GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — Most of Brennan Flick’s adult life has been spent on the water. By day (and night), the Louisiana native works as a Non-Destructive Test technician on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. As an on-call tech, he could be called to the saltwater at any moment.
Those trips could last for a day or for several weeks, depending on the type of work that needs to be done.
“It could be for a month, or it could be for a day,” Flick said. “I could get my phone right now and I might have a call. I might get a call at noon asking me to be at the dock at 8 p.m. and I live 6 hours away.”
For the past 10 years, though, Flick has been longing to make a new career on a freshwater vessel, and after winning the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers presented by Bass Pro Shops points race, he will get to live out that dream.
The West Monroe angler accumulated 347 points during the three-event postseason, qualifying for the 2027 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series along with nine other anglers. The successful end to the season comes as a relief for Flick, who has shifted back and forth between oil rigs and reservoirs for the past four months.
“My goal is to (bass fish),” Flick said. “This has been hard on my family. The last four months, I haven’t been home. I haven’t been (fun) fishing. I go to these events, go home for a minute and then go back to work. I’ve fished five days in that time that weren’t an (EQ). Going against these guys, that stresses me out to no end. I know they are on the water a bunch.”
A former pitcher in the San Francisco Giants minor league system, Flick was remarkably consistent in Division II of the Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens presented by Battery Tender, opening the season with a 20th place finish at Sam Rayburn before notching 24th and 25th place finishes at Grand Lake and Kentucky Lake respectively. He wrapped up the regular season with an 85th place finish at the Upper Mississippi River but comfortably qualified for the Elite Qualifier round with a ninth place finish in points.
Then came Norfork Lake, where Flick was able to milk one offshore hole for all it was worth to open the Elite Qualifier with a fourth place finish. Although he didn’t win, Flick said that tournament was the most fun of the three EQ events.
“That was cool. I knew I could Top 10 there if I got to fish it by myself. It was a special spot,” Flick said.
He never looked back, finishing 32nd at Toledo Bend and then completing another Top 5 finish at Guntersville with the technique he loves the most.
“I was hoping I could come to Guntersville and crank. It is my favorite way to catch them,” Flick said. “I wasn’t super confident in it, and I didn’t think I would have a shot to win. I thought my big ones would come from the grass, but I still needed the two schools I found in practice to carry me.”
Flick has known for a while competitive bass fishing was the direction he wanted to take his life, but getting to the point he could was a process. He started with a $5,000 boat fishing locally around West Monroe, fisheries like Caney Creek and the Ouachita River.
“I had to work my way up,” Flick said. “And then I had to prove to myself I was good enough to do it.”
Winning the 2023 American Bass Anglers National Angler of the Year was the moment he thought he could make it on tour, and two years later, he joined the Opens for the first time. In his first attempt, he immediately notched a Top 10 at Sam Rayburn and a 15th at Kentucky Lake. The final two events, however, he suffered a 197th at a weather-beaten Norfork Lake and a 123 at Leech Lake to fall short of the EQ.
One year later, Flick is heading to the top level of professional fishing. While offshore cranking is his favorite way to catch them, pattern fishing and doing it at mach speed is a strength he feels will continue to benefit him at the next level.
“I love pattern fishing. The derbies where you find this one thing and I’m going to do it faster than everyone else, that is what I enjoy,” he explained. “Like fishing stumps at Kentucky Lake. It seems like it is a more consistent way to get ahead of guys.”
Joining Flick as members of the 2027 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series rookie class via EQ points are Nathan Reynolds; Brody Robison; Noah Winslow; Kaden Buchmann; Trey Schroeder; Cody Abbott; Bryson O’Steen; Bailey Gay; and Lucas Lindsay. Additionally, the winner of the upcoming Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship at Lake Hartwell presented by Lowrance will earn an invite to the Elite Series.