NASHVILLE — Matt Robertson just became $1.25 million richer.
asserted
Robertson → become → ?
But don't expect the Kentucky bass fishing pro to pack up and move into a mansion anytime soon.
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pro → expect → mansion
"We ain't moving out the trailer, baby.
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We → move → trailer
Trailer trash for life!" Robertson declared during a Saturday evening news conference after winning World Bass Enterprises' inaugural The Champions tournament on Old Hickory Lake in Tennessee.
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Robertson → declare → Tennessee
The Bassmaster Elite pro backed up a week's worth of trash talk by bringing 20 pounds, 2 ounces of bass to the scales on Championship Saturday, claiming the largest first-place prize in professional bass fishing history.
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pro → back → history
And despite all that confidence, even Robertson seemed a little overwhelmed by the moment.
"Dude, it's freaking insane.
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it → seem → moment
I don't think it's really hit me yet," he said.
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he → think → me
Robertson, of Kuttawa, Kentucky, dominated the first two days of competition, then delivered another monster bag Saturday after the weights reset to zero.
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weights → dominate → zero
Pake South finished second with 13 pounds, 7 ounces, taking home $500,000, while Wesley Strader earned $300,000 for third place.
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Strader → finish → place
The historic tournament brought together top anglers from the Bassmaster Elite Series and Major League Fishing's Bass Pro Tour, along with two amateur qualifiers, to compete for a record $3.25 million purse.
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tournament → bring → purse
A millionaire who's staying in his trailer
Robertson might not be upgrading his own home, but he already knows where some of that $1.25 million is going.
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some → stay → million
His wife is getting a new vehicle.
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wife → get → vehicle
And he's planning to buy a couple more trailers.
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he → plan → trailers
Before the final weigh-in, Robertson told OutKick OutDoors that he'd been eyeing two trailers for sale near his home, one priced around $60,000 and the other around $80,000.
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he → tell → home
"I'm for sure buying a couple more trailers," he said.
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he → buy → trailers
"They're bought, and my wife, she gets her new ride.
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she → buy → ride
"
And after securing the championship, he doubled down on those plans.
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he → secure → plans
"I hate to tell anybody, but them things are sold," he joked.
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he → hate → anybody
Behind Robertson's larger-than-life personality, however, is a man who hasn't forgotten where he came from.
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he → forget → where
"I didn't grow up with much," he explained during his post-victory press conference.
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he → grow → conference
"I worked so much paycheck to paycheck ... I went through real struggles in life."
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I → work → life
Those experiences, he said, helped prepare him for the pressure of competing for life-changing money.
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he → say → money
Robertson admitted that the money will drastically change his life, but he insisted he wasn't particularly nervous about the stakes.
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he → admit → stakes
In fact, when OutKick OutDoors asked him what winning would mean before the results were officially announced, he had something else on his mind.
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he → ask → mind
"I want that damn trophy.
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I → want → trophy
It's what I want," he said.
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he → want → what
"Everybody talking about the 1.25.
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Everybody → talk → 1.25
Like, I want the money too, but I want to get my hands on that trophy.
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I → want → trophy
"
A honey hole, a navigation lock and an unlikely friendship
While Robertson's victory might have looked easy from the leaderboard, it took some unconventional strategy to get there.
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it → look → strategy
Rather than fishing the main lake, he traveled through the navigation lock at Old Hickory Dam to target smallmouth bass in the tailwater below the dam.
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he → fish → dam
Robertson discovered his productive fishing area during practice and made the gamble that the bigger fish would be there when it mattered.
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it → discover → gamble
"If I hadn't found that spot, I wouldn't have won this thing," Robertson said.
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Robertson → find → thing
The strategy certainly paid off.
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strategy → pay → ?
Robertson caught the tournament's only 20-pound bag on Thursday, then added another strong day Friday to secure the top qualifying position for Saturday's championship.
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Robertson → catch → championship
MLF pro Ron Nelson had also discovered productive water below the dam, and the two anglers spent much of the tournament fishing in close proximity.
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anglers → discover → proximity
The two were among just a handful of competitors who ventured below the dam.
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who → venture → dam
In fact, Nelson deliberately avoided casting into the area where Robertson had been catching his fish, despite the enormous money at stake.
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Robertson → avoid → stake
And Robertson noticed.
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Robertson → notice → ?
Got to know him real well, and dude, there is not another person in the world with as much integrity as him," Robertson told OutKick OutDoors during Saturday's weigh-in.
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Robertson → get → in
"Anybody else fishing for this kind of money, he saw where I was catching a lot of fish, and he never came in on me."
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he → fish → me
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia
