Matt Robertson
[Summer]
Date: Aug. 3, 2021
Venue: Lake T, a small flatland reservoir
Water: 83 degrees, moderately clear
Weather: Clear, high of 82 degrees
Pro: Matt Robertson, 35, Kuttawa, Ky. Robertson qualified for the 2019 Bassmaster Classic by winning the 2018 B.A.S.S. Nation Team Championship at the Tennessee River. His victory at the 2020 Eastern Open at Cherokee Lake (Tenn.) earned him a spot in the Elite Series and a berth in the 2021 Classic, where he finished seventh. He’s currently qualified for the 2022 Classic.
Boat: Triton 21 TrX with a 250-horsepower Mercury outboard; Minn Kota trolling motor; Garmin, Humminbird and Lowrance electronics; and twin Power-Pole shallow-water anchors
Kentucky drawl, long blonde hair jutting from his weather-beaten cap, sleeveless T-shirt and B.A.S.S. shield tattooed on his left arm, there’s no confusing Matt Robertson with any other Elite Series pro. “I’m 100% hardcore redneck and proud of it,” he says. To wit, this is a guy who didn’t hesitate to scrawl the registration numbers on the side of his boat with a fat, black Sharpie because “they were out of them stick-on boat numbers at Walmart.” Like the weekend warriors who compose much of his fan base, Robertson feels bass fishing has gotten “way too sophisticated and expensive” and sees his calling as being “the only pro angler that the hardworking, blue-collar (or, like him, no-collar) guy or gal who
