about zeke

On a windless day in early December, Zeke was in a boat on Logan Martin, working his craft. Fishing was slow, perfect for a phone interview. He recounted his unusual, but magical year.
Like many youngsters, his fishing journey began with his Dad, who also competed on the tournament trail. He was his coach at Pell City High School and now coaches at Briarwood.

“He was always real patient with me,” Zeke said. “I loved spending time with him, of course. But fishing has always been a part of my life and our family’s life for sure.”

He added, “Just having a Dad that spent the time with me – junior fishing and high school fishing were just starting to become popular. I grew up in it. Doing it from a young age, I love the competition. No drug can get you as high as winning a tournament, big or small.”

His parents have been with him on this journey to the professional ranks, particularly Curtis, who has spent “countless hours” and at every tournament, every weigh-in on the journey.

“They’ve always supported me in my dream to become a professional angler,” Zeke said. “They’ve always wanted me to do this ever since I said I wanted to. They are definitely my biggest supporters, bar none, to this day.”

He didn’t disappoint. Zeke captured 12 state titles between ages 11 and 18 on the way to becoming a high school All-American. In fact, he won the first two tournaments he ever fished as a junior angler (B.A.S.S. And FLW). As you can guess, he was hooked.

At the collegiate level, Jacksonville State competed against SEC schools. There are no divisions, so schools compete against each other, regardless of size.

“We fished against everybody. Auburn, Alabama, people like that,” he said.

Competing first at Jefferson State, then for Jacksonville, his teams were nationally ranked four times in five years. Jacksonville’s best finish was 16^th nationally.

Zeke fished his first tournament as a pro in December 2020, finishing in the middle of the pack among some 170 anglers in the B.A.S.S. Open Series on Lay Lake. But he won’t officially join the tour until the 2021 season. He’s come up through the B.A.S.S. ranks, from juniors, to college and now to the pros, fishing lakes from upstate New York to Florida.

He will compete on the B.A.S.S. Pro Tour, and he laid out his reasons for joining B.A.S.S. “The people that work there, I love them to death. B.A.S.S. offers steppingstones from Juniors to High School then the college experience. Taking part in all they offer really taught me a lot – especially the college experience – I believe this is best way for an angler to learn. If you want to do this as a profession one day, that is the way to go.”