Greg Mansfield and Joel Willert are perhaps the two tournament fishermen who have logged the most miles and days away from home in 2021. Both anglers are fishing the inaugural season of The National Professional Fishing League (TNPFL) as well as all nine Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens.
In total, the duo has fished four Bassmaster Opens and three TNPFL events since March. Mansfield (who lives in Kansas) and Willert (who lives in Minnesota) left their homes in mid-February and were on the road either practicing or competing until June 8th. Each angler flew home once during the four-month-long road trip for several days to take care of some business.
They camped the entire time. Willert lived in a truck camper, while Mansfield had a co-angler or his wife tow an RV with an additional vehicle. Over the course of events in Florida, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia it is estimated that they used well over 3000 gallons of gasoline between boat and truck gas.
“The hardest part of the whole trip was trying to maintain your equipment and working on everything in between tournaments,” explained Mansfield, who endured three flat tires during the trip. “We had to bring everything with us, so the logistics were pretty intense.”
Combined, the duo spent $44,400 just in entry fees for the four Bassmaster Opens and three TNPFL events. When it was all said and done, they earned a total of $57,103. “We didn’t make money on the trip, but the earnings really helped offset the cost,” Mansfield explained. Nearly halfway through the season on both trails, Mansfield sits in 12th place in the Progressive AOY standings on the TNPFL while Willert sits in 9th place. On the Bassmaster Open overall standings, Mansfield is in 16th while Willert is in 13th.
