Jay Yelas

Jay Yelas —Jay Yelas launched his professional tournament fishing career in 1989 and registered top-12 finishes in two of his first three events. During the first decade of the new millennium, he authored one of the greatest stretches of sustained excellence in the sport’s history, winning a Bassmaster Classic and three tour-level Angler of the Year (AOY) titles over the course of six seasons (2002-2007).

The native of Santa Barbara, Calif. knew he wanted to be a pro angler by the time he was old enough to obtain a driver’s license. After earning a degree in Resource Recreation Management from Oregon State University, he lived a vagabond existence for several years to achieve that goal. Over the next three decades, which included moves to Phoenix, Texas, and eventually, back to Oregon, he competed in more than 350 pro events and pocketed $2.5 million in tournament winnings with B.A.S.S. and FLW.

“I’ve always loved to bass-fish and it’s just a God-given talent,” he said during his early-2000s run of dominance. “I’m happiest when I’m using my gifts and creative talents.”

Unlike some of his contemporaries, Yelas has never been known as a guru of a single technique – versatility has long been his trademark. Even through the height of his success, his game evolved as new methods emerged from the West Coast. A lot of his initial success was achieved with spinnerbaits and jigs, but he was primarily employing swimbaits and dropshot rigs by the time of his third AOY crown.

His seminal year was 2002 when he won both the Classic at Alabama’s Lay Lake and the FLW Tour points championship. Fishing far up the Coosa River near the Logan Martin dam, he led the Classic from start to finish and took big-bass honors for each round, eventually outdistancing runner-up Aaron Martens by more than 6 pounds with a 45-13 total. The majority of his key fish in that event came from a 100-yard stretch of bank about 500 yards below the dam that was totally fruitless until the middle of each day, when a torrent of water was released from the dam for power-generation purposes.

Despite his pleasant, easy-going nature, he’s never hesitated to take a firm stand on issues that have arisen within the sport. He took a 13-year hiatus from B.A.S.S. competition after the ’06 Classic when he felt that the organization, then owned by ESPN, had shifted its media emphasis away from competition and toward angler antics that made for good TV. He used a “legends exemption” achieved via his Classic victory and AOY title to return to B.A.S.S.’ top circuit in 2019 after the organization had gone through two ownership changes since his departure.

He expresses his deep Christian faith at every opportunity and has long donated time and resources to charitable endeavors. He serves as the executive director for the C.A.S.T. for Kids Foundation, which aids special-needs children through numerous fishing events held annually throughout the nation.