FROM WINNING IT TO CALLING IT, HITE IS A CLASSIC

Some people thought the world as we knew it would end at midnight 12/31/99. Davy Hite never believed he would be the last Bassmaster Classic Champ. He always has had to pinch himself to verify that his twenty-three seasons as a professional angler that included winning two Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles, the 1999 Bassmaster Classic and the 1998 FLW Forrest Wood Cup was not a dream.

Hite grew up in Saluda, SC and, as he remembers it, spent every minute he could on Lake

Murray, where he competed in his first bass tournament at the age of 12. He did not originally consider a career in fishing, rather, he entered the military and had a rock-solid career as a technician in the SC National Guard. But in 1993, that all changed when he resigned to pursue becoming a professional angler. From that risky start, and for the next 23 years, Hite won every major title in professional tournament fishing: the 1999 Bassmaster Classic, B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year titles in 1997 and 2002, and first winner of what was for a long time known as the Forrest Wood Cup and is now the MLF Pro Circuit Title Cup. His stats are impressive. His career earnings are $2.4M amassed through 55 Top 10 Finishes (9 Wins). He qualified for the Classic 14 times (1 win). He finished in the money 140 times in 254 total tournaments. In addition to his above mentioned titles he was twice named BassFan Comeback Angler of the Year (2002, 2004) and has been inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.

Hite considers the top single moment in his career to be raising the Bassmaster Classic Trophy followed by his winning the first of his two AOY titles. Bassmaster Classic XXIX was held July 29-31, 1999 in the Louisiana Delta surrounding New Orleans. His three-day 15 bass total was 55-10 which included catching Big Bass for Day 2. The anglers finishing in the Top 5 who chased Hite that last day included two Classic winners: 2nd Denny Brauer 45-11, 3rd Larry Nixon 43-14, 4th Gary Klein 42-1, and 5th Ron Shuffield 40-04.

Davey retired from competition at the end of the 2016 Bassmaster Elite Series season to assume the new role as co-host of Bassmaster LIVE and Bassmasters TV show. Always looking to give back, Davy serves on the Board of the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, whose mission is to provide the means for fathers to be great dads.