The time old question that you hear every time the lottery gets to have a big jackpot is, “What would you do if you won that money?” And of course this is when most young people start to dream and run down a wish list of cool toys and gadgets.

Never did 25 year old Brett Rudy think that he would be asking himself, “What would I do if I won the All-American and $60,000?”

Now the resident of Burlington, Iowa who serves as a member of the fire department as a Firefighter and Paramedic has some thinking to do on what that money is going to be used for! Brett was one of 54 co-anglers who descended on Hot Springs, Arkansas to fish the very historic and prestigious FLW Outdoors Bass Fishing League All-American.

The location of the event was DeGray Lake and according to Brett the water was so clear in some spots that he lost count of “how many 3 to 6 lb. fish I could see swimming in 4 to 8 foot of water, but it was unreal that more weren't caught.”

The bite was tough, on the co-angler side it took 5 lb. 7 oz. to make the final day cut and after day one, Brett had one nice bass for 3 lb. 6 oz. “During practice I basically told myself I wasn't going to throw any of that sissy spinning rod stuff” joked Rudy. “I hate throwing little baits on light line, so I stuck with what I was confident in and figured 2-3 big bites a day were better than ten 12-13 inch spots a day. This was definitely the case for Brett who over the course of three days caught six bass for 21 lb. 4 oz. which gave him an average of 3.5 lb.’s per fish!

Going into this event Brett said he was both excited and nervous, as most anglers would be in this situation where you are not just fishing for $60,000, but also a berth into the coveted FLW Forest Wood Cup.

DeGray Lake was a mystery for Brett before this event, but by using the internet to look at maps and previous tournament results, Brett had a good base of information before hitting the road to Arkansas.

Being that Brett lives on the Mississippi River and fishes the BFL Great Lakes division, he has never seen water that clean before. “I went from fishing the 2 inches of visibility on the river to 10 foot visibility on DeGray. I actually thought the lake was easier to figure out than the river or other lakes I've fished. The whole lake looks the same. There were flooded bushes all the way around it, ledges, points, humps, scattered grass and normal contours. Unlike the river where you have everything imaginable and so many variables to why the fish do what they do.”

So now that Brett felt comfortable on the water and had his strategy set of going for the key big bites, he got to sit back and relax…well sort of. “When they say your taken care of at the All-American, they aren't Josh'N ya! They treat everybody like a king and are there to make sure you have nothing to worry about” commented Brett.

One of the coolest things about this tournament was that Brett’s, girlfriend, mom, grandparents and brothers were down the whole week. “With making the cut and all the stuff going on, I didn't have alot of time to spend with them. So after I won and to see them as happy as I was meant alot. From all the time I spend away fishing, it was nice for them to see success in it!”

The mental aspect of this tournament was tough on all anglers, but especially the co-anglers who were limited to five rods. “Just when you thought you had the right stuff tied on, you'd change and start fishing something totally different, deeper or shallower. It was more of a stick with "fishing" and concentrating on one bite at a time” this being good advice for any fisherman commented Rudy.

By fishing pool 19 of the Mississippi on a regular basis, Brett is used to tough fishing and has learned to just keep chuckin and eventually the bites will come. The lures Brett kept chuckin during the event included:

Brett is definitely a power fisherman as he likes to rely on crankbaits, frogs, swim jigs, “but a good flippin bite is hard to pass up too” said Brett.

Each day Brett had the game plan of trying to fish somewhat slow and keep my bait looking natural since the water was so clean. “I had an idea the fish were eating bluegills and shad so I tried to keep my baits as close to that look as possible. I had to accept the fact I would have to catch fish based on how my boater fished and not how I wanted to catch them.”

The last day, Rudy and his boater moved around a lot and wanted to hit as many new fish as possible. “If they didn't bite right away, it was on to the next spot. We didn't sit around and wait for them to decide to eat” said Brett.

This year Brett will continue to fish the BFL Great Lakes division as a co-angler, Team Supreme and TUBFC events. The main tournament in Brett’s outlook is the Forest Wood Cup in August, when he’ll head to Lake Lanier in Georgia to fish for another $60,000!!

I asked Brett if the thought of turning pro has ever crossed his mind. “At this point I’m definitely not ready and that is a huge lifestyle change and commitment. You don't have alot of time to regroup and do other things you enjoy much.” When not on the river fun fishing or traveling north for the BFL’s, Brett’s other obsession is duck and goose hunting.

So now Brett, to answer that questions that so many of wish we had to think about, what are you going to do with your winnings?   “I’ve been wanting and planning for a new boat this winter, so I’m thinking I will probably follow through on that!”