Nate Wellman

When Nate Wellman entered his first Bassmaster-sponsored bass fishing tournament in 2006, he caught only 3.1 pounds of fish in Sandusky Bay over the course of the three-day tournament, a disappointing entrée to professional angling’s major leagues. Five years later, though, he came roaring back to win the tournament outright, boating an astonishing 63.11 pounds of bass in three days and earning more than $50,000 of prize money and merchandise. Nate Wellman today is one of just 100 anglers to qualify as a Bass Angler Sportsmen’s Society (BASS) Elite Series Angler, and has earned more than $275,000 in Bassmaster-sponsored tournaments to date.

Born in 1982, Nate Wellman grew up in the western part of Michigan’s lower peninsula, where hunting and fishing are natural elements of most people’s upbringing. True to this heritage, he entered his first fishing tournament at the age of 12, and has earned his living from fishing, both as a tournament competitor and as a fishing guide in Michigan, for most of his adult life.

When he is not on the job, Wellman enjoys recreational fishing on area waterways like the Muskegon or the Grand River, as well as duck and deer hunting. Keenly aware of the importance of prudent land and wildlife management practices, he supports several wildlife and wetlands conservation groups. Wellman makes his home today in Newaygo, Michigan, on the Muskegon River. He can be contacted through Western Michigan Guide Service’s website at www.wmiguides.com.