FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS

Jay Yelas Celebrates BassMasters Classic Victory by Sharing His Christian Faith

It’s the Super Bowl of professional bass fishing and never before has the three-day event seen such a dominating performance.

From wire to wire, Jay Yelas led the pack and never looked back. He took big-bass honors all three days, and entering the third and final day of the 2002 BASSMASTERS Classic he had a 10-pound lead on his closest challenger.
Then, with a dramatic flare reminiscent of Michael Jordan’s final shot in the NBA, Jay capped his impressive performance with a 4-pound, 13-ounce catch clinching the most prestigious victory of his career.

“This is my 12th consecutive appearance in the Classic,” Jay told the Christian Sportsman, “and I’ve never contended to win. I’ve had a third and a seventh over the years, but to win in the Classic is ... well, it really does a lot for your career. It actually makes your career.”

What was the difference this year? Jay credits the advice of his mentor Bill Sedar, who wisely told him to “learn about bass movement, stick to the basics in tackle, and, above all else, enjoy yourself.”

Sedar gave a lot of advice, as Jay recounts to the The Christian Sportsman, “Bill was a wealth of information. I was so fortunate to have someone like that as a mentor because he wasn't a tournament guy who got caught up in the latest fads. He was very sound at the basics of bass fishing. He had a very small tacklebox, but he could do it all.”
Simplicity was the key to Jay’s victory at the Classic. He stuck with two Berkley lures in the morning – the Popper topwater plug and a Frenzy deep-diving crankbait. Then, when the dam would power up its turbines, releasing water and creating a nice current, Yelas switched to a Berkley Power Jig with a Power Frog trailer. Using this strategy all three days, along with a 25-pound Trilene XT line, he pulled in 45-pounds, 13-ounces of spotted and largemouth bass.
Striving for Simplicity

Winning the Classic has put Jay’s life into the fast lane, requiring him to travel extensively trying to meet all of the obligations he now has with his sponsors and speaking engagements. “The Christian community knows that I’m an outspoken Christian,” said Jay. “So for eight or nine years, I’ve been going around and speaking at wild game suppers and stuff like that frequently put on by churches. Now that I’ve won the Classic, the demand is double what it used to be for my time as a speaker.”

So how does Jay handle the added responsibilities? He continues to follow Bill Sedar’s advice: “Stick to the basics and enjoy yourself.”

Sticking to the basics means big sacrifice for someone with Jay’s opportunities. “I discipline myself to not have any hobbies that would take away from spending time with my family,” he admits. “A lot of my friends like to hunt or golf, but that’s one thing that I sacrifice is all of my hobbies. I’d love to play golf two or three days a week. But, instead, I play golf about three days a year, because I want to spend time with my family. I know a lot of kids when they get to be teenagers, they want to go play with their friends all of the time. I guess I’ll have more time to take up golf then.”

In the meantime, Jay’s heart, and true enjoyment, is at home with his wife, Jill, and his two daughters, Hannah, who turned seven in January, and Bethany, who is four. “They’re awfully proud of their dad. This year I won the SLW angler of the year award and was put on the cover of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal box. It’s only available at Wal-Mart Supercenters, because Wal-Mart’s a sponsor of that tour. So if you go to your local Wal-Mart Supercenter and buy a box of Corn Flakes, you’ll see my picture on it and their pictures on it also.

“I say all of that to say that the girls have taken that cereal box to school for show and tell. Because they’re proud of their daddy and my fishing and all that. They enjoy fishing, but they enjoy the little girl things more.”

Traveling is the name of the game for professional fishermen, so Jay is on the road quite a bit, especially during the tournament season. “My travel definitely affects my time with my girls because I’m gone a lot for tournaments and for promotions. They travel with me a good bit, but now that they’re in school, they don’t travel with me nearly as much as they used to.

“When I first got married, Jill came to all of the tournaments. Then when Hannah was born, they came to about 75 percent of the tournaments. When Bethany was born, it slowed down to about 50%. And now that they’re in school, they come to about one-third of the tournaments.”

Jay is away from home for about 15 days each month during the six-month tournament season. Fortunately, time away from his family during the off-season is not an issue.

“They know how much I love them and I talk to them every day on the phone. And they know that I’m coming home to see them. We pray together on the phone every night and they miss me. If they could, they would have their daddy home every single day and night. So it’s a sacrifice for them, and for me to do what I’m doing. But at the same time, Jill and I know that we’re right where God wants us to be. And we’re really having a positive impact on his Kingdom and He’s using us in pro fishing. It still rips my heart out when I’m away from them. It just makes our time together so much sweeter.

“I was reading an article in Focus on the Family’s magazine, and it was about quality time with your kids versus quantity time and it said that you really need both. I always have quality time with them all-year round. But during our regular season, I don’t spend enough time with them and that’s just a sacrifice that a pro fisherman or any professional athlete has to make. Its just part of the job. You like to say, ‘Hey, I make that up with quality time, but you can’t. You can’t ever make it up. Those are just days gone by that are gone forever.

“That’s absolutely the hardest part about being a professional fisherman – being away from my family.”

Impacting the Kingdom
Jay knows he’s right where God wants him to be because he can see the hand of God on his life from day one. “It’s ironic how I got into this sport. God first established my career and then he saved me and gave me a big platform to tell people about him. I often wonder what my life would have been like if I had been really grounded in my faith, a strong practicing believer back when I was a teenager. I wonder if I would have chosen a career such as this. To me, in a lot of ways, it would seem selfish to want to be a professional fisherman, instead of going into the full-time ministry. But, regardless, I don’t know – I can’t answer that. All I know is I have a greater ministry in this profession than I probably ever would have had as a pastor. God uses me right where He’s got me.
“I know now that any Christian wanting to get into professional fishing shouldn’t feel like you’re having selfish desires. You can glorify God through a career of professional bass fishing just like you can in any other occupation.”

God’s Perfect Timing
Obviously, God’s hand has guided the life and career of Jay Yelas. God saved him and Jill in 1993, several years after he had started his fishing career, but didn’t give him instant success. It took Jay another nine years before he achieved the success he sought. Why? Jay thinks he knows the answer:

God knows what’s best for us. For me, one of the reasons I’ve felt like it took me 12 years to win the Classic is that I feel like I’ve matured enough as a Christian that I can now handle all of the fame that comes with it. All the demands on my time and attention could easily go to my head. But God has grown me to the point where all this hasn’t destroyed my family life or knocked me out of whack. I know God was just waiting for me to mature to the point where I could handle a world championship with humility and grace. He was having mercy on me and my family. But more importantly, He was waiting until I would give Him the glory for my success instead of keeping it for myself.

Jay Yelas is a man who is using the blessings God has given him to bless others and to glorify God. And if you ever see him out on the town on a date with his wife or spending time with one of his daughters, you’ll know this BASSMASTER Classic champion is striving to please His God and bless his family. Now that’s a real champion!