After stumble in season finale, Sumrall looking ahead to 2023

Published 6:00 am Sunday, September 4, 2022

LACROSSE, Wisconsin – It wasn’t the way Caleb Sumrall wanted to end his fifth season on the Bassmaster Elite Series circuit in 2022.

“Man, this one stings. Pretty bad,” Sumrall said moments after his second-day catch was weighed Aug. 27 on the big stage inside Copeland Park, home of the LaCrosse Loggers, a summer team of collegiate baseball players who compete in the Northwoods League.

The New Iberia pro bass angler knew he had whiffed in his last bid to qualify for the 2023 Bassmaster Classic before emcee Dave Mercer announced the weight of the four keeper bass he had on Day 2.

“Seven-seven (pounds/ounces) yesterday. Four fish to add to that today, 8-8, (for a total of) 15-15 … Not the finish you wanted, Caleb …,” Mercer said.

Sumrall, wearing his familiar black/red jersey, sure looked as if he’d been stung. He collected his thoughts and talked about the last few days, the past few weeks on the circuit.

“I thought about it yesterday,” he said, recalling his five small keeper bass on Day 1 that left him with an uphill climb to make the cut after Day 2. “Today, I just kind of fished free and, you know, I figured out something a little late and had bad execution. I lost a bunch of fish.

“Umm, I think that performance is pretty much going to put me out of the Classic and, you know, this is what we fight for, all year long, so it hurts, it hurts, man, it hurts right here,” he said, gesturing with his right hand toward his heart.”

The 35-year-old all-around outdoorsman finished 75th in that regular-season finale and 46th with 482 points in the Angler of the Year standings in 2022. He was sandwiched between Hunter Shyrock from Tennessee, 489, and Bill Lowen from Indiana, 472.

In theory, due to the possibility of double qualifications, the Classic cut could go below 43rd, feasibly all the way to 48th, but highly unlikely.

“Every bit of our blood, sweat and tears goes into making that Classic and you can’t win it if you’re not there,” Sumrall said.

He had made the cut the week before in the tour’s eighth stop at Lake Oahe in South Dakota at Mobridge. He finished 40th there with 33 pounds, 12 ounces, and was right around the positive side of the cut line on his way to Wisconsin.

It was an up and down year for the three-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier who got his start with the Elites after winning the B.A.S.S. Nation National Championship in 2017 at Lake Hartwell in South Carolina. Sumrall had a good start with a 15th-place finish in the 2022 season opener on the St. Johns River at Palatka, Florida, then recorded an 89th-place finish the following week at Harris Chain at Leesburg, Florida.

Following a break for the Bassmaster Classic, where he finished a lofty 16th at Lake Hartwell, Sumrall and the other Elites fished Santee Cooper lakes at Clarendon County, South Carolina, where he finished a disappointing 72nd. He bounced back with a 28th-place showing on Chickamauga Lake at Dayton, Tennessee.

Then he was 57th on Lake Fork at Quitman, Texas, and notched an 18th-place the next time out at Pickwick Lake at Counce, Tennessee. That gave him momentum going into the last two tournaments. He was in position to make the next Classic after his finish at Lake Oahe.

It all came down to the Mississippi River, which fishes a lot like he does at home in and around the Atchafalaya Basin. But it was lower for this time of year and it threw him a curve.

On the weigh-in stage a week ago Saturday, a somber Sumrall also thanked his major sponsors, Optimal Field Services LLC and Express, then got emotional talking about his supporters, starting with his wife, Jacie. They have two young children, Clelie and Axel.

“My wife at home. She can’t … she … her faith in me never waivers. She’s always cheering me on, pushing me to do better, and when I don’t perform, like this, I feel like,” he said, his voice starting to crack, “I feel like I let everybody who cheers me on down. We’re going to go back home, kiss them babies, recoup for next year and we’re going to come back strong.”

Next year’s schedule was released Wednesday. Sumrall can’t wait for the opener Feb. 16-19 at Lake Okeechobee in Florida, with the next stop at Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Georgia. After the Bassmaster Classic on March 24-26 on the Tennessee River at Knoxville, the Elites travel to Lake Murray in South Carolina for a tournament April 20-23, followed by April 27-30 on Santee Cooper Lakes; May 11-14 at Lay Lake in Alabama; June 1-4 on Sabine River in Texas; July 27-30 at Lake St. Clair in Michigan; Aug. 17-20 at Lake Champlain in New York State, and Aug. 24-27 on the St. Lawrence River in New York State.