Local Angler kicks off his Bass Pro Tour season on home lake
Written by Kelsi Horn, Sabine Parish Tourist Commission
TOLEDO BEND, LA – (January 18, 2024) Justin Cooper of Sabine Parish will begin his first season in the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour on his home lake, Toledo Bend Reservoir.
Cooper, who grew up on the northern side of the parish in the Converse area, is a father, husband, fishing guide and full-time angler. When he isn’t traveling the country for fishing tournaments, he’s at his home in Zwolle on the lake running his guide service and fishing for Bass and Crappie on Toledo Bend. If you’re looking for him in the fall months, you may also find him in the woods enjoying hunting season or working with RMS Outdoors as an Assistant Breeder Consultant.
I sat down with Cooper in December to better understand his journey to becoming a pro angler and how he feels about the upcoming MLF season opener on Toledo Bend.
“Not many people get to make a living out of something they love every day. I’m blessed for sure.” Cooper said.
Cooper has always had a love for sports and the outdoors. He began fishing at a young age with his father, mostly on Red River. With his competitive spirit, he also grew up on the baseball field and in rodeo arenas. In his early adult years, he attended Northwestern State University (NSU) in Natchitoches, La where he obtained two Bachelor Degrees: one in Biology with a concentration in Pre-Medicine, and another in Natural Sciences. He’s always been ambitious, but he says that he never had goals or dreams of being a full-time angler. It always seemed out of reach for him this early in life.
With his baseball and rodeo days behind him but a competitive itch to scratch, Cooper and his friends teamed up to revive the NSU Fishing Team. He fell further in love with angling through his college career and expanding his knowledge of wildlife and fisheries in his Natural Science courses. He took that education out of the classroom and found his passion when he had an internship with a deer ranch in South Texas growing white-tail deer.
Upon graduation, Cooper knew his heart wasn’t in biology and pursuing medical school anymore. He continued seasonally working with the ranch in Texas, and continued fishing. He worked alongside another professional angler in Sabine Parish, Darold Gleason. At the same time, he began fishing in smaller circuit tournaments in the area. By fishing Toledo Bend as a guide and the tournaments, he grew to love it and considers it one of the top fisheries in the nation today.
Cooper said, “I began realizing I could have a real shot at fishing at the professional level when I realized I could hold my own against some big names in those tournaments.”
In the 2020 season he joined the Toyota Series with Major League Fishing, which also opened the season on Toledo Bend Reservoir. In the first year of fishing a big-name organization’s circuit, he qualified for the next level, the 2021 Pro Circuit. During that rookie year, Cooper had three top 10 finishes and placed second in the Rookie of the Year race. The next year, he finished in eleventh place, but MLF only brought the top ten to the Bass Pro Tour, leaving him one spot away from his big break. At the end of the 2023 season, he finished in twelfth place in points.
As I learned from Cooper, the number of anglers that get a spot on the Bass Pro Tour differs each year according to a few different factors. At that time, the MLF organization was only bringing the top eight anglers from the Invitationals to the Bass Pro Tour. It was only after a few anglers retired or moved on to other circuits that a spot on the roster became available to the next five anglers.
He got the unexpected call to join the Bass Pro Tour in October 2023 while he was working in South Texas. This was a welcomed surprise to Justin because he thought he hadn’t qualified.
“Ever since I started chasing this career, five or six years ago, to fish at the top level has always been my goal… I always wanted to stay with MLF because that’s where I got my start in this career.” said Cooper.
The time to decide if he was going to go for it or not was imminent, but first, he had to share the news with his wife and family. Tears were shared over the dream come true, and he immediately accepted the offer to join the MLF Bass Pro Tour Angler Roster.
When I asked Justin about his goals for the season, he assured me that he’s giving everything he has to the seven events this season. His dream, like many of the other anglers, is to place first overall and be named the ‘Angler of the Year’. At the same time, he’s striving to qualify for Redcrest, which he described as ‘the Superbowl of bass fishing’.
“If you’re the Angler of the Year, you automatically qualify for Redcrest. Why sell yourself short? I’ve always dreamed big and will continue to do that, so I’m aiming for Angler of the Year.”
Lucky for these guys, Justin feels confident about the possibility of bringing in big fish from Toledo Bend at this time of year.
“There will be a lot of fish caught and there will be a lot of big fish caught… from five feet of water to 50 feet of water, there will be fish everywhere.” Cooper says.
He explained to me that in late January and early February, bass are pre-spawn. If your fishing knowledge is limited like mine, that means most of the bass are full of eggs which causes them to weigh more. It works in MLF’s favor that most of these fish will be at their heaviest weight during the tournament.
The Bass Pro Tour format is catch, weigh, release. Cooper said that it will be beneficial to the anglers with this format to catch as many as possible. Without spilling too many of his secrets, he shared that his plan is to fish in the deeper waters where the fish might be grouped together. He’ll be relying on Strike King Crank Bait, a deep-diving bait, for the opener; he says that will be key for him.
Cooper is certain that this season will be a lot of fun for him and the other anglers. His attitude going in to the first event is optimistic and while he may have big goals and a competitive drive to reach them, he’s also humbly aware of this unique opportunity he has been given.
He said, “I’m going to be sure to enjoy every minute of it. I’m fishing against guys that I’ve looked up to my whole life like Edwin Evers, and I’ve even become friends with some of them. Edwin has been a mentor to me this past year and I remember getting a picture with him at Foy’s in Many when I was young and he was here fishing with the Bassmaster Elites… We’re all friends on and off the water. Once it’s go time, of course it’s competition, but we’re a tight knit community that really looks out for each other.”
The Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour season begins Jan. 30 on Toledo Bend. The Sabine Parish Tourist Commission is wishing Justin the best of luck this season and look forward to cheering him on every step of the way. If you’re in the area and would like to support him, you can livestream the tournament daily on MajorLeagueFishing.com. Based on his finishes, you may have the opportunity to meet him and other top anglers at the Watch Party and Trophy Ceremony that weekend. For more information on the tournament and its events, visit www.ToledoBendLakeCountry.com/MLF.