Father and son, living hundreds of miles apart, come together for the 2024 Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament on Lake Hartwell

A bittersweet part of growing older often comes in the form of physical detachment from your loved ones. Whether we graduate college or take on a new trade after our formative school years, it’s not uncommon to have to move away from the folks you love most. 

Case in point, Alex Richmond and his dad, Scott. 

Alex grew up fun-fishing with his dad but quickly gained a passion for tournament bass fishing. Not only did he fish on his high school team, but he also enjoyed a collegiate fishing career at Grand Valley State in Grand Rapids, Mich.

With his father living just outside of Chicago and Alex now residing in North Carolina, fishing time together has been admittedly scarce. But the duo figured out a way to coordinate their schedules this year and share a boat together at the 2024 Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament on Lake Hartwell.

They were in a dark corner of a hotel parking lot the evening after registration, and any angler could tell they were taking their preparation seriously.

“We practiced this morning for a few hours, and it was actually pretty good,” Alex said. “It has been a lot better than we were expecting, so we’re feeling optimistic. But with this cold front coming in, who knows what could unfold tomorrow.”

When probed about the fishing conditions and potential strategies on the table for tomorrow’s main event, both Alex and Scott kept coming back to one very specific thing. 

“Man, this has been so much fun and so enjoyable already,” Scott said. “To be able to fish and spend time with my son is such a blessing. This is my first Tundra, and it won’t be my last. I can’t even feel the boat behind me while I’m towing and have had zero issues. And to be able to come to an awesome event like this and meet our favorite pros like Mike Iaconelli and Gerald Swindle is icing on the cake. We got to talk about hunting for a while with Gerald, and he is such a down-to-earth person. We had a lot in common, and it’s great to know that he’s just another guy like us.”

For Scott, it cost a 13-hour drive through busy cities and traffic. But when he finally reached the autumn dogwoods nestled between the towering pines of Anderson, South Carolina, nothing else mattered. He had his boy with him, in the same boat, doing what they love most together. 

The Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament has some great raffles and gear, even for the most discerning angler, but what’s not talked about enough is the connections — and in this case, reconnections — it brings among both family and friends.

Whether the Richmonds catch anything in the tournament or not, you can rest easy knowing Scott will be wearing a smile as wide as the Seneca River watching his boy fish and enjoying some much-needed one-on-one time. That’s a gift only the great outdoors can offer, and for that, the Richmonds are eternally thankful.