Over the course of his 34-year professional fishing career, Jay Yelas has accomplished a lot, but one thing he’s never had to do is sit out a day of competition because of an injury – until Semifinal Saturday of the 2022 Simms Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork. Despite going into Day 3 in 13th place, the former Bassmaster Classic Champion will sit out on Semifinal Saturday due to extreme tendentious in both of his arms.
The pain began at the second stop of the Elite Series season at the Harris Chain of Lakes and has progressively gotten worse. Yelas plans on getting the issue checked out by his doctor before the next Elite Series event on Pickwick Lake, and then assessing what needs to happen next.
“I have no business competing in a tournament when I’m in this kind of pain,” Yelas said. “This could easily cause further injury that requires surgery – it’s a really hard decision to make because I’m still being competitive in the tournament.”
