BY MIKE STEVENS
A year ago, Troy Fernandes made his WON BASS pro debut as a 17-year-old and turned in a respectable season in which he fell just short of cracking the Angler of the Year Top 10 list on the pro side. Now, with two 2026 events in the books and the WON BASS Clear Lake Open right around the corner, he finds himself in a tie with multiple-time Angler of the Year, Kyle Grover on top of the AOY leaderboard with three events to go. Western Outdoor News recently reached out to the talented young angler to see where his head’s at.
Other than obviously trying to win each tournament, is WON BASS Angler of the Year a specific goal of yours?
Kind of, going into last year (my first year) I wanted to make the national championship. I made some bad decisions throughout the season and I fell just short of making the list. At the end of last year, I promised myself I would not miss this year.
Does being in this position change your approach at all?
Not really. I’m just going to keep running the same program; keep the trolling motor down and grinding.
What has been key your solid start to the 2026 WON BASS season?
Making the right decisions and not running around too much and burning time. It never seems to be easy, so I grind it out to the last second.
Clear Lake is next (where you finished 10th at the Winter Open), what seasonal adjustments will you be making going into that lake in spring?
I think you’ll be able to use the whole lake more than in the Winter Open, and it’s going to come down to decision making. If you’re catching 5 pounders, you’re doing something wrong. You have to find the 6-pound range and use the whole lake to do so if you want to win.
After Clear Lake, there’s Havasu (May 7) then a long break until the US OPEN at Mohave (October 5). How confident are you, finishing on those desert fisheries in terms of the AOY race?
I’m not really familiar with those desert lakes. Last year was my first year fishing out there. But it’s the same thing, can’t make bad decisions, can’t be wasting time.
What would winning AOY mean to you?
That would be pretty awesome. Winning a tournament in general would be amazing let alone AOY. To bring one home to the family would be pretty awesome.
