Conway’s Proctor fulfills dream in B.A.S.S. Nation tournament

After working hard to land a host site, the dream finish unfolded for Conway’s John Proctor and his bass-fishing cohorts on the South Carolina team in the B.A.S.S. Nation Southern Divisional last weekend out of Georgetown.

Proctor easily won the individual championship of the event over a field of 112 anglers with a three-day aggregate weight of 34 pounds, 11 ounces for 15 bass, including the tournament’s big fish of 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Tennessee’s Mark Pierce finished second with a weight of 30-4, more than four pounds off Proctor’s pace.

Fourteen South Carolina teammates, including six local anglers, were the winners in the three-day event’s state competition with a total weight of 288-9. The Alabama team was a distant second with 242-11.

Among the South Carolina team members were Proctor, Hayes Hudson, Lee Cannon, Chris Jones and Gregg Fogner, all of Conway, and Mark Johnson of Plantersville.

Other states competing included Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee,

“I’ve been involved in tournament fishing locally, but this was a dream come true for us,” Proctor said. “It’s just a dream come true to be involved, to host the tournament and then win it individually and for the team to win.”

The top angler from each state qualified for the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship in November on the Ouachita River in Monroe, La. The qualifiers included Proctor, Pierce, Roger Thomas (North Carolina), Lance Freeman (Kentucky), Kyle Glasgow Jr. (Alabama), Wayne Black (Florida) and Brad Durden (Georgia).

Proctor started a relationship with a lunker spawning bass while pre-fishing for the tournament that keyed his win.

All three days, Proctor made the considerable run from the event’s launch site – the Carroll Campbell Marine Complex on the Sampit River – up the Waccamaw River to near Bucksport.

“I ran a long way,” Proctor said. “I’m most familiar with that area of the river.”

The day before the tournament, Proctor was using a hookless jerkbait, a weightless plastic worm, and targeting bedding bass.

“I had a bite and I could tell it was a heavy fish but she wouldn’t let go,” Proctor said. “I tried to shake her off. I pulled her up to surface and she swam around boat, she jumped. This went on for 45 seconds. She had swallowed the bait but she eventually regurgitated the bait.”

The next day, the first day of fishing of the tournament, Proctor returned to the spot and found his friend again. This time it counted and the biggest bass of the tournament was in his live well.

“I caught her within 15 minutes of the tournament starting,” said Proctor. “That set the stage for me winning it.”

Proctor weighed in five bass totaling 14-9 and held the lead after the first day of fishing. He weighed in 7-9 on the second day and fell into second place by less than a pound.

But he had a big showing in the final round, with a weight of 12-10, including a nice 5-pound, 3-ounce fish from the same area, to earn the win.

Proctor now heads to Monroe, La., for the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship. From there the dream could get even larger – the five winners from each region in that tournament will qualify for the prestigious 2016 Bassmasters Classic.

This story was originally published April 30, 2015 at 6:15 PM with the headline "Conway’s Proctor fulfills dream in B.A.S.S. Nation tournament."