The first two weeks of Easton Fothergill’s 2024 fishing season included no shortage of excitement. Fothergill competed in the Abu Garcia College Fishing National Championship presented by YETI with fellow University of Montevallo teammate Nick Dumke on Lake Toho January 9th – 11th .
After leading day one with an impressive 27+-pound limit of fish, Fothergill and Dumke ultimately finished the event in 3rd place, taking home the Toyota Bonus Bucks payout of $3,500 in the process. The two Montevallo Falcons rode to Florida in Fothergill’s 2011 Toyota Tundra and were the highest finishing team towing their boat with a Toyota at the MLF National Championship.
College anglers are eligible for bonus payouts with ANY year, make, or model of Toyota tow vehicle through the College Series of Bonus Bucks. Fothergill bought his trusty 2011 Tundra in 2020, specifically with traveling around the country for college fishing in mind.
“My dad drove a Tundra when I was growing up and I knew they were super reliable vehicles,” Fothergill said. “Reliability plus Toyota’s support of bass fishing and the chance to make extra money through College Bonus Bucks made it an easy decision. The truck had 80,000 miles on it when I bought it and it’s already got almost 210,000 miles now. I haven’t had hardly any issues with it and almost all of the 120K miles I’ve put on it have been towing. It’s been a beast.”
If catching the biggest bass he’d ever weighed in during a tournament (7-pounds 11-ounces) on a glide bait and nearly winning the National Championship wasn’t enough buzz to start the new year, Fothergill’s cup was filled when he flew to Oklahoma less than 48-hours after the tournament ended on January 11 th to pick up his fully-rigged, alma-mater wrapped 2023 Toyota Tundra.
Fothergill won full use of this Tundra and a brand-new Nitro Z20 for the 2024 season when he finished on top of the Bassmaster College Series Classic Bracket last fall. This also qualified him to fish the 2024 Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake in March and have a shot at even bigger bonuses in his future.
“That whole week was amazing,” Fothergill said with a smile. “I wish we could have held on and won the National Championship, but other than that it’s been like a dream come true. Hopefully I can keep some positive momentum rolling for the rest of my season. I love my 2011, but I’m ready to put some towing miles on that new Tundra.”
It’s been a whirlwind of a start to 2024 for Fothergill, but he’s got two Tundras in his driveway at the University of Montevallo and he’s all smiles heading into the rest of the year. To sign up for the free-to-register for program, or more information on Toyota Bonus Bucks – College Series, follow this link: https://www.toyotatrucksbonusbucks.com/college/overview or shoot an email to [email protected].
