A few years ago Leon Knight became an internet sensation when he drove his bass boat over a beaver dam to fish virgin grounds along the San Joaquin River. Knight, 32, was recruited by fellow angler Don Davis, 65, who wanted to be certain that everything he did was by the FLW book.
The Fishing League Worldwide or FLW is the world’s biggest organized fishing tournament. The FLW was founded in 1979 by a former high school football coach. It was originally known as Operation Bass and began as a one-day tournament for local anglers. The FLW gives anglers of all levels a chance to compete for millions of dollars in prize money.
To understand the magnitude of what Davis and Knight were undertaking is to understand that the San Joaquin River is the longest river in Central California. It spans 366 miles across three cities supplied by the Thousand Island Lake. The river is a lifeline of irrigation and wildlife for millions and is one of the most heavily diverted rivers in California. It’s old. So old in fact that Indigenous tribes lived there 8000 years ago.
The area where Knight and Davis wanted to fish was an oxbow lake that hadn’t seen a soul in over three years. An oxbow is a free-standing body of water that forms into a u-shape. It occurs when the river is cut off from the main flow. The oxbow was stockpiled with huge fish. It was a honey hole. To get there they had to access a narrow ditch that ran off the river. The ditch was almost a forty-five-minute boat ride from Stockton where the boats were launched.
They had to cross over heavily fortified beaver dams filled with wooden debris left in the river's path. The problem with taking just one boat was the fear of getting stuck in such an isolated area. They needed to get in and out over a four day period. If they ran into any problems they wouldn’t make it back in time for the final bass weigh in.
They reached the oxbow lake each day attaching cables to trees with their winch and pulley system. It worked like a charm for three days until it broke. Knight was able to break through the final beaver dam with his bass boat showering Davis with years of stagnant water.
Their partnership paid off and Davis won his biggest bass fishing tournament in his career. Leon Knight came in second beating the others by more than 10 pounds. Knight was one step closer to the “Big Show.” The second-place win had secured his spot in the FLW top twenty for professional bass fishing.
Knight had been working as a correctional officer with the California Department of Corrections. He had ten years vested in the pension system with full benefits. With a wife and two kids, the idea of turning professional never entered his mind. He had too much to lose. It was his wife that encouraged him to pursue his dream. Knight resisted so his wife collected the seed money from family and friends. She secured a home in Guntersville, Alabama and packed up the car. She knew in her heart that if they didn’t do it now all would be lost. As they got closer to Alabama Knight worried if this was the right decision. He didn’t know if uprooting his family might destroy everything he had built.
Days later they arrived in Guntersville and stopped off at a gas station to fill up and ask for directions. An older man immediately recognized Knight.
“Aint you that young fella who fished that beaver dam?” he asked.
Knight had no idea he had become an overnight YouTube star; A legend to the bass fishing community. It was at that moment that he knew he was home.
Things fell into place in Alabama. The word spread about the new kid in town. His first tournament was in Florida and he was treated like royalty. His sponsors made a huge banner with Knight wearing his fishing jersey. They passed out trading cards with his face on them. Mercury sent a pit crew out to put a new motor on his boat in 45 minutes. New sponsors gave him equipment like batteries, bait, and clothing. His wife even won a bass boat in one of the raffles. Over a two year period on the FLW Knight earned over ninety-five thousand dollars. He finished in the top ten 6 times and competed in over 50 events. In the end, Knight ranked 60th out of 150 anglers.
The celebrity status helped him forget that he was flat broke. He struggled to make the same kind of money he had made working at the prison. The FWL tour cost money and Knight needed money to make money. He worried about money constantly. Just the basic fishing equipment added up quickly. He missed his wife and kids. He was away from home for long periods of time and navigating new rivers and lakes. He was sometimes driving a thousand miles to a tournament and sleeping in his truck. His budget was twenty dollars a day. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep it up.
He had some really good days fishing but they were outweighed by the bad days. Things seemed to go wrong for no reason. There were off days; days when he couldn’t catch a break. During one tournament his engine blew up three miles out on the lake costing him the win. Another time his boat got stuck in the backwaters of Louisiana. He had to fend off half a dozen water snakes trying to crawl into his boat while he waited to be rescued.
The frustration of not winning got to him and the time away from his family was killing him. He was grateful for the time he had spent on the tour but now he was burned out. He had no regrets when he threw in the towel. He wanted to fish but with the birth of his third child, he knew it was time to retire. He wasn’t bringing in enough money.
Knight took a job as an ironworker and focused on his family. His oldest son Nathaniel, 18, took over the family legacy. He just joined the FLW tour fishing on the Nickelodeon boat wrapped in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle style. Knight couldn’t be more proud of his son.
“My boy was upset that he lost his first bass tournament,” chuckled Knight. “I told him don’t get discouraged. You get to fish and I have to go to work.”