The second time was the charm for Evan Kung.
The 25-year-old Pickering, Ont., resident was 28th on Saturday in the final Bassmaster Open event at Alabama's Lake Martin. That earned Kung enough points to finish ninth in the overall standings and qualify to compete on the Elite Series next season.
"It's still kind of shocking that I was able to do it," Kung said during a telephone interview. "I'm trying to appreciate it and take it all in but I don't think it has sunk in yet.
"It's all a little overwhelming."
Consistency was a big part of Kung's success. He finished in the money in six of the nine Open tournaments — including ninth-place efforts at Arkansas' Lake Ouachita and South Carolina's Santee Cooper Lakes — after recording just one in 2023 (14th at Waddington, N.Y. on the St. Lawrence River).
Still, Kung went into the tournament among four competitors battling for the final three qualification spots.
Kung didn't crack the top-10 to qualify for the tournament final but the math suggested he'd still qualified for the Elite Series. However, the accomplishment didn't fully set in until it became official.
"There was a lot of relief," Kung said. "Even when I did the math and figured I was in, when people asked if I was, I'd just say, 'I think so.'
"I was kind of sure but not completely sure so I just had to wait until it was final."
With plenty riding on the final Open event, Kung followed his gut.
"I was in the middle of the lake chasing big schools of fish using my electronics while many people just fished the shoreline," he said. "That's where the majority of bigger fish were . . . but I figured I'd rather get better average-sized fish and be around 10 pounds or so (combined daily weight) than risk it and maybe not catch a big one and drop way down."
And that's probably the most valuable lesson Kung learned this year.
"I think last year I focused too much on talking to other people," he said. "I listened to how they were catching fish or how they found fish and it messed with me because I'd do what they were doing.
"This year, I just locked everyone out, did it my way, found fish my way and how I was comfortable doing it and it worked out. Maybe in a different year it wouldn't have but fortunately with the lakes we fished this year, it did."
Kung will become the fifth Canadian on the Elite Series, joining Chris Johnston of Peterborough, Ont., and his brother, Cory, of Cavan, Ont., Jeff Gustafson of Kenora, Ont., and Cooper Gallant of Bowmanville, Ont. Gallant also qualified for the Elites Series by fishing all nine Open events in 2022.
Kung said he received congratulations from Gustafson, the '23 Bassmaster Classic champion, and spoke with both Series MC Dave Mercer, of Port Perry, Ont., and Gallant. Kung and Gallant have known each other for years and speak often.
"Its always good to know someone going in," Kung said. "Cooper went down the same path I did and knows about it all."
Kung hopes the approach that worked so well for him this year will also pay dividends in the Elite Series, although he'll head into each tournament with an open mind. One difference will be having roughly three practice sessions before each Elite Series event compared to 4 1/2 days in the Opens.
"I always thought 4 1/2 days was too long because so much can change," Kung said. "If you find something the first day of practice, by the time the tournament starts you're five days past so those first days of practice sometimes don't really mean anything.
"But (fishing Elite Series) definitely doesn't take the fun away from it. Even the last couple of years, it was sort of my living but I still enjoy it. Mostly, though, I love tournament fishing, I want to be in a tournament competing against someone or doing something."
Although he'll be considered a full-time pro next year, the pressure to perform won't exceed the expectations Kung has for himself.
"I'm not someone who really gets nervous before a tournament," he said. "The only time I do is when I go out on the water and I'm not catching anything.
"I start to feel it a bit wondering if I missed something."
The '25 Elite Series season opens Feb. 20 at Florida's St. Johns River with Cory Johnston being the defending champion. But the schedule doesn't include stops to Waddington or Clayton, N.Y. (both St. Lawrence River) and Plattsburgh, N.Y. (Lake Champlain), all solid smallmouth bass fisheries.
That could be a bad thing for Kung, who figures fishing for smallmouths is a strength. Then again, Kung fared well chasing largemouths in southern Open events at Florida's Lake Okeechobee (17th-place finish), Santee Cooper and Lake Martin.
"It worked this year," Kung said with a chuckle. "Hopefully next year the largemouths like me again."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2023.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
