D.J. Rebstock remembers the feeling when he landed the fish that ultimately put him over the top to win the Louisiana 2024 B.A.S.S. Nation state championship.
“I hooked another one that was about four pounds, five pounds almost … I looked and realized, I think I really just won. This is crazy,” Rebstock said. “It’s nuts because I’ve been fishing (B.A.S.S.) Nation for the past 10 years. They’ve been beating up on me for that long. They’re all really good. They’re hammers – it’s really hard to even crack the top 10, let alone win. That’s all I wanted, on the last day.”
Once simply happy to compete among the best, Rebstock has proven to now be one of the very best fishermen in the state – and now he has a chance to prove himself against some of the country’s best.
His strong performance this year, added to that win, has qualified the Montz angler to take down a new challenge next month: the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship tournament on the upper Mississippi River near La Crosse, Wisconsin. The tourney takes place Oct. 22-25.
“It’s a one-shot qualifier, like the Nation’s always been,” Rebstock said. “They call it the working man’s shot to the big leagues, because you can qualify a little easier in terms of schedule flexibility. You’re fishing against some of the very best of the best, but not everybody has several weeks of vacation to go fish the Open, so this is kind of their chance.
“I’m not a big business owner or anything like that. I work for Entergy. I work a lot of hours and I fish when I can, so I’m excited. It’s going to be fun.”
The winner of the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship tourney will win a $50,000 first-place cash prize. The Top three anglers from the overall standings will compete in the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic. Also, the winning angler will be named the Nation’s Best, punch their ticket to the 2026 Elite Series and enjoy the use of a fully rigged Nitro boat. The second- and third-place finishers and non-boater champion will each earn paid entry fees for all divisions of the St. Croix Bassmaster Open with the opportunity to qualify for the Elite Series.
It won’t be Rebstock’s first time in Wisconsin – coincidentally, his wife has family there.
“Two years ago, we went up there to visit family, and I had just bought my boat, and everything was brand new,” Rebstock said. “So, it was the perfect time to go to Wisconsin because I might not ever get a chance where – the trailer is perfect, everything’s new, I don’t have to worry about anything at all. I went fishing one day on La Crosse and one day north of Green Bay in the Great Lakes.”
Rebstock discovered his passion for bass fishing through a junior bassmasters program in his youth that he joined with some friends. He started club fishing after graduating high school.
That led to his interest in B.A.S.S. Nation events, and he’s been on the competitive circuit for the past decade.
“It’s my favorite thing to do,” said Rebstock. “It’s what I look forward to every year. It’s not that you’re going to win a whole lot of money or anything like that, but just going and trying to beat those guys at that level is so much fun. Those guys are so good every single year, and there’s just something rewarding about doing really well in those events.”
Until last year, he could never call himself a state champion. As he closed in on that honor, he said the excitement was very real.
“I couldn’t stand still the rest of the day. I was freaking out,” Rebstock said. “We went to weigh-in and I put (the fish) on a scale. It wasn’t even close. I think I had three probably between me and the next guy … it’s still kind of unreal, but it’s awesome.”
Rebstock said his skills began to really sharpen after joining St. James Parish’s Tropic Fish Club – “those guys taught me a bunch” – as well as through his longtime friendships with fellow anglers Matt Noble and Justin Hymel.
“Those two guys – we fish a lot of team tournaments together and we slowly got better and better,” said Rebstock. “And we challenge each other. We’re always fishing against each other. Sharing tops and tricks and – I don’t want to say secrets, but yeah, secrets. And once we started fishing the bigger team events, I felt I was getting a lot better. Being in a boat with somebody else, seeing what they’re doing and learning from them.”
For La Crosse, it will be a tight window for Rebstock. It will start with a 16-hour drive and then three days of practice leading into the tournament. Those practices are where he’ll formulate his gameplan.
His routine on the day of competition starts with breakfast – it’s a must, he says, leading into a long day. He always keeps a Senko lure ready on his front deck.
And he always finds somebody to talk to.
“Even if it’s somebody you don’t know that well, just talking to them in the morning before you blast off kind of gets the jitters out,” Rebstock said.
He’s proven it’s a formula that works.
