A passion to fish turned into a career

Since 1998 Brian Shotts has worked in law enforcement, and although he loves the job, he has a passion for fishing that dates back to him learning to walk.

Shotts has been a K-9 handler for the Lawton Police department since 2003, but recently was recognized nationally for his prowess in fishing.

In his main job as a K9 handler, Shotts trains dogs to work on the police force. He has had a fascination for working with animals since his career in law enforcement started as a deputy sheriff in 1998. Outside of law enforcement, Shotts also has run a dog training service since 2017 and raises Labradors.

But there’s nothing better to Shotts than a day at the lake fishing. He describes his love of fishing as a passion and something he can’t go without.

“As a kid everyone would wake up for cartoons on Saturday … I’d wake up to go fish,” said Shotts.

At the age of 4, Shotts claims to have won his first fishing tournament. It was a local competition against other kids in the area and he was able to come out on top. Since then, he’s been hooked.

Shotts was introduced to kayak fishing while he and his son were fishing on their boat one day in Texas. They met a guy fishing next to them who was a part of the Kayak Bass Fishing trail and it interested Shotts. He had also heard of a lot of pros from Major League Fishing who were moving over to kayak fishing and decided it was worth a shot.

For Shotts, a benefit of kayak fishing is that the price to enter tournaments stays around $200 most of the time with $400 being high end. Boat fishing in comparison can sometimes cost thousands of dollars just to enter a tournament.

One of the joys of kayak fishing to Shotts is how natural it feels, “kayak fishing takes you back to the roots of fishing.”

Kayaks in competitive tournaments do make for a more natural feel to fishing than boats due to the speed and size of boats. However, in pro tournaments competitors are allowed to have motors on kayaks, which comes with some controversy. Some argue that in kayak fishing motors give an unfair advantage to those who use them, but Shotts disagrees, “they don’t change how you fish, just how fast you go.”

About every weekend Shotts fishes on his own or in a tournament. If he is on his own he is sure to bring his dog Ace with him to the lake to enjoy the water. Most tournaments Shotts goes to are in Oklahoma, East Texas, Louisiana and Alabama. After seeing success in some early tournaments in his career, Shotts realized that he could compete with the best of them.

“I wanted a career in professional fishing, I thought, why not now?” he said.

In his first year in Kayak Bass Fishing, Shotts received an invitation to compete in the challenge series national championship in Huntsville, Ala.

His mindset during the tournament and anytime he’s fishing always stays the same. “Do everything I can to do well. I come into the tournaments expecting to win,” said Shotts.

On day one of the two-day tournament, Shotts shocked the other competitors and led the tournament in length at 92 inches total from five black bass. If able to continue his good fortune on day two, Shotts would be the second person to ever win the national tournament in their first time attending it.

Day two of the tournament saw Shotts fighting against the natural elements to catch anything. High wind and current speeds made it difficult to catch anything. Although he was able to catch five bass that added up to 80 inches in length, that wasn’t enough for him to keep his first-place lead. Shotts fell to seventh overall.

“Mother Nature kicked me in the teeth,” he said.

During the tournament, Shotts was tied for first for the Angler of the Year award. Once the final rankings were out on the second day, Shotts had lost the award to a competitor who had placed higher than him in overall rankings.

In April, Shotts competed in Guntersville, Ala., at the World Kayak Fishing Championship with more than 500 other competitors. After the first day Shotts was shooting par and was looking right where he wanted to be, but on the second day, his kayak flipped. Shotts placed 96 out of 500 and if it hadn’t been for his misfortune on the second day, he could have placed even higher.

Fishing comes natural to Shotts, and maybe that’s where he gets his confidence. He expects himself to do well in every tournament he enters, but it’s not always about winning.

“Doing well is what I expect from myself. What I’m most proud of is who I’ve helped learn to fish along the way,” said Shotts.

This year, Shotts has competed in the Southern championship series in Columbia, S.C., and will again compete at the national championship in Huntsville, Ala., in October.