Fall 2024
Y
ou may know angler Luke Johns of Folsom,
Calif. as one of the pro anglers on the western
tournament scene. Over the past several years, Johns made headlines in the former Wild West Bass
Tournament (WWBT) College Series, Pro/Ams, APEX Cup
and Spartan 580. Racking up an impressive nine top-10
finishes, the Pro victory in the 2020 Melones, the WWBT
Angler of the Year (AOY) title in 2021, and the 2023 APEX
Tour championship. Johns qualified for the BAM Pro Tour in
2024. He is part of the Yamamoto Baits team and credits
much of his finesse success to the brand’s plastics.
What you may not know is that Johns is also one of
the anglers behind the scenes at Fisherman’s Warehouse
Megastore. As a buyer, Johns can put his experience to work
for the customers of the tackle retailer and help bring the
baits that bring the bites to their brick and mortar locations,
online store and distribution network.
Here we get to know a little more about Johns, and his
path within the sport of bass fishing.
WB: When you think of bass fishing, what is your ultimate goal?
JOHNS: At some point, I would like to fish professionally. I have not figured out when that will work for my life, just because it is such a big commitment; but at some point, I will. I don’t want to die having never done that.
WB: When you say “fish professionally” do you mean transplant back East like so many of our western anglers do?
JOHNS: To start, I would definitely try to move back. I think that will give a better experience and be able to spend more time gaining experience in some of the fisheries; but the long-term goal would be to come back to California and travel back and forth. I like California and I’ve got my family here; so I would rather be here.
WB: Was professional fishermen your career goal even as you entered college?
JOHNS: I graduated from Sac State with a degree a business and marketing degree. I think going to college was beneficial to the career and I would recommend it to others that want to follow the same goal. But I think the one thing that I would do different would be to go to a college that has a fishing program, especially with how big College level fishing has gotten over the past few years. It has become a real kick-starter for many careers. That being said, getting a degree, no matter where you go, is going to be helpful. It gives you a backup plan and on top of that you learn a lot of good things going into a marketing avenue.
That’s all a professional fisherman is. Yes, you get paid to go out and fish; but if you cannot sell product for a company then you are not going to have any sponsorships, no matter how good you are and that is a big thing that I learned pretty early on.
WB: How would you bullet point the takeaways from your college years as it relates to bass fishing?
JOHNS: Marketing to build good fishing relationships is the number one. The fishing industry is really small so the
more people you know and the
more people that “like you” the
further you are going to go and
the more opportunities you will
have.
On top of that learning
how to have and use really
good communications skills is a
key. An angler must be able to
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