TULSA, Okla. — No matter where he finishes in this tournament, Aaron Yavorsky will leave here with a B.A.S.S. record. He turned 18 years old last Friday, on the first day of pre-practice for the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors. At Friday’s 7 a.m. takeoff, he will officially become the youngest angler ever to compete in this event.
“It’s been a pretty crazy experience already,” said Yavorsky, during Thursday’s media event. “This is surreal right now, practicing this week against some of the guys I’ve looked up to in the fishing industry my entire life is pretty crazy. Knowing you’ve got to go out there and beat them is another thing. It’s pretty wild.”
In his annual story on Bassmaster.com, laying odds on each of the 56 competitors, Bryan Brasher put the longest of winning odds, naturally, on Yavorsky, at 150 to 1. It’s only been in the last 10 years that there was a Classic qualifying spot awarded to the Bassmaster Team Championship fish-off winner. It’s an effort to give anglers from local B.A.S.S. clubs an avenue to the Classic.
In those previous 10 years, the average finish for those qualifiers has been 41st. The highest Classic finisher from the Team Championship was 26th. Only the top 25 anglers after two days move on to Championship Sunday. Sure, Yavorsky has dreams of winning this tournament, but he has a more realistic goal in mind as well.
“I always want to win,” he said, “but if there’s one other thing it would probably be to make it to Day 3 and be on that stage on Sunday.”
That would be another record of sorts for the young man from Palm Harbor, Fla., who is a senior in high school.
“I don’t know where my life is going to go after this,” Yavorsky said. “I plan to fish the Opens EQ Series next year, trying to get back here sometime soon. I’m still learning.”
Competing in College B.A.S.S. isn’t in the plans for him now.
“I’m not a big fan of schoolwork, honestly,” Yavorsky said with a smile.
He says his strength is offshore structure fishing, noting, “Practice has been a little tough on me. These fish are moving around a lot right now. It’s go big or go home here, so we’ll see how it plays out. Grand Lake sets up totally differently than anywhere else I’ve ever fished. It’s an Ozark-style lake. I’m learning plenty about it at this tournament.”
Has Yavorsky learned enough to get him into the top 25 on Championship Sunday? That would be a story in itself. As noted, the odds are long. It would be a special start for the young man who hopes to make a career of this sport.
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