®
Spring 2018
ROY HAWK
heads to the
ELITE SERIES
by Jody Only
page 24
I
t is a known fact that in this day and time the
opportunities to join the Bassmaster Elite Series are
limited for western anglers. That didn’t stop Arizona’s Roy Hawk. After winning the 2017 Bassmaster Central Open
Angler of the Year (AOY) title, the Lake Havasu City angler
accepted the B.A.S.S. invitation and is now ready to hit the
road on the 2018 Bassmaster Elite Series.
Hawk shared his thought on the achievement and the
season that he is facing.
WB: Is this your first time really trying to qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Series?
HAWK: Way back in the day, when B.A.S.S. came out west and it was called the Top 150, I was tried a to qualify and then I tried again a couple years back, when I went and fished the Northern Opens. I just did horrible. It was just one of those things that didn’t work out. I had fun doin’ it; but I did terrible. Those are the only couple of times that I had an opportunity to give qualifying a try.
WB: Was it a goal to qualify this time or did it just happen?
HAWK: It just happened. The main reason that I wanted to fish the Central Opens this pas year was to get a shot at winning one and going to the Classic. That was really what was on mind, not really qualifying for the Elites. That being said, when you fish for a living, the Elites or the FLW Tour are always a question… but, it wasn’t the goal.
Once the year got rolling and the points started adding up, it became more of a thought. Then, at the last event,
when I knew I had qualified, I had that question sitting right there in my lap. After that, it became an overwhelming presence. People were coming out of the woodwork telling me I had to go fish it – friends, sponsors, everyone. My wife and I and family talked about it and prayed about it and the Lord just led us to make the decision and that no matter what, it would work out.
It took a bit to make the decision. Everyone was asking me if I was going to go and I just kept telling them I didn’t know yet. I went and fished the FLW Costa championship and took a good time span. I think it was three weeks or so. Plus, if you’re going to do it, you have to come up with the $8,300 deposit and then that all came together too.
WB: Since it wasn’t really a goal that you had, was it still as exciting when you made it (as if you were shooting for it)?
HAWK: Well, it is always exciting when you do good. And, yah, it was cool, but it is cool just to have been given the opportunity is awesome. Whether I took it or not, it was awesome. You always want opportunities in life and that was one that was sitting before me was pretty neat. I was super stoked; but I didn’t know if I was going to go fish the FLW Tour, the Bassmaster Elites or just keep doing what I had been doing – fishing about 40 tournaments a year.
WB: What’s been the biggest change since you’ve accepted your invitation?
HAWK: Not that much, just working with sponsors more is probably the only difference. It is $80,000 or so a year to