Biography
BASSMASTER TOUR (current standings)
FLW TOUR (profile and current standings)
B.A.S.S. Tournament History
Total Tournaments | 189 |
Classic Appearances | 11 |
Classic Wins | 0 |
Time in Money | 122 |
1st Place Finishes | 1 |
2nd Place Finishes | 0 |
3rd Place Finishes | 5 |
Top 10 Finishes | 24 |
Top 20 Finishes | 45 |
Top 30 Finishes | 71 |
Total Weight | 5855lb – 8oz |
Career Winnings | $1,324,077.31 |
Born: June 11, 1978 in Richmond, Virginia
Hometown Raised: Jetersville, Virginia
Current Residence: Salem, Virginia
Wife: Sonja (married 5/28/05)
Children: Ivy (daughter), Myah (daughter), Noah (step-son)
Hobbies: Weight Training, Spending Time with Family, Golf, Hunting, Coaching Youth Sports
Education: Bachelor’s Degree from Randolph-Macon College (Business/ Economics)
Height: 5’ 9” Weight: 155 to 160 (weight training increases it)
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Crews/248282741880660?ref=hl
My YouTube Page: http://youtube.com/user/johncrewsmissile
My Story:
(12/16/07) “What a fun year 2007 was. I changed my rooming situation.
I roomed with Ish and Iaconelli. We got along great and worked together well when we needed to do so. Byron Velvick also joined the picture when we had room. My performance was off slightly from 2006. I started strong then had a few slips towards the middle to end. I ended up making the Classic again but not near the top of the AOY. My sponsor list will not change for next year and I hope to add another one or two before the season starts. Speaking of season, I will fish the Elites again along side my same 07 roommates. Since there are no Majors, Ish and Ike also signed up for the Southern BASS Opens. We will all also fish the PAA sactioned Texas Bass Classic again. I am looking forward to fishing that one. 2008 should be a fun and intense year. I really want to make a run at the AOY picture and bang out a win.”
(1/8/07) “After a hectic year in 2006, I made the decision that 2 trails were becoming too much. I found some success on the Elite Series this year with 4 top 10’s and another top 12. Building on the momentum of my third consecutive Classic, I am choosing to only fish the BASS Elite Series, Majors, Classic, and the PAA’s Texas Bass Classic. 16 events will be a reduction from 21 in 2006 but I know that I will stay extra busy. My sponsor picture has changed for a number of reasons and I encourage everyone to check out each of my sponsor pages to get a better understanding of why I am with each company.”
(12/14/05) “It seems that I can’t stop fishing both trails this coming year. BASS and FLW are both making headway in many respects. I want to continue to be involved in both. I will admit my focus will be with the Elite Series. At this point in my career, BASS provides the best avenue to make a name for John Crews. FLW is improving every year at promoting anglers but they are just not where BASS is. This may sound selfish but making a name is the one intangible you can’t get any other way for the business side of a professional bass fisherman. Having a name is essential for great sponsors. Promoting yourself is expensive, time consuming, and challenging. I find it fun. With all the changes occurring in bass fishing, I will still fish BASS and FLW in 2006. Just look at my schedule and see all the great places I get to go. It should be a fun year!”
Not long after I was old enough to walk, I wanted to go down to the small pond in my backyard and fish. My dad still has the pictures. As I got older and fished more, my dad built a 6 to 7 acre pond on our land. It was heaven. I fished it but only really got a kick out of the bass. Stocked with tons of small ones, it was a great place to learn new lures and try new techniques.
The next phase was trying my hand at the big public lakes. From reading Bassmaster magazine, I was ready to do it like the pros. Quickly I discovered it was harder than I thought. Those lakes were big so where do you start? Somehow I did not ever get discouraged and I loved being on the water. It was not until I was 15 that I fished my first tournament.
I was hooked. My cousin, Charles Morse, and I fished a team event on Smith Mountain Lake (fall of 1993). We only weighed a couple fish but we got to see some big stringers come in and I knew those were the type of fish I wanted to bring in. We learned of a tournament trail so the next spring we both fished all of the Red Mans. I was really hooked. In my first one on Buggs Island, I drew a nice man named Lowry Staylor that lived only 10 miles from where I lived. We both zeroed that day but he is still a friend today. Lowry introduced me to many people, who have become friends that have made my career advance easier.
After my cousin and I started fishing, I continued to fish as an amateur through high school and first year of college. My cousin’s interest in tournaments got distracted but he did introduce me to a close friend that has been instrumental in my career. Rick Hawkins taught me a lot about the crazy fish we call bass. Rick and I fished team tournaments for a while and still occasionally get a chance to cast together.
During college, my dad could see my love for bass fishing. He decided to get me an upgrade from the 17 foot Nitro that my dad, cousin, and I cut out teeth on. He bought us (mainly me) an 18 foot Skeeter from another friend, Ed Loughran, who worked for a Skeeter dealer at the time. I fished out of that boat for over 3 year and loved it. I had some top 10’s in BFL events and made 3 straight BFL Regionals. I knew I was ready for the big time.
Upon my graduation from college in 2000, my dad helped me afford to get into a Ranger 520. I needed the big rig to compete in the big events on big waters. That boat saw everything from Okeechobee to the Great Lakes. I found out how important it was to have the best made boat on the water. I was really fortunate to get my foot in the door with Ranger Boats, thanks to Greg South, so early in my career.
In 2000, I fished the BASS Invitational Trail which ran into the next spring. In 2001 I fished the FLW Tour as an amateur and the Everstart Series as a pro. The experience was great. I finished 3rd in the Bassmasters on Lake Okeechobee in December of 2000. The boat that I won financed a lot of my expenses for well over a year. It gave me long enough to move to the next level
The pro level was waiting for me in the FLW Tour of 2002. In my first major tournament I finished 52nd on Lake Okeechobee. I was frustrated because I thought I was on the fish to make the cut. My dad and family were elated that I did so well in my first major league tournament. Looking back, the frustration I had was a sign that I have the competitiveness it takes to be a pro bass angler.
My next big step was qualifying for the 2003 Bassmasters Tour by finishing high enough in the prior year’s BASS Open events. I kind of thought making it was enough. Boy, I was wrong. My first career BASS Tour event saw me throw up a double ZERO at the Harris Chain of Lakes. That year it was tough in BASS but I had a 3rd place finish in an FLW tournament and made the FLW Tour Championship. The Championship was on the James River, a river I grew up fishing. Being the only pro from Virginia to make it, I got a lot of press and finished 8th. By fishing the BASS Opens in the fall I re-qualified for the BASS Tour.
The 2004 season was almost a repeat of the 2003 year. I did well in the FLW Tour but stunk up the joint on the BASS Tour. What was the deal? I believe I focused my energy on the FLW events and did not put the same effort into the BASS Tour. Once again I made the FLW Championship and fished in the finals (12th). Also I had to re-qualify for the BASS Tour through the Opens. Looking back I am proud to have qualified for the BASS Tour 3 straight year but I never should have been in that position.
During the 2005 season, my finishes were a flip-flop on the trails. I did well in the BASS Tour and made the 2005 Bassmasters Classic. It is part of my dream and career finally coming together. However, the FLW Tour went unbelievably horrible. I only made one check. Once again, I know it was my focus. I wanted that Classic so bad. Doing well in BASS does not pay like it does in FLW, at least before the Classic. The good part is that BASS can give you the exposure which sponsors want and that can lead to potential endorsements.
Currently I have a great group of sponsors and partners. In the future I may switch companies, loose companies, or gain companies that I am associated with. It is part of making a living in this industry. I have really tried to associate myself with companies which I believe in and can see myself with for a long time. Through time a person or company’s paradigm can change. Anyone that knows me well can tell you that I will only promote products that I believe in. Only those companies and products are worth spending time and effort to expose, sell, and use.
The future holds many new opportunities. The 2006 BASS Tour is expanded but the pay out is currently terrible. The 2006 FLW schedule is about the same but hello to the pay out. The PAA will hold events in the future and they will solely benefit the anglers. It will be interesting to see where I go and where the sport goes. Only time will tell.