Chad Morgenthaler recently competed in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open #1 presented by Allstate and became the 2015 Southern Open Toho Champion. In an uncommon fashion he spent all three days on the host lake, Toho, during the tournament. When sitting in ninth place going into the last day in an unexpected location, he rallied with a last day catch of 22-3 ounces carrying him to first with a final total of, 52-7.
Exposed: Pros on Tour, the behind-the-scenes series followed Morgenthaler during his practice days on Table Rock Lake in 2014. He had been on the lake a few times during the same time of the year which added value to his dissection during his pre fishing period, sometimes this experience offers an upper hand for pros. Additionally only six months prior to the competition he moved to the Table Rock area, but despite his move timing did not make him a local. Luckily, several of his friends live near and around the lake though and they shared with him their perspective on the best locations to fish during certain seasons. During his episode, he analyzes the lakes water clarity and shares with the audience secrets behind his success in the competition. Morgenthaler comments “What you will learn in a single season of Exposed is like 30-40 years of experience gained all at once . What you can watch in a season of Exposed, seeing all of those pros work, is like putting yourself through medical school in an afternoon.”
Morgenthaler had a 13-year career with the Carbondale Fire Department and had worked his way up to Captain. His successes allowed him to believe that he would eventually be sitting in the Assistant Chief position. The entire time underneath this all was his dream, to become a professional angler. Growing up in Southern Illinois he wasn’t given the opportunity to fish on larger lakes or compete in big tournaments, but he aspired to be a professional and when able worked to learn the ins and outs as the years continued.
With a 10-year career he attributes his success and growth to a personal philosophy “keep a positive attitude, an open mind and receptive to any opportunity to growing this sport.” He understands that he was in fact a little older when starting to compete professionally, but knew professional bass fishing would fulfill a life time dream so applied extra effort to pursue his goal.
Full episode can be viewed at www.propatterns.com
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