energy and not only kept the string alive but also won his first tour-level event, leading the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship at Lake Chatuge from wire to wire. [BassMaster]

The best sports analogy I could compare this to is Tiger Woods winning the Tour Championship. Tiger won the tournament while Justin Rose won the Fed-Ex cup. Here Elam won the tournament while another angler Justin Lucas took home the overall “Angler of the year title.” Elam’s not quite making the headlines that Tiger made, but this is still a huge accomplishment and very big win for him.

Elam picked up a $45,000 purse for his win. Pretty wild that a club team at OSU not only has a national title but also boasts one of the top professionals in their sport as an alumnus. He finished #19 overall in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings.