Rockwall angler Gus Richardson wins national title
Aug. 13—When Rockwall angler Gus Richardson was ready to fish the Texas B.A.S.S. Nation Youth fishing tournament back in June he needed a partner.
He hooked up with Mark Cerja Jr. of Aledo.
"He needed a partner and I needed a partner," said Richardson.
The two 14-year-olds fished together once in practice and then with the help of their boat captain, Mark's father Mark Cerja, they finished second in the tournament at Cedar Creek Lake with their two-day total of 21.95 pounds.
That runner-up finish qualified Richardson and Cerja for the Bassmaster Junior National Championship the next month at the Carroll County Recreational Lake in Huntingdon, Tennessee,
Richardson and Cerja went one better at the national tournament, winning the title and sharing a $2,000 scholarship.
Persistence paid off for Richardson, who caught the duo's biggest fish, a 4-pound, 7-ounce bass on a white Zoom Salty Super Flake lure in the last three minutes of fishing on the first day.
"I just kept on casting," said Richardson. "Our coach was like saying five minutes left and four minutes left and I cast and I feel a fish and my coach said three minutes left. If we hadn't caught that fish we wouldn't have won."
They weighed in the five-fish limit both days to finish with a total weight caught of 18 pounds, 5 ounces. Second place went to Rhea County (Tenn.) Eagle Anglers Owen Ray and Camdyn Cranfill at 17-3 and Ander Cowan and Alex Fitzpatrick were a close third at 17-2.
They caught other fish on a blue Berkley Power Worm and a Jawtec Stud Bug.
"I've been fishing since I was 2, and I was taught to fish hard and grind and never give up," Cerja told David A Brown, a Bassmaster staff writer. "Today was a tough, tough bite. We didn't get our limit until about noon, whereas yesterday we were culling at 10 a.m."
Richardson was also grinding away.
"My legs were hurting from standing up so long (in the boat)," he said.
Though they've fished only two tournaments together, Richardson and Cerja have what the Rockwall fisherman called "very good team chemistry."
"He was good at netting the fish I caught and I netted his fish."
With their victory, the pair earned a trip to the Bassmasters Classic on March 24-26 in Tennessee, where they will walk the televised stage and meet and fish with the pros.
Richardson, who grew up in New Braunfels and San Marcos before moving to Rockwall, has been fishing for a long time.
"I taught myself how to fish," he said.
He fishes a lot for fun, sometimes taking his pole with him on his bicycle to a nearby pond. Other times riding in the car with his family to fish at Lake Ray Hubbard.
He got serious about tournament fishing about a year ago.
He wants to fish more big tournaments but may need another partner.
"I don't know if we're going to fish more tournaments together," said Richardson. "He's going to join his high school team in Aledo."
Richardson, who is home-schooled, hopes to find a suitable partner in the Rockwall County area.
As for fishing professionally, Gus is taking a wait-and-see approach.
"I want to see what the Lord has in store for me."
