SubmittedBrock Mosley of Collinsville displays bass he caught while fishing in the BASS Elite Series tournaments. He qualified for the prestigious Bass Master's Classic which will be held March 6-8 on Lake Guntersville. The 50th Classic Tournament weigh in will be held in nearby Birmingham, Alabama.

BASS Elite Series Pro Angler Brock Mosley nailed another smallmouth bass and completed another remarkable finish with a limit of lunker smallmouth bass in an Elite Series tournament. The ironic thing that occurred last season was that a southern angler could become such a smallmouth expert. Perhaps more importantly he came up big on the national stage and finished second behind the legend Kevin Van Dam.

“I had a couple of great tournaments where I finished second back to back,” Mosley said. “After I came up a bit short to one of the best tournament anglers ever, I knew that I could compete with anybody in the world.”

Coming up big on the biggest stage was a sign of more good things to come.

Mosley, of Collinsville, recently qualified for his first Bass Master’s Classic Championship, which will be held at Lake Guntersville, with the Classic Weigh in to be held March 5-6 in Birmingham, Alabama.

When Mosley cranks his motor on the first day of competition it will be the realization of a lifelong dream that began when he was a young child at his dad’s Ranger Dealership. His father, Danny Mosley, is also a diehard angler and a successful tournament angler in his own right and he carried young Brock fishing and to many tournaments as a youth.

“I went to my first Classic in ’96 and that’s been my dream ever since,” Mosley said. “But I’ve worked towards this my whole life.”

“As far as the spectators and fans on the water the Classic is a whole different ballgame because they will follow anglers around and sometimes fish with you. But this being the 50th Classic will be a distraction to many people because it is such a big deal. But I’m confident about fishing on Guntersville.”

Mosley has become a force on the Bassmaster tour in large part by his consistency and his ability to be versatile and learn all aspects of the tournament fishing scene along with mastering different fish catching techniques and most notably his ability to find and catch lunker bass on the massive northern lakes.

Mosley’s career has been progressing as he built a foundation and took it step by step.

“Ultimately this is a business and you’ve got to make money after you get to the Elite Series,” Mosley said. “If I don’t make money, I’m not going to be able to compete nationally so that’s always the bottom line. Consistency pays the bills.”

Making the Classic is the dream of almost every tournament angler, and one that most people don’t achieve.

“My goals are to make the top five in points on the Elite Series and to go to a Classic every year,” Mosley said. “This year our season starts first with two February events with the first stop at St. Johns in Florida and then at Chickamauga in Tennessee the next week.”

First Place money in the Classic is $300,000 but the sponsorship deals can be double that or more for the winning angler which makes this much bigger than just winning another tournament.

This year Mosley will be the only Mississippi angler to compete in the tournament and his goal is to represent our state in fine fashion.

“On the competitive side you just have to tune everything out and focus on the basics and what you need to do on the water each day.” Said Mosley. “I’ll have time to enjoy it later but right now with this tournament being held only a couple hours from home you’ve got to swing for the fence.”

Mosley’s no stranger to competition having hit homers on the baseball diamonds around our state while playing for West Lauderdale and collegiately at Ole Miss. He’s also won tournaments on the collegiate and regional levels so he’s comfortable in pressure situations. But whatever the outcome, Brock Mosley will keep striving to compete at a high level and accomplish his goals. If past performance is any indicator Brock Mosley will do just fine.

Carpe Diem Brock!

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comast.net.