Santa Maria native Louis Fernandes is one of best professional anglers you’ll see out on the water. After a monster season on the National Pro Fishing League, Fernandes has cast away all doubt that he belongs among some of the best country.
“Come here. Maybe that's why we do it. I've been coming out here since I was three years old. I've been fishing Lopez probably almost 40 years.”
The art of casting a line and enjoying time well spent on the water has been Fernandes' life since he was 3-years-old but after years of patience and dedication he’s finally seeing the fruits of his labor.
“We won one this year and the doors are starting to open now, we're touring full time the last three years. It's really just a dream come true.”
Fernandes had his best professional season of bass fishing when he finished with four Top-10 finishes and a league win in Oklahoma in the last week of September putting him at 8th overall in the Angler of the Year standings.
“If you want it bad enough, you have to work for it. No one's going to give it to you, especially in bass fishing. No one's going to just give you money just because they like you.”
But the job keeps him on the road almost half the year traveling to events that are all on the eastern side of the country.
“When I'm on the road, it's nonstop work. But the fun part is getting the fish the tournament.”
Though it’s all led to success in the sport the trade off is that he’s away from home and his family but when he’s home, he’s present.
“I make it count when it when I do come back. I try and fill in for the times where I've been gone.”
When he’s home, he spends time with 3-year-old daughter Paislee and wife Katie. Sometimes, on perfect days out on Lopez Lake he’s with his 15-year-old son Troy, getting some of that lost time back.
“He fishes and he sees me grind. That's all he wants to do is professionally bass fish. But we'll let him play football cause he's a pretty good football star.”
Troy just finished his sophomore year as a right guard for the highly touted St. Joseph Knights.
Fernandes is also known as the Bass Warrior, a nickname he garnered in his younger years that has stuck with him through his professional success and if you ask him on how to get to his level, the answer is simple: time.
“It's only you. It's not like a baseball team, football team, or hockey team. It's just you. The more time on the water, you're going to succeed.”
While it is the off-season right now, Fernandes keeps busy preparing equipment and sponsorship deals for the upcoming season. Right now he is looking for more local sponsors to help propel him into the 2024 tour which starts in Alabama towards the end of January.
