Tyler Williams is just a kid from Belgrade, Maine who loves to catch bass. He is a little more than that now, as he just broke into the Bassmaster “Century Club” as a 22-year-old Rookie on the Elite series, by catching more than 100 pounds of bass in 4 days.
The Bassmaster Century Club is a huge achievement for professional bass anglers, with admission to the club granted following a four-day tournament weight of over 100 pounds at any given event. Hoisting the coveted century belt puts Tyler in the mix with some of the biggest names in the history of the sport.
Lake Fork is a legendary lake in the world of bass fishing. When the Elite series makes their annual stop, fans can expect a showing of trophy bass caught using an array of techniques. The lake consistently shows out with massive bags each day, some topping 30 pounds in five fish. It takes an angler’s best 4 days of fishing to even have a chance at taking home the blue trophy.
Tyler’s 124 pounds, 9 ounces gave him a 3rd place finish at Lake Fork this past week in the second event of the 2024 Bassmaster Elite Series season. This adds to Tyler’s increasingly impressive resume, following a top 20 finish last week at Toledo Bend and a Bassmaster Open win last year that punched his ticket to the 2024 Bassmaster Classic.
“It was pretty simple” Tyler said on the weigh-in stage. “Just a ¾-ounce little rubber jig…just trying to find fish, trying to throw at fish, and the fish ate it.”
very easy, but his words are more of a reflection of his calm and collected stage personality that contrasted with the boisterous B.A.S.S. Master of Ceremonies Dave Mercer who christened Tyler as “The Maine Event.”
Tyler put himself in a position for success due to long hours of pre-tournament practice time on the lake. He used his electronics to help him locate areas he knew would hold fish, and went with his most trusted and confident presentation when catching bass, the jig. When it came down to it, he indeed found the fish, threw at them, and they ate it.
Tyler belongs to an impressive group of Rookie anglers on the Elite series this year who are paving the way for the future of professional bass fishing. Alongside Tyler in the rookie class is fellow northeast native Kyle Patrick from Cooperstown, New York, who finished 9th this week at Lake Fork. Tyler, Kyle and the rest of the anglers fell short to 19-year-old Trey Mckinney, who became the youngest angler in history to win a Bassmaster Elite Series Trophy. The stage is set for this season to be one with many records broken.
