BY KAYLEIGH FREEMAN
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN – Auburn native Lucas Lindsay won first place in Division 1 of the 2025 Bassmaster Opens, a series of four competitive fishing tournaments. Out of approximately 170 participants in Division 1, only the top 50 qualified for the Bassmasters Elite Qualifiers, with Lindsay at the top of the scoreboard.
Although the 26-year-old bass fisherman found great success in his most recent tournament, his interest in fishing has spanned across his whole life.
“I’m mostly self taught, but I was given a rod and reel at the age of two or three, and it had the little rubber fish on it, like every little kid gets,“ Lindsay said. “I eventually made my way to the banks of a pond and grew up pond fishing.”
Lindsay began fishing competitively after co-founding Auburn High School’s team, now known as the Auburn Anglers. From there, he attended Auburn University, graduating in 2021 with a degree in agricultural sciences.
While in college, Lindsay joined the Auburn University Bass Fishing Team, where he was named Angler of the Year in 2019. Post-graduation, Lindsay has continued to fish competitively, from the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series to the OGS Tournament Trails.
“There’s always something new or something that you have to learn,” Lindsay said. “So just the ongoing building of skill is what I enjoy and just the fact that it never gets old.”
Lindsay’s past tournament experience culminated in the Bassmaster Opens, an experience that brought Lindsay something rewarding– a chance to move forward to the Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers.
The EQ is the next tier to many participants’ ultimate goal: the Bassmaster Elite Series, the highest level of professional bass fishing tournaments.
The EQ consists of three tournaments, with the nearest being Sept. 18-20 at Lake Champlain in New York. Following this, the participants will fish Wheeler Lake in Alabama from Oct. 2-4. The final stop of the EQs is Lake Okeechobee in Florida from Nov. 13-15.
To proceed to the Elite Series, he must place in the top 10, a challenging feat with the level of competition he is stacked against, Lindsay said.
“I’m really excited to go and just fish again. I’ve had a little bit of a break. I’ve been without my boat for about a month,” Lindsay said, referencing the Phoenix bass boat that helped drive him to success. “I’ve actually had it up at the factory where the boat is manufactured. They’re checking out a few things, but I’m just excited to get back out there.”
For Lindsay, one of the most important aspects of success is resource management, whether it be his time on the water or the fish he catches.
“When you start catching them in a place that’s tougher, like the Tombigbee River, you can run out of fish really quickly,” Lindsay said. “When you get five keepers that have some pretty good weight, you don’t want to stick around in your best area and catch a fish that’s not going to help you.”
In the end, there is something that tops anything that skill could bring to the table, and that is Lindsay’s faith. For both him and his wife, Sarah Lindsay, fishing is more than just a competition.
“It’s a way to glorify God, stay grounded and inspire others to pursue their own callings with perseverance and faith,” Sarah Lindsay said.
In the Upper Chesapeake Bay tournament, about five minutes before weigh-in time, Lucas Lindsay was looking to “cull,” a process of replacing his smallest fish with a larger catch.
“I was looking through my camera, just taking some pictures of him, and my mom, and his mom, and we had a couple friends who were also up there with us… I turned around and I said ‘Hey, will you guys please pray for a cull?’” Sarah Lindsay said. “They huddled up together, held hands and prayed, and as soon as they started praying, I saw him hook up on a big fish. It was able to cull out his smaller one.”
The experience has been rewarding and exciting for both Lucas and Sarah Lindsay. To continue on the journey of competitive fishing, the Lindsays are looking for sponsors, as they are currently self-funded.
The Lindsays invite the Auburn-Opelika community to join in on Lucas’ next journey: the EQs.
His linktree, which contains his social media accounts and featured articles, can be found at the website: linktr.ee/lucas_lindsay_fishing.
