BDN first Reported: One weekend immersed in the world of big-time professional fishing wasn’t enough for Orrington native Jonathan Carter, who in 2013 became the first Maine angler to qualify for the elite Bassmaster Classic. In a conversation earlier this week, the 31-year-old Carter explained that finishing 17th in the Classic was instrumental in his decision to put his career as a first-grade teacher on hold and focus on becoming a top-level bass fisherman.
“Pretty much all of [this decision] is based on having competed at the Classic,” Carter said. “It was something I would have done eventually, but having won some money there at the Classic and having a pretty decent finish there gave me a little bit more confidence to just jump in and do it, and that little bit of financial backing as a starter to go on [helped].”
Carter won $12,900 for his efforts in the tourney, which he qualified for as an amateur by finishing well in the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation championship.
Carter said he made his decision as the school year wound down a year ago. He was teaching first grade in South Portland, and realized he’d come to a crossroad. Read on……
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