Canadian fisherman Jamie Bruce is shown in a handout photo. Bruce holds down the final qualification spot for entry into the Elite Series next year heading into the final Bassmaster Open event next month in Florida. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Bass Anglers Sportsman Society-Andy Crawford **MANDATORY CREDIT**

Regardless of what happens next month, 2024 promises to be a monumental year for Jamie Bruce.

The Kenora, Ont., native heads into the final '23 Bassmaster Open event holding the ninth and final Elite Series qualifying spot for next season. Bruce is 10th overall but No. 5 Kenta Kimura is already on pro bass fishing's top circuit.

With a solid performance at the Harris Chain of Lakes tournament in Leesburg, Fla., from Oct. 12-14, Bruce would become the fifth Canadian to reach the Elite Series.

More importantly, Bruce and his wife, Ashley, will also become first-time parents in March, ensuring that either way 2024 will be very memorable.

"That's the way I'm looking at it," Bruce said. "Honestly, I didn't think I'd even have a chance at qualifying.

"I've ended up doing fairly well so I don't really have any expectations. I haven't been on one single lake on the schedule or caught a largemouth in competition in the U.S until this year so I'm kind of rolling with it and trying to have some fun."

But a solid performance in Florida would give Bruce, a full-time Ontario government employee, much to ponder.

"I'm not thinking that far ahead because so many things can happen," he said. "Obviously it would be a dream come true, but (competing on Elite Series) isn't all glory.

"The travel this year has been insane. I've got a 2022 Toyota and it will have over 80,000 kilometres on it by the time the year is done. It's certainly not glamourous from that aspect and so I'm going to have an open mind and enjoy it because this could be my last Bassmaster tournament."

Bruce, 34, is coming off a ninth-place finish last week on Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks. He held a slender one-ounce advantage atop the leaderboard but managed four fish weighing six pounds, three ounces on the final day of competition.

"I was catching plenty of fish but I got two big ones in each of the first two days and it just didn't happen," Bruce said. "Instead of running back by the takeoff and trying to catch 11, 12 pounds and get a good finish, I just stayed where I was and kept trying for those big bites.

"If you won, you got into the Bassmaster Classic. If you didn't catch a bass all day you couldn't do worse than 10th so it was kind of a stress-free try at it."

Still, as the overall leader, Bruce had a Fox Sports cameraman in his boat for the final round.

"It was a very cool experience having a cameraman in the boat and doing the interviews and everything," he said. "It was kind of a dream come true."

Again, Bruce will use the four and a half days of practice to get a bead on the Harris Chain of Lakes, a fishery he says that can produce eight- to 10-pound fish.

"It sounds like there's a lot of options there," he said. "There's deep grass, shallow flipping and punching, there's offshore bars.

"We have four and a half days once we get down there. The lake goes off limits 30 days before official pre-fish and many guys who do this full-time went there before the cutoff. That's the reality of what you're competing against in the Opens."

Bruce, a seasoned angler, had one of his biggest triumphs in 2014 when he and partner Bryan Gustafson captured the heralded Kenora Bass International event. They've also recorded multiple top-three finishes.

But competing in all nine Open events, which are held across the United States, is a huge commitment, especially for Canadian competitors. In addition to competing _ and juggling tournament commitments with full-time jobs, there's the matter of driving to events and covering the associated costs (which are mostly in American funds).

"It's probably been one of the hardest things I've ever done but I know I can do it now," Bruce said. "There's those dark-to-dark practices for four days and you're coming back in the dark.

"It might sound easy to most people to go fishing all day but it's exhausting, mentally and physically."

Bruce admits he had moments of doubt in his first Open event in March at Alabama's Lake Eufaula as Elite Series veterans Greg Hackney, Steve Kennedy and Brandon Palaniuk were all entered. While Palaniuk finished 22nd, both Kennedy (No. 141) and Hackney (No, 179) ended up behind Bruce (No. 104).

"I was so intimidated," Bruce said. "Once you get past that and taste a bit of success, then it helps you mentally quite a bit.

"I'm sure there are quite a few people who're better anglers than me but don't have the resilience or mental fortitude to put it together for two, three days of the tournament.

"But like anything, there's always pros and cons. Like, I said, if I make the Elite Series it will be a dream come true but I won't be heartbroken if I don't. I've got some hardware and made a bit of a name for myself down there that I'd be happy if I finished one spot out of the Elite Series."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept, 28, 2023.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2023