Fishing tale

By KRISTEN HARMON WILLIAMS/Correspondent

Hard work, determination and setting your goals high can make dreams come true. Jeff Freeman of Max Meadows recently proved this as he will be fishing in the Bassmaster Classic this coming Feb. 22-24 at Lake Heartwell in Greenville, S.C.
Freeman qualified for the Superbowl of bass fishing by winning the B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship at Lake Toho, Florida. Freeman proved that he could fish with the best as his three-day total out-weighed anglers from 47 states and five foreign countries.
The fishermen were allowed two days of practice as they were allowed to explore the 40,000-acre chain of lakes to find their favorite spots. Practice made perfect for Freeman as his scouting paid off by finding several good spots.
The rules of the tournament allowed each angler eight hours to fish, an observer is in each boat, all boats are identical, and the best five fish are kept. But fish are allowed to be culled (replacing a lighter fish with a heavier fish) if a bigger fish is caught.
“On the first day my best five fish weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces,” said Freeman. “I thought that was terrible, but I felt better at the weigh-in where I was in fifth place after one day of fishing.”
Freeman’s was the last boat to leave on the first day as departure times are rotated. The second day saw Freeman leave in the middle of the pack and he returned to the same spot that he had fished the previous day.
“I went back to the same place and had 10 pounds of fish at lunch time,” he said. “I moved to different areas, but I didn’t have much luck for the remainder of the day. At the weigh-in I had a total of 11 pounds, 4 ounces, which put me in the lead. Also, it put me ahead of the competitor that I had to beat to make the Classic.”
The third and final day of the tourney saw Freeman leave early. But he had company in his boat as an ESPN camera crew went along for the ride. “Having ESPN on board was a bit unnerving at first,” said Freeman. “I’ve had a film crew before, but not that close up. I went to the same place as I had the first two days and tried my luck there. I missed the first two fish, but I blocked it out and gathered myself. In the back of my mind I thought I would need to catch nine or 10 pounds of fish to make the Classic.”
Freeman then found a sweet spot and for 20 minutes he was catching a fish every 120 seconds with each fish being bigger, allowing him to cull. Later in the day, Freeman moved to another spot that he had noticed in practice and landed a nice three-pounder, which he felt that might put him in the Classic.
“I had five more hours to fish so I stayed in the same place until other fisherman saw where I was fishing and tried to inch in on me. I milked that hole and went to two more locations close to check in and culled a fish by seven ounces,” said Freeman. “The last spot yielded a fish that culled another by nine ounces so I was feeling pretty good at that time. With 45 minutes to weigh-in, I changed the water on the fish to prevent a dead fish penalty and started the boat. I wanted to make sure if I had a problem with the motor that I could limp in with the trolling motor. Going in the final day all of us that were in the top six felt good about our chances and we were scheduled to be weighed-in last.”
With the fishing over, all Freeman had to do was wait and see if he would go to the Classic in February or be at home. “The wait was agony and when my turn came I knew that I had a two-pound lead and five nice fish,” he said. “When I pulled out my mesh bag of fish, all I remember was hearing the crowd. The cheers made me feel good, but the crowd doesn’t weigh the fish, the scales do. When the scales read nine pound, one ounce, I knew I had won and reached my goal to make the Bassmaster Classic.
When asked how he became interested in fishing, Freeman replied, “My dad, Charles, got me started when I was five years old and three houses down from us lived Elise Bralley. In the summer she fished every day, and I spent them with her on the river from daylight to dark. If we weren’t fishing, we were catching bait, and I didn’t realize it then, but she was teaching me 75 percent of the fishing knowledge that I have. I started competitive fishing seven years ago, and my goal was to make the Classic and now I have accomplished this.”
When asked how excited he was to fish against the best bass anglers on the pro circuit, he smiled and replied, “I have fishing fever now worse than ever, and I want and hope to make the Classic again next year. Fishing can be relaxing, but at the same time it can be stressful. I am looking forward to the Classic so I can see how I fare against the best in the world. I don’t dwell on the past. I look to the future and try to accomplish new goals each year.
“This is something I have worked very hard for,” he added. “I will treasure this. No one can take this from me, and I will take this feeling to my grave.”
By the way, Freeman isn’t hurting for bass boats as he has three new ones that he has won in tournaments en route to his march to the Classic.