COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former New Hope High School, East Mississippi Community College, and Mississippi State fishing team member Justin Atkins landed a bag of 22 pounds, 1 ounce Sunday to win the Fishing League Worldwide Forrest Wood Cup at Lake Murray.
Atkins started the final day in second place, but he landed the largest bag of the event to earn the first win of his career and a prize of $300,000.
“When I say I feel like this is what I’m meant to do I don’t mean that in any kind of arrogant way,” said Atkins, who is the son of Philip and Lynn Atkins, of New Hope. “I just went out on a limb of faith this year. I didn’t have the money to fish the full Tour when I started. I had enough money to fish about four events, and I was hoping I would make it. I felt like God had a plan, and that’s what I was supposed to be doing.”
Atkins had a 15-fish total of 59-4 for the three days. He weighed in 21-5 the first day and 15-14 the second day. The finish helped him eclipse a third-place finish at the T-H Marine Bass Fishing League (BFL) All-American and a second-place finish in the FLW Tour Rookie of the Year race.
Atkins targeted cane piles and the fat blueback herring-eating largemouths that hung around them, but his success story started at MSU, when he fished in consecutive College Bass National Championships on Lake Chatuge, a spotted bass fishery in north Georgia and North Carolina.
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