Spokane Valley native competing in the 'Super Bowl' of competitive bass fishing next week

Feb. 27—In 2003, Joey Nania got hooked by competitive bass fishing

Nania, who at the time was 13, grew up on the shores of Liberty Lake fishing with his dad Joel. But he didn't know that bass fishing was a sport — and one in which teenagers competed — until he saw the Junior Bassmasters on ESPN.

"I'd like to do that," his dad recalled Joey saying.

And so Joel started a junior Bassmaster club that year through the Inland Northwest Bass club. Joey did well, winning the state and regional tournaments and then, a year later, Nania won the Junior Bassmaster Championship, the very competition he'd watched on T.V. just a year prior.

"It really was crazy and just an amazing thing," he said. "It all led me to where I'm at now."

And where is that?

Bass fishing's biggest stage. Next week, Nania will compete in the Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina.

"This is the Super Bowl of bass fishing," his dad said.

Starting Thursday, 55 of the best anglers will compete for three days. Anglers fish from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fish they catch — which are all kept alive and released back into the lake — are weighed. It's not uncommon for 10,000 people to attend the weigh-ins, Nania said. After the first two days the 25 anglers who've caught the most bass by weight will move into the third, and final, day of competition.

"I'm excited. Lake Harwell has a mixture of spotted bass and large mouth," Nania said. "Different species behave differently, but I understand how to catch them both."

Since that early success as a teenager in 2004, Nania has more or less made a living fishing. Now living in Alabama, he guides around 150 days a year, which supplements the income he makes fishing tournaments. Only the top 40 anglers get paid in most tournaments, so Nania intentionally doesn't depend on tournament winnings to make a living. Still, in the past 10 tournaments in which he's competed, he's received eight checks.

According to Bassmaster, Nania has made $141,439 in 47 tournaments and has reeled in 969 pounds and 12 ounces of fish.

To qualify for the BassMaster Classic, Nania had to win an open bass fishing competition, which he did in 2021 at Pickwick Lake in Tennessee. Unlike other tournaments, all anglers in the Bassmaster Classic next week will get paid. Tenth through 55th places get 10,000 each. The overall winner could take home up to $300,000.

"The good thing about the classic is you don't have to do good to get paid," Nania said.

While money is certainly a factor in Nania's motivation, it's not the main one.

The father of two, Nania is a religious man who credits his faith for much of his success.

"When I stopped worrying about competing and I stopped worrying about trying to win tournaments, whatever happens is in God's hands, that's when I won my first (adult) tournament," he said.

That faith is combined with an understanding of fish behavior, and tons of experience.

"I've always had a knack for understanding fish behaviors and fish movements," he said. "And what they do based on certain conditions."

His dad agrees. Once while fishing with Nania, Joel said his son told him that when he casts he visualizes what the bait looks like to the fish. While there is still an element of luck during a competition, Joel said angling skill is a huge key to victory.

"I might cast to a spot," he said. "They (professionals) cast to a spot within a spot."

Despite all that success, Nania said he's still learning.

"Fishing is something that no matter how long you work on it you never understand it all," he said.

During the tournament, Nania will be joined by his two kids, his wife and his dad.

"We do it as a family," he said. "We get to do it all together."