How They Started – Paul Elias Classic XLV (2015)

The Bass Fishing Archives took advantage of the 2015 Bassmaster Classic Media Day to sit down with some of the qualifiers and discuss how they got their start in fishing and how that drove them to compete. In this video, Bassmaster legend Paul Elias talks about how he got into the professional bass scene. His journey starts around 1970 after hearing of Ray Scott’s Bass Angler’s Sportsman’s Society.

In his first event, a Project Sports INC (PSI) tournament on Ross Barnett in 1973/4, he didn’t do too well. In his words, “I got it handed to me.” That experience gave him more drive to succeed.

Elias talks about the old tournament organizations, American Angler, American Bass Fisherman, etc. He ventured to B.A.S.S. in 1979 where he won his first year on that circuit. He backed that up with his Classic win in 1982 and that’s what sealed his place as a professional angler.