Bassmaster Angler Profile

FLW Outdoors Angler Profile

Dave Wolak, Elite Series angler, is one of the nations most highly respected pros. Dave is also one of fishing’s most popular personalities. He has won tournaments at all levels, including the prestigious tournament trail of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society.

Dave Wolak turned pro in 2004 and has been a Yamaha Pro Angler since 2005. By the end of 2005, he was Bassmaster Rookie of the Year and in 2006, he was a Bassmaster American winner. In the five short years he’s been pro, he’s managed to rack up 12 top-ten BASS finishes and two FLW top tens. When he’s not competing for Yamaha, you’re likely to find this former competitive mogul skier tearing down a slope, running a race or playing baseball with his son.

2010 Elite Series Competitor
2009 Bassmaster Classic Qualifier
2009 Elite Series Competitor
2007 Bassmaster Central Opens AOY Points Winner
2006 Bassmaster American Winner
2005 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year
4-Time Bassmaster Classic Qualifier
11 Bassmaster Top-10 Finishes
7 FLW Outdoors Top-10 Finishes

Dave Wolak – Bio

Dave has always had fishing and boating as part of his lifestyle. Through his adolescence and high school years he spent time fishing with friends and family in streams, rivers and lakes in the Pocono Region of Northeast Pennsylvania. As he became more competitive in high school and college sports like baseball and snow skiing, he tried his hand at competitive bass fishing locally and was successful. But to him there was just something different about bass fishing that really clicked in his head. He was always intrigued by the fact that there are so many variables to control in bass fishing and that people of all ages and types could participate.

Dave had success locally and regionally and made it one of his goals to eventually compete on a National level. But that took time, money and some serious skills. So he practiced constantly and saved money. Graduating college with a Masters degree and working in the business world for a few years while competing regionally really set the tone for his realistic business approach to attempting to convert to a professional bass fisherman. He bought a Ranger bass boat and was on his way to giving it a shot, but he had to qualify first. That took 2 years.

At the end of the 2004 Bassmaster Northern Open in October he sat on the shores of Smith Mountain Lake in VA, which was the site of the last Northern Open that year and his first BFL win in 2003, and realized that his 10th place finish had just qualified him for the Bassmaster Tour in 2005. So he took a calculated business risk and gave it a shot. Back then, it was a 6 event schedule that only would cost 12 thousand dollars in entry fees plus travel expenses. Not nearly as steep as today’s 40+ thousand in entries per year and 20+ in expenses these days. Therefore he not only decided to compete, but to take the risk and compete with NO sponsors at first. But he had a plan, make it public knowledge that he had no sponsors! With all his family and peers being skeptical of the risk he was taking, after all he had a college education and good paying job that he quit, he chose to follow his dream and gave it a shot.

With it all on the line he ended up winning the coveted 2005 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year award and ended up 4th place in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. And he did all that with a Yankees hat on, which became a great topic of conversation for the media and still is to this day.

That Rookie of the Year season catapulted his career in several directions. His first sponsor was Yamaha Outboards, and remains his boat wrap sponsor to this day while digitally wrapping his Ranger Z521 with Yamaha graphics on the Bassmaster Elite Series. He has enjoyed several great sponsorship opportunities since and is very grateful for each one. One thing he has always tried to do is only endorse products which he truly believes in. To him, that makes promotions easy, natural and makes him feel genuine to fans and consumers of the products he endorses.

In 2006, the Bassmaster Elite Series was designed and Dave not only competed in it, but also the FLW Tour. He had his greatest year so far in terms of tournament winnings partially due to a 1st place in the Bassmaster American which paid 250 thousand dollars, and a 4th place in the FLW Chevy Open which paid 40 thousand dollars. He also enjoyed spending time with his newborn son Jake, who also already enjoys boating and fishing and will be a future Yankee!

In 2007 he won his first angler of the year points championship in the Bassmaster Central Opens, which to the anglers themselves in the most coveted title because it shows mastery and consistency over the course of several events. Granted this was only at the Open level and not the Elite Series, but not an easy task none the less. He also began to dabble in TV, prototyping and designing equipment for current sponsors and continued to fill out his sponsorship portfolio.

Today Dave continues to compete and promote for his sponsors nationally while living in Wake Forest NC. He has qualified for and competed in a total of 4 Bassmaster Classics, has had 12 Bassmaster top ten finishes and 7 FLW Outdoors top ten finishes. He is also co-host of a show called “Classic Patterns” on the Outdoor Channel. These shows are also constructed into instructional fishing DVDs that are sold at most fishing retailers. His drive for competition is evident in his exercise regimen and busy schedule that seems to not stop all year. You can catch up to him on Facebook, Twitter, davewolak.com or any of his sponsors sites to follow his every move.