ORANGE, Texas — Caleb Sumrall’s comeback on the Bassmaster Elite Series circuit resumed in a big way earlier this month with a hard-earned, well-deserved 16th-place finish in the 2023 Folds of Honor Bassmaster Elite tournament at the Sabine River.

Sumrall could ill-afford another subpar finish in that sixth tournament of the season, one held June 1-4 a few hours from his hometown of New Iberia. He survived a decision he regretted the first day, then made the cut for the third time in 2023 to fish Semifinal Saturday.

The 36-year-old sixth-year pro missed going on to Championship Sunday. He finished his three-day tournament outing, one he enjoyed with his family and friends on hand, with 25 pounds, 11 ounces.

Day 2 saved the week and, perhaps, the season for Sumrall in his quest to qualify for the 2024 Bassmaster Classic at Grand Lake in Oklahoma. That second day came on the heels of a disastrous start to the tournament because after Sumrall boated four small keepers close to Orange on Day 1, he took off on a 2-plus hour boat ride to Houston.

He burned 83 gallons round trip for naught because he managed to catch just one small keeper before pulling the plug on that idea, then driving another 2-plus hours back to the Orange area where he latched onto a 1 ½-pounder that culled for a final weight of 5-14, which left him tied for 69th with another Louisianan, Derek Hudnall.

“I didn’t have a good practice and the best place that I found was in Houston. … I spent all that time driving my boat and not fishing,” Sumrall told bassmaster.com’s David A. Brown.

On a fishery where a 1 ½-pounder is a prized possession and a 3 ½-pounder is gold, Sumrall stayed close to the boat landing the next day and rebounded with a limit weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces, a modest total anywhere else but one that vaulted him into 11th.

He wrote on his Facebook page June 3: “Had a awesome day on the river. … This place is just like home and I’m ready to grind tomorrow.”

The big bites didn’t show up on Day 3 as he junk fished his way around Orange. He ended up with a small limit.

That 16th-place finish gave him a total of 255 points, good enough to bump him up to 75th in the point standings and race for Angler of the Year. With three tournaments remaining in the season, he knows what he has to do to avoid missing a second straight Classic.

“I need three more Top 15s. It’s been a grind. It’s been slow. I need to turn it around to make the Classic. It’ll be a grind but I can do it,” Sumrall said a few days after the recent tournament, adding emphatically that it’s doable.

“Yeah, I’ve got my work cut out for me, that’s all.”

After the next tournament July 27-30 at Lake St. Clair in Michigan, Sumrall travels the following month to perhaps his favorite body of water to fish in the Northeast — Lake Champlain at Plattsburgh, New York, on Aug. 17-20. Following that derby, it’s off to Clayton, New York, the next week to fish Aug. 24-27at the St. Lawrence River.

He said he’s looking forward to the cooler weather during the two-tournament swing in New York.

The all-around outdoorsman has emerged as a great smallmouth bass angler. He looks forward to tangling with big brownies in New York, particularly Lake Champlain.

“Oh, it’s just full of fish,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sumrall is expecting to get his hands on a new Xpress Bay Boat any time now. As soon as he gets it up and running, he’ll start inshore guiding after getting his charter boat captain’s license earlier this year.

The Elite bass angler said he has been fishing for speckled trout and redfish most of his life. He expects to get in the swing of saltwater fishing right away.

He’ll be spending the rest of the prolonged summer break with his wife, Jacie, daughter, Clelie, and son, Axel. The boys might fish their third-ever Wednesday Night Hawg Fights Bass Tournament Series, like they did last summer when they won in the Atchafalaya Basin out of Bayou Benoit Boat Landing.

All the while, though, the New Iberia outdoorsman will have the task at hand as a professional bass angler in the back of his mind. He realizes it will be an uphill climb to qualify for the 2024 Bassmaster Classic at Grand Lake in Oklahoma.

“I don’t like my position in points. I need some good finishes, that’s all,” he said.