Post-brain surgery, Minnesota’s Easton Fothergill wins collegiate bass tourney

Junction City, Kan. — Throughout his young fishing career, several unfortunate incidents have ruined Easton Fothergill’s chances at winning tournaments about which he felt confident.

Whether it was a mechanical issue or things he simply called “dumb stuff,” something always got in the way.

In mid-August, the University of Montevallo (Alabama) junior and Grand Rapids, Minn., native thought he would be adding emergency brain surgery to the list of misfortunes that derailed his path to success. But it turns out, life works in mysterious ways.

“Now I know what God’s vision was,” Fothergill said.

Just over a month after undergoing surgery to remove an infected abscess on his brain, Fothergill won the 2023 Bassmaster College Classic Bracket presented by Lew’s by catching 11 pounds, 13 ounces on the final day at Milford Lake, defeating Auburn University’s Tucker Smith (9-8). The tournament was held Sept. 29 to Oct. 2.

“I can’t really put into words what it means to me yet,” Fothergill said. “This is something I never thought I would be capable of. I never saw myself doing something like this. It is crazy special. The fact I wasn’t even planning on being here and then winning it, I really can’t put it into words.”

By winning, Fothergill earned a spot in the 2024 Bassmaster Classic scheduled for Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees near Tulsa, Okla., March 22-24. Fothergill also earned paid entry fees into a division of the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens with the use of a fully-rigged truck and boat package.

After qualifying for the College Classic Bracket by winning the Bassmaster College Team of the Year title with partner Nick Dumke, Fothergill caught 10-15 in the opening round to advance to the semifinal round over Montevallo teammate Jack Alexander (9-8). Fothergill then landed 9-1 on the second day to cruise past Auburn’s Hayden Marbut (6-11) before catching the tournament’s biggest bag on the final day. Fothergill caught mostly smallmouths, but he caught a key largemouth each day of the tournament.

While he hails from northern Minnesota, the section of the state most people identify with when discussing its fishing superlatives, Fothergill often ventured to the southern part of the state for high school tournaments.

He didn’t know it at the time, but those lakes set up much like Milford Lake, and that past experience helped Fothergill break down his areas this week.

“In northern Minnesota where I’m from, you can see the bottom in 20 feet of water,” he said. “You go to southern Minnesota, there is a lot of dirty water like Milford has. I had a couple of high school tournaments where we went down to those types of lakes and it was a huge learning experience, which now I think prepared me for this. I didn’t know it at the time, but it prepared me for the future.”

As he recovered from surgery, Fothergill studied Google Earth for days, looking for oddities in the rock-lined banks. He discovered there were bigger boulders in several specific spots on the lake. Those boulders turned out to be the key, as Fothergill caught nearly all of his bass around bigger rock.

“It was basketball-sized boulders – not the slab rock that the lake is littered with,” he said. “In the morning, they wanted the slow, tapering banks and then a sharp break. The bass were in inches of water.

“Most of the spots I found were while I was recuperating and resting at home,” he said.

A mix of baits contributed to his success. On Day 1, Fothergill tossed an underspin with a 3-inch swimbait along with a 3⁄8-ounce double-willow spinnerbait with a translucent skirt.

As the tournament progressed, a homemade finesse football jig (made by his father) paired with a Strike King Rage Menace Grub played an important role as well as a 3.5-inch Strike King Coffee Tube rigged on either a 1⁄4-ounce or 3⁄8-ounce jighead.