Who Says You Need a Big, Fancy Bass Boat to Win Tournaments?

I know a couple of fellas who are on a real roll in their aluminum rig. After just four tournaments this season, they already have accumulated a 23-pound lead over the nearest competitor and have taken first place in each of the last three tournaments. I'm talking of course about Fred Crawford and Gabe Himmelwright.

Where a lot of the Dewey Mullins Memorial competitors in those bigger boats are burning gallons of gas every tournament in pursuit of bass, these anglers are likely measuring their gas use in cupfuls. The truth of the matter is that they have fished every tournament thus far in West Neck Creek, which means they spend most of every fishing day on the trolling motor, and they know what they're doing. In their last three events, they have weighed 17.82-, 17.33- and 18.23-pound bags of fish (in that order).

And you know what? They chalk their success up to "luck." The reality, though, is that they simply know how to (in the words of Larry the Cable Guy) "git 'r done." The icing on the cake here is that these are two of the nicest, down-to-earth individuals you ever could hope to meet.

Just yesterday morning, for example, as they were motoring out the boat basin to start the tournament, Gabe hollered to me, "If you run into trouble today, Ken, just give us a call. It may take us a while to reach you, but we'll be there to help."

Their proving to the world that you don't need to own a big, brand-new fiberglass boat, maxed out with a 250-hp outboard, to win bass tournaments puts Fred and Gabe in good company with a pro named John Cox. "The Tin Man," as he's known, began his fishing career in an aluminum boat, participating in small pond tournaments with just a trolling motor.

In 2011, in his rookie season on the Walmart FLW Tour, Cox earned his first win out of an aluminum boat on the Red River. In 2015, he finished runner-up in the Tour Angler of the Year standings with an aluminum boat. And in March 2016, Cox got his second Tour win out of an aluminum boat. 

He reached the pinnacle of the bass-tournament world by winning professional bass fishing's Forrest Wood Cup in 2016. With that victory, Cox made a bit of unique fishing history by becoming the only pro ever to win a modern world championship bass fishing event from an aluminum boat.

Said Cox afterward, "Aluminum rigs are a more realistic boat purchase for the average working person. I used to paint apartments and just could not afford a $60,000 glass boat. After fishing out of aluminums, I discovered they have distinct advantages. One: They can get on plane in very shallow water. And two, they don't get stuck as bad when you plant one on a sandbar. Further, they tend to hop over logs and stuff better. They are simply more efficient for the way I like to fish."

I'm bettin' that Fred and Gabe see their situation in a similar vein. They probably feel they have an advantage...one of which is definitely expanding with every tournament they fish.

Good on ya, fellas! Keep on bringin' it!