Missouri native Chad Marler takes title, wins $100K at major bass tournament

BONNE TERRE, Mo. - Chad Marler, a rising professional fisher born and raised in Bonne Terre, Missouri, recently won a major tournament at Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma during his rookie season with the National Professional Fishing League.

Marler took home a $100,000 prize from Stop 4 of the NPFL's 2025 season at Lake Eufaula on June 20.

Marler finished with the tournament's biggest catch - a largemouth bass weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounces - and caught a total of 10 fish over two days with a combined weight of 33 pounds, 12 ounces. Competing versus more than 100 experienced fishermen, Marler's total haul led all anglers by more than two pounds.

Founded in 2021, the NPFL is a high-level bass fishing showcase that features six annual tournaments. With his recent victory, Marler qualifies for the 2026 NPFL Championship next fall.

Marler now lives in Jasper, Texas, but he remains loyal to his Missouri roots. He is a husband, a father of three and an Army veteran who served with the 82nd Airborne.

And he calls himself the "average fisherman" on social media, but with a trophy-bass and a new six-figure prize, he's clearly casting well above average.

Chad Marler recently joined FOX 2 for a virtual interview to discuss his tournament win, fishing background, and hopes to inspire other anglers.

Q & A

Question: What stood out from your tournament win at Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma?

Marler: "Being able to adjust on the fly was very important at Lake Eufaula. We were getting immense amounts of rain every day. We had a lot of storms, and that changes conditions on you. The lake was over nine feet high by the end of the tournament. And think about chocolate milk. I want you to dump the rest of the chocolate in the bottle in your milk. That's how dirty the water was.”

"Day 1, when we got the sack we did, I knew we had a chance. I was sitting in sixth place going into it Day 2. On Day 2, that morning, I ended up catching [a largemouth bass] over eight pounds, and I thought to myself, 'God's giving me an opportunity. You need to capitalize on this.' And it came together."

"It was a little unreal after winning and lifting that trophy, but coming back home and seeing it on my countertop that next morning, as a grown man, I broke down emotionally in my kitchen. It was so awesome to fish against my childhood hero legends and walk away with that trophy. It's going to be something that never goes away for me.”

Question: How does your tournament win in Oklahoma help you build on your professional fishing career?

Marler: "I think what it does is, as a rookie on the trail, I'm not new to fishing, but that win in Eufaula really reinforced my confidence level in myself. When you're fishing against guys like Gerald Swindle and Greg Hackney that have done it for 25-plus years versus my rookie season, it gives you confidence that you can compete against them and do your thing."

"You can approach this from a confidence level now that helps you get that mental mindset going into the event. It changes the way you look at things. It let's you know, 'Hey Chad, you made the right decisions.'"

"Pushing forward, we're looking to get another [tournament] shield. I would love to get an [NPFL] Angler of the Year [honor] and win the ultimate grand championship. ... Winning an event like [Eufaula] in your rookie season builds a lot of confidence and it instills into you that you are doing it, you are making the right adjustments. Now you just need to get out there and do it [again]."

Question: How did your upbringing from Bonne Terre, Missouri help you build a passion for professional fishing?

Marler: "It's really humbling for me knowing I came from such a small town in Bonne Terre, Missouri, starting out playing football for the North County Raiders. Coming from such a small town and being in the military for a long time, settling and pursuing what now, I would say, is an obsession more than a passion for fishing has been a blessing."

"I think what means the most to me is that it shows all of the wonderful young anglers, aspiring anglers back home in a little-bity town, that, 'Hey, if you work hard enough and you grind hard enough, you can achieve those dreams.' So I think that's what means the most to me, showing young anglers, even though you're from a small town, you can get it done."

Question: Who helped you build your passion for fishing growing up?

Marler: "My mom and dad, first and foremost, at that little place we lived out at Goose Creek, Missouri, they put a fishing pole in my hand when I was four or five years old. Ever since then, that bug bit me."

"Growing up in a little town like that, [my approach to fishing] had to start with the football coaches. North County has been renowned for their football program for a long time. The great coaching staff I had, they distill stuff into you discipline wise. The mental grind that comes with fishing, the discipline that comes with pursuing a fishing career. And then my military career helped me out a lot too with understanding how to approach these things and how to balance life."

Question: What do you enjoy most about fishing?

Marler: "For me, it's about giving back to the community. After I got out of the military, it was tough getting into something where I had the same camaraderie, the same purpose that I had when I was in the military. So fishing has brought that to me."

"When I'm guiding out on the lake, get a lot of young anglers that come out and take trips with me, or the everyday American that works Monday through Friday. That brings me a sense of accomplishment. If I took you out there, I'm like, 'Hey, here's we do this stuff,' and I show you how to do it, it helps you become more successful as an angler, and I find a lot of enjoyment out of that."

"The kids I meet at the events, they don't always turn the camera around, but I will always stop. When I have young anglers come up, it's about giving back to them. I see these young anglers' passions when I was that age, it's going to turn into an obsession level, and I'm glad I can assist them in getting to that level."

Question: What is your favorite place to fish?

Marler: "The Lake of the Ozarks has a special place in my heart. The Lake of the Ozarks gets overlooked a lot because I can crush fish on it all day long. In Texas, down here, 16 pounds in a tournament is not going to anything for you. Up in Missouri, at the Lake of the Ozarks, that's a good sack."

Question: How do you stay prepared for the course of a professional fishing season?

Marler: "The mental grind that comes with fishing at this level, you're fishing against the best in the world. I look at it from an aspect of what do I need to grow as an angler? It starts off with doing a lot of research because there are a lot of rules to follow when you jump professionally.

"What it comes down to for me is doing your homework for the lakes you're going too. We're going to Alabama at Logan Martin [Lake in Oxford, Mississippi] next [in September]. I've already started doing my homework on the lake. We can get stuff that is available publicly, so I'm looking at lake conditions, how much rain has come up there, what are the fish biting on, and I'm applying those dynamic to my approach."

"I think the most important thing about really approaching a tournament is, it's a marathon; it's not a sprint. You're not going to figure it out in just one day, so you have to take it a big picture and break small chunks off for yourself and approach practice like that. And during the event, things aren't always going to go your way. Maybe the fish aren't biting the way they didn't practice. It's so important to stay mentally positive, trust the process, know that you've put the work in, trust yourself, and go get after it."