{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Local angler Mike Huff qualifies for Bassmaster Classic &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"URk0zsvO6X\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/local-angler-mike-huff-qualifies-for-bassmaster-classic\/\">Local angler Mike Huff qualifies for Bassmaster Classic<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/local-angler-mike-huff-qualifies-for-bassmaster-classic\/embed\/#?secret=URk0zsvO6X\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Local angler Mike Huff qualifies for Bassmaster Classic&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"URk0zsvO6X\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Holding-big-fish-4x.jpg","thumbnail_width":480,"thumbnail_height":292,"description":"Corbin\u2019s Mike Huff remembers fondly his father and grandfather taking him to witness his first Bassmaster Classic fishing tournament years ago. It\u2019s often referred to as \u201cthe Super Bowl of fishing.\u201d \u201cIt was such a special thing when I was younger to see that. There were thousands of people there. It was a pretty amazing thing,\u201d Huff said. \u201cIt was always a dream of mine to make it to that level after seeing that.\u201d Dreams do come true. After a successful season on the Bassmaster Elite Series of tournaments, Huff finished 33rd in the points standings \u2014 high enough to qualify for the prestigious event. The 2020 Bassmaster Classic, sponsored by DICK\u2019S Sporting Goods, will be held March 6-8 on Lake Guntersville in northern Alabama. The site has special significance for Huff, who finally fished on the 9-tournament Elite Series this year after trying to qualify on the Bassmaster Open tour for three years. \u201cLake Guntersville was actually on the schedule. It was my worst tournament of the year,\u201d Huff said. \u201cSo, I\u2019m going to get redemption, that\u2019s the way I\u2019m looking at it now.\u201d Huff said he finished almost dead last at the tournament. \u201cIt was embarrassing, but it\u2019s been motivation for me,\u201d he said. \u201cThe only place I can go now is up. I\u2019m going to figure that lake out.\u201d At 29-years-old, Huff has made a swift rise through the professional fishing ranks after a successful amateur career. He fished for Georgetown College\u2019s fishing team, which qualified for the NAIA national championship every year he participated, and came in the top 10 three times. So much of the battle in \u201cmaking it\u201d as a professional angler comes in securing sponsorships. Huff said he is extremely thankful to Forcht Group of Kentucky founder and CEO Terry Forcht for agreeing to help out. Forcht Bank is one of Huff\u2019s biggest sponsors. He is also sponsored by Holston Gas, Abu Garcia and Berkley. To fish in the Elite Series this past season, there was a $40,000 entry fee. \u201cYou really can\u2019t do it without sponsors,\u201d Huff said. \u201cIf you get all your stuff paid for \u2014 entry fees, travel and hotels \u2014 you can make a little money, but there is no such thing as a rich fisherman. You can make a living, though.\u201d \u201cPersonally, I just love doing it. The money is a bonus.\u201d Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments are rigorous and challenging. Officials usually enforce a one-month moratorium on fishing at a lake prior to a tournament. And it\u2019s serious business. Huff said anglers aren\u2019t even supposed to get information about the lake from locals or other fisherman in the lead up to an Elite Series tournament. Huff said it\u2019s looked at like insider trading on the stock market. \u201cThree random people, and the winner, all have to take lie detector tests,\u201d Huff explained. \u201cThey take it serious.\u201d For the Bassmaster Classic, the lake is off-limits to participants for three months prior to the tournament. Huff said he plans to travel to the lake numerous times before Jan. 1 to pre-fish it and formulate a strategy. Aside from that, he said he watches a lot of online videos of other fishermen to get a sense of the right baits and what has worked in past tournaments. \u201cYou have to go in with an open mind, though, because sometimes it\u2019s just not the same from year to year,\u201d Huff said. \u201cThere are so many factors when you are out there fishing too: the weather, water temperature, water clarity, of course the bait and the location where you fish \u2026 it all makes a difference.\u201d Huff said he is living a dream right now. He\u2019s made it to the Classic. But, he wants more. \u201cIt was a big deal for me to make it, and I\u2019m glad I did. But now that I\u2019ve made it, I want to win that thing,\u201d he said. \u201cI think about it every day \u2026 I\u2019m almost obsessed with it.\u201d"}