It’s been an exciting summer for Eagle River’s Harmon Marien, who recently qualified for the Bassmaster Elite qualifiers after he finished in sixth place in his division of the angler-of-the-year points during his rookie season in the Bassmaster Opens.

This is a big milestone for Marien because the qualifying series is the final step before advancing to the Bassmaster Elite Series, which is the highest level of professional bass fishing.

Marien says his confidence has risen throughout the summer, and being able to compete against some of the anglers he looked up to as a kid is something that he still cannot wrap his head around. He feels like he is in a good spot to qualify this fall.

“The start of my season has been great so far. I’ve been super fortunate to compete against truly some of my childhood heroes, and to be able to compete with or sometimes top them at the end of the week has resulted in a lot of pinch-me moments,” explained Marien. “It’s been a great confidence builder through the first half of the season, and I feel like I’m right where I need to be to qualify for the Elite Series this fall.”

He easily made the qualifying series, as the top 50 in each of the two divisions gain entries into the three-event series that will run from September through November.

The Elite Qualifiers will be held at Norfork Lake in Mountain Home, Arkansas; Toledo Bend Reservoir in Many, Louisiana; and Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama. The top nine anglers after the three events will move on to fish with the best of the best in the sport.
Marien, a graduate of Northland Pines High School and McKendree University, began fishing at a young age. He caught his first bass at age three and has now turned a family tradition into a competitive career to pursue his dream of fishing professionally.

Season accomplishments

Marien has had a busy schedule on the water this summer and that continues in the remaining summer months and into the fall. This season, he fished in the four-tournament Bass Masters Open Series across the country, where he had his first top-10 in the series at Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. In Texas, he landed a ShareLunker, which the Texas Parks and Wildlife recognize it as a largemouth bass over eight pounds. On top of that series, Marien achieved strong finishes in other major circuits. He placed sixth at the Major League Fishing Toyota Series event on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Mo., with another sixth-place finish at the B.A.S.S. Nation event on the Mississippi River in La Crosse. That ended up qualifying him for the B.A.S.S. Nation National Championship, which is to be held this fall on Lake Hartwell in Anderson, S.C.

Marien continues to focus on multiple-tournament series as the summer moves along, competing in the full three-tournament MLF Toyota Series Northern Division, with his most recent event on the Potomac River in Marbury, Md. He took third place there in a 140-plus professional field. His season continues with events at St. Lawrence River in Massena, N.Y., and Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, N.Y. He hopes to qualify for the Toyota Series National Championship on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tenn., later this fall. Marien said the two competitions in New York are two main events that will help him prepare for the EQ’s. He will also fish in a few tournaments around Wisconsin.

“I’m competing in two more major events before September on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain, both in New York, to prepare for this fall,”stated Marien. “On top of that, I plan on fishing a few local tournaments around the state, but ultimately just spend as much time on the water as I can.”