BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After competing in all eight 2020 Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens tournaments, Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., nabbed the Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year title by a single point. The last Open of the year at Lay Lake, Ala., was gut-wrenching for New. He caught the bass that clinched the AOY trophy 20 minutes before his final weigh-in of the season.
“Without that 3-pound largemouth, I don’t win Angler of the Year,” New said.
In addition to qualifying for the Bassmaster Elite Series, New pocketed $10,000 from Falcon Rods. New also earned a berth to the 2021 Bassmaster Classic by winning the season’s first event, the Bassmaster Eastern Open on Florida’s Kissimmee Chain of Lakes.
“This is a lifetime childhood dream come true for me,” New said. “I fought hard to get here, and I’ll need to fight hard to stay.”
Winning the Bassmaster Opens AOY title is undoubtedly one of the most difficult accomplishments in tournament bass fishing. Every Open event in 2020 drew large fields that included many of the country’s top pros and a host of local hot sticks.
Prior to 2020, New had never competed in a Bassmaster Open. But he was hardly a rookie. New had won nearly $400,000 fishing mainly as a co-angler in a variety of FLW events. New credits his co-angler experience for helping him to learn to “fish the moment.”
“As a co-angler you can’t plan on anything because you don’t know what you’re doing next,” New said. “You have to evaluate what’s in front of you and try to determine the best way to catch a bass in that situation.”
Now that New has competed — and succeeded — during one of the sport’s most challenging seasons, he is focused on the 2021 Bassmaster Elite Series season, which kicks off on Florida’s St. Johns River Feb. 11-14.
“I’ve got two goals for next year,” New said. “One is to win the Bassmaster Classic. Two is to hold my own in the Elites and qualify for the Classic again through the Angler of the Year points.”