Beffa of Festus qualified by winning the B.A.S.S. Nation Central Regional on Oct. 16 at Toledo Bend Lake on the Texas-Louisiana border. His win earned him a spot in the national championship Nov. 11-13 at Pickwick Lake in Alabama, where he will have a shot at one of three places in the 2021 Bassmaster Classic.
A big catch on the final day of the tournament vaulted Beffa into the top spot in the tournament, which started with 160 anglers on Oct. 14. He was in 16th place in his division at the start of the day, but two bass over five pounds and three other fish in his limit brought his daily weight to 19 pounds, 4 ounces, almost seven pounds heavier than the next competitor’s best for the day.
“I didn’t expect this,” Beffa said immediately after the weigh-in. “I was really frustrated with myself. I only caught three fish on Thursday and lost a 5-pounder and a 3 1/2-pounder. Being in 16th place but coming back to win it, that was huge.”
His 35-pound, 12-ounce total for the three-day tournament was more than three pounds heavier than the second-place finisher. He also had boat trouble on the last day and needed to catch a ride to the scales.
Beffa stuck to his favorite method for catching fish for the first two days flipping a custom jig around the docks on the Texas side of Toledo Bend more than a 50-mile boat ride from the tournament launch area on the 188,000-acre lake.
On the final day, the wind was brisk from the north, so many anglers did not travel far, and Beffa stayed near the Cypress Bend, Louisiana, area of the lake.
“I looked for Missouri rock and a topwater bite,” Beffa said. “I found some in practice right around the corner (from the launch site) and hit it every day a little bit. I caught a pair of 5-pounders with a custom-painted Whopper Plopper.”
Happy with his start but certainly not satisfied, Beffa decided to make the 50-mile run up Toledo Bend to the area where he had fished the two previous days. He caught a 4-pounder on one of his first casts and finished with two more solid keepers to complete his 19-4 limit.
The custom-painted lures that he uses are made by another Festus High School graduate, Mike Russell, Beffa said.
In addition to the winner’s trophy and the chance to compete at the next level, Beffa also took home a $5,000 check. The one absolute about tournament fishing is that it’s never about the money. Winning and covering some expenses is great, but it’s not the motivation for the sport.
“I’ve been fishing my whole life. I just have a passion for it,” Beffa said. “The chance to compete in the Bassmaster Classic is pretty amazing.”
The other big reward of his day was knowing that his wife, family and friends were able to keep track of his big day on the lake through bassmaster.com and the circuit’s B.A.S.S.Track app.
“Every time I catch a fish I have to send a text to the B.A.S.S.Track with an estimated weight of the fish, so they can keep track of all competitors,” Beffa said.
His first three fish totaled more than 14 pounds, and in the entire tournament to that point, the biggest five fish total had been 13 pounds, 11 ounces, and Beffa still had time to try to catch two more fish. When he made it back to the weigh-in, the organization made him wait to be the last fisherman to post his score.
“Knowing my family was at home getting to watch it on the live stream, that was amazing,” Beffa said.
Founded more than 50 years ago as the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, the B.A.S.S. tournament trail includes the top events in the sport including the Bassmaster Elite Series and many other opportunities including a high school division and kayak fishing series. The Bassmaster Classic is the World Series equivalent for anglers. With another big performance in Alabama in November, Beffa will be in the starting lineup March 19-21 at Lake Ray Roberts near Fort Worth, Texas.
John Winkelman is Marketing Manager for Liguori Publications in Barnhart, Mo., and the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas to share for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can follow John on Twitter at @johnjwink99.