Mercury pro Ott DeFoe is no stranger to big tournaments with big payouts. In fact, he's an old friend.
One of the most accomplished bass anglers on the planet, the Blaine, Tennessee, pro and self-described "river rat" was an FLW Tour standout from 2007 to 2010 and fished a pair of Forrest Wood Cups with million-dollar payouts. He also made eight Bassmaster Classics (winning in 2019) and has since participated in 12 more big-dollar derbies between REDCREST and Heavy Hitters (an event he won in 2022). Put simply: The lights don't get too bright for Ott DeFoe.
That's an attribute that should serve him well at the end of October in World Bass Enterprises' The Champions event at Old Hickory Lake – a first-of-its-kind tournament with a $1.25 million top payout and $3.25 million total prize pool.
"I'm definitely excited," he said. "This is huge. I've fished Forrest Wood Cups that paid a million. I was in those events. Obviously first place (at The Champions) is incredible, but even fifth pays as much as a regular-season [Bass Pro Tour] win."
With a field size of just 62 anglers and a massive prize purse, the pressure is amplified. The playing field is more brightly lit. Everything is scrutinized. For DeFoe, that just means more and better preparation for a fishery with mysteries that can't yet be solved.
The prep work
With so many variables likely to change between now and the end of October, DeFoe knows better than to search for patterns or eliminate water in preparation for The Champions. Photo by Phoenix Moore
DeFoe spent a weekend at the end of August on Old Hickory with his son, Parker, first spending a day practicing and then taking the following day to fish a tournament. After taxiing Parker back home and heading to church that Sunday morning, DeFoe made the short return trip back to middle Tennessee to do some idling, graphing and just looking around at a huge fishery with tournament boundaries that stretch from the Cheatham Dam to the Cordell Hull Dam. Asked if he discovered anything worth nothing:
"No," he laughed. "This is the time of year between now and the tournament that to go and try to fish with any sort of a purpose would be completely irrelevant. So much is going to change between now and then. Actually fishing, in my opinion, is counterproductive, if anything."
DeFoe also hasn't been able to eliminate anything for the very same reasons, but he does have some history (though minimal) to start from after having fished a few fall-time Nashville Predators charity tournaments on Old Hickory and a 2006 FLW Series event in which he cashed his first check of that season.
The summer-to-fall transition on Tennessee fisheries – and especially Cumberland River impoundments – can be harsh. Conditions, bass locations and behavior and current flows can change drastically from August to the end of October. As such, DeFoe expects to keep all his options open until official practice for The Champions.
"You don't want to write this off or that off because you fished it two months ago and didn't catch anything," he said. "I fished it some before, so I kind of know the lay of the land, but seeing it again is good. Stuff changes over time."
The strategy game
With weights zeroing on the final day, the strategy aspect of The Champions isn't lost on DeFoe. Photo by Rob Matsuura
With the full field fishing the first two days of The Champions in a five-fish, cumulative format, just making the cut to 15 for the championship round will be hard enough. From there, weights zero and it's a one-day, 15-angler shootout for a $1.25 million top prize. The intricacies of a winning strategy are not lost on DeFoe.
"If it was a three-day cumulative (format), you'd need to stack as much weight as you can every day," he said. "With this one, it's like, I don't want to catch a 5-pounder Thursday or Friday that I might could catch on Saturday. You really just want to survive those first two days and practice as much as you can so you can have an idea of how you can catch a big one when it really matters."
And part of the reason for that mentality is that Old Hickory isn't a fishery on which 20-pound limits are common. One kicker could be worth a $750,000 difference between winner and runner-up, and those fish don't live everywhere. It's a conundrum that can and will perplex some anglers as they try to decide if swinging big to make the cut is more important than saving fish.
"Whoever wins is probably going to be the guy that catches a lunker on Saturday," DeFoe said. "That's Old Hickory. The guy who catches the biggest fish on that day in a five-fish tournament probably wins the tournament. One bite will make the difference on that last day."
Right in DeFoe's wheelhouse
DeFoe feels right at home when weights are tight and kickers make a huge difference. Photo by Phoenix Moore
The prospect of a "tough" tournament gets DeFoe revved up. In a five-fish format on a fishery like Old Hickory, it's unlikely anyone is going to find the quality and quantity to win in blowout fashion. Instead, it might be just a 15-minute stretch down a main-lake bank or a tiny creek tributary upriver that makes all the difference.
"The whole deal is, you're just never out of it," he explained. "It's one of those fisheries where at noon you've got two keepers and all it takes is 15 minutes down the right stretch to catch a couple solid ones and you've got what you need. Any 15-miunte window it could happen.
DeFoe likens it to another fishery he's fished ample times in the fall – not necessarily by looks or reputation, but by its levelness as a tournament playing field.
"Wheeler Lake was always one of my favorite ones because it was the kind of place where everybody caught a limit," he said. "This was back in the day pre-forward-facing sonar, but you fish a tournament there in October or November and everybody was going to catch a limit. Twelve pounds was pretty good and 14 or 15 was really good. Knowing you were going to catch five, but you were just trying to catch a little better quality, those were the ones I liked and did good in."
DeFoe is certainly going to like The Champions as well. Victory or otherwise, he's just thankful for the opportunity.
"Just being in the event, you're going to walk away from it with an incredible experience and some money in the bank just from qualifying," he said. "It's just gratitude, man. I'm thankful for the Bird family and everything they've done for bass fishing by having this event and certainly excited to be in the position to be able to fish it. There's a lot of great anglers that aren't, and I'm just thankful to be one of the anglers who is."
More about The Champions
In addition to the Oct. 29-31 60-angler tournament and its $3.25 million total purse, The Champions week will offer:
- Four days of live music featuring country-music superstars Riley Green, Randy Houser, Trace Adkins, Lee Greenwood and more
- The All Outdoors Expo Oct. 29-31 at Gaylord Opryland Resort
- Pay-per-view access to media day and opening ceremonies, three days of The Champions tournament and weigh-ins, a celebrity pro-am and unmatched behind-the-scenes visibility