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Rocky Mount,
N.C.
– Most hardcore bass fishing aficionados might recognize the name Dustin Wilks. But, to most casual observers, Wilks’ name might not be a familiar one.
For the sake of recollection, Wilks is a 30-year-old pro from Rocky Mount,
N.C. is a veteran of 81 Bassmaster tournaments. His career earnings totals $218,700 and he has not made a dime casting for cash in the past two seasons due to an injury.
While the injury was debilitating, both physically, and to a professional anglers’ career, The BASS ZONE has learned from Jamie Wilkinson, ESPN / BASS Director of Communications that Wilks has been granted a medical exemption. “We have extended an invitation to Dustin to compete in the 2008 Bassmaster Elite Series Schedule,” Wilkinson said. “It’s up to him to decide if he wants to come back; the door is open.”
Wilks said he is stepping over that threshold, “I am ready to go,” Wilks told The BASS ZONE. “I have my sponsors in place, and will be making my deposits to get out there in 2008.”
The Skeeter pro was one of the professional anglers who caught the vision of BASS officials and jumped at the chance to compete in the inaugural season of the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2006. But, at the first event of the schedule, Wilks was trying to enjoy dinner after the second day of competition when he couldn’t lift his fork to his mouth.
“My casting arm started hurting so bad, I couldn’t stand it,” Wilks told the BASS ZONE. “I struggled to get through dinner, but by the middle of the night, my arm hurt so badly, I couldn’t sleep.” Having missed the first cut in 62nd place, he went home, to the doctor. |
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“I found out I had broken a ligament in my elbow,” Wilks said. “I had to have surgery, so I withdrew from the rest of the season.” He had an operation in 2006 to replace the torn ligament, but the surgery failed. “It was a donor ligament, and my body rejected it.”
His physician, Dr. Driscoll at the Mayo Clinic went back in this year and removed the rejected ligament and the rest of the damaged parts, and the surgery was a success. “They took out all of the soft tissue that had been damaged, and let scar tissue fill in,” Wilks reported. “The result has been excellent, my arm feels great.”
After receiving the invitation to return to the Elite Series, Wilks told Bassmaster Tournament Director Trip Weldon that he would fish a tournament as a test to see how things went before committing; they went well. “I entered an FLW Stren Series event on Lake Gaston the first week of October,” Wilks told The BASS ZONE. “I finished 6th in that tournament, but most importantly; my elbow was solid all the way through.
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Wilks started a business in his down time, one that was dedicated to teaching people to improve their fishing. “We have a few of the pros who signed on as instructors,” Wilks said. “The business is about teaching people how to fish more like a professional angler; it’s called ‘Fish like a Pro.’
Wilks said the business kept him around the sport, helped other people improve their on the water success, and it helped him continue to promote his sponsors. “I give some demonstrations, but it is mainly about helping them think through the conditions on the water, and how to make adjustments in those conditions,” Wilks said. “Fish like a Pro, along with my column in North Carolina Sportsman is how I worked to keep providing exposure for my sponsors.” |
But, like any competitor, Wilks is excited about getting back on the water. “I am going to keep the business going,” he said. “But I can’t wait to get back out there, I’m ready, and I want to repay my sponsors for standing behind me during the past two years; it’s the least I can do for them.”
Look for Wilks and his wife Mary at a Bassmaster Elite Series venue this year. “Mary travels with me most of the year,” said Wilks. “I am grateful that she can go with me, and am looking forward to this year.”
For more about Dustin Wilks’ business, and his sponsors visit his website at:
www.fishlikeapro.com.
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