®
Summer 2024
page 22
and had three Top-4 finishes in his first four events as a 21-year-old on the Bass Pro Tour.
OTHER YOUNG GUNS MAKING NOISE
While Gill and McKinney have grabbed many of
the headlines for their dominance on their respective
tours, there are many other examples of young anglers
finding success early on.
On the Bass Pro Tour, Marshall Robinson, still just
20-years-old, has already made a mark. In the first
half of the season, he cashed a check in every event
and finished in 6th place at Dale Hollow Reservoir in
Tennessee. He led that event after two days of fishing
and showed he had the skills to compete at this level.
His father, veteran pro angler Marty Robinson, has yet
Photo Credit: B.A.S.S. Segio Saito
to achieve a finish that high in six seasons on the Bass
Pro Tour.
Tyler Williams, the 23-year-old Bassmaster Elite Series includes hunting for fish with this technology, regardless of
rookie from Maine, is starting his professional career with a season or scenario. While many anglers assume that it is
bang. Williams has continued his excellent run after winning primarily a tool for open-water fishing and suspended bass,
a Bassmaster Open last year and qualifying for the Elite
Gill is using it in shallow water, dirty water, and other unique
Series and the Bassmaster Classic this year on Grand Lake
scenarios.
in Oklahoma. In his first four Elite Series events, he’s already
He’s impressed many with his unique thoughts on bass
notched two 4th-place finishes.
behavior, often going against the common thinking of bass
anglers. Instead of going with the accepted norms when he
HOW THEY’RE DOING IT
hits the water, he relies on what the screen is telling him. It’s working well for him so far, as he’s finding success at every
The most straightforward answer to the question of
level of fishing, no matter where his schedule takes him.
how these young anglers are finding success so quickly is
Another angler who can be considered a ‘scoper’ is Trey
technology. They’ve grown up with YouTube and being able
McKinney. He’s very good at it, but that’s not all he can do.
to learn everything from their phones, speeding up their
Having grown up fishing shallow water in Illinois, he’s adept
learning curve. Forward-facing sonar has also helped. It’s
at fishing in any situation and has shown great versatility.
changed bass fishing, and these four are quick to use it, but McKinney is also a good example of the training and
there are other reasons they have had such great success
experience that comes from fishing junior and high school
early on.
events as a young angler rises the ranks.
Of the four, Drew Gill may be the most prominent
Marshall Robinson grew up with tournament bass
‘scoper’ as it is about the only way he fishes. His strategy
fishing. His dad, Marty, joined the Bassmaster Elite Series
in 2007 when Marshall was four. He can fish any way
that’s required, but he has also embraced forward-facing
sonar and is regarded by his peers as one of the best
with it. Robinson also fished at the high school level and
had success before foregoing college to attempt a run at
professional fishing.
Tyler Williams also had success in high school
before graduating and taking a shot at the Bassmaster
Opens in 2021. He fished three seasons before making
the Elite Series. Williams has also embraced forward-
facing sonar but relies heavily on a jig and baitcasting
gear instead of the typical finesse approach.
While it’s easy to say that forward-facing sonar
is the only reason these four young anglers found
immediate success, it’s only part of the story. They are
part of a new generation of professional anglers that
includes several more anglers not mentioned here. They
have embraced technology of all types and arrived at the
pro level as an immediate threat to compete for the win.
This is likely the beginning of the revolution, and we’ll
see more of it in the future. •