Daisuke Aoki is a Japanese angler who came to the United States in 2019 to fish the B.A.S.S. Opens and earn a spot in the Elites. It took him three seasons of hard fishing, but not only did he reach his goal of becoming an Elite angler, he qualified for the 2022 Bassmaster Classic at Hartwell Lake, SC.
I had a chance to sit down for a few minutes with Aoki and ask him about his life. I wanted to know how he got into fishing and how that blossomed into a dream to fish bass professionally. Before that, though, here’s a little more background on Aoki’s Japanese accomplishments.
- 2005: Debut in Japan Bass (JB) tournament circuit (equivalent of the Elites in Japan)
- 2007: JB Japan Super Bass Classic Winner (equivalent to the Bassmaster Classic)
- 2008: JB TOP 50 AOY (1)
- 2010: JB ELITE 5 Winner
- 2011: JB ELITE 5 Winner
- 2012: JB Japan Super Bass Classic Winner
- 2014: JB ELITE 5 Winner
- 2014: Basser Allstar Classic Winner (1)
- 2015: JB TOP 50 AOY (2)
- 2015: Basser Allstar Classic Winner (2)
- 2017: JB TOP 50 AOY (3)
The stats don’t lie about Aoki’s ability. Three AOYs from the highest tier of Japanese professional angling, two JB Classic wins, and two Basser Allstar Classic wins. And those don’t include regular season events. I’m sure he’ll hold his own on the Elite stage.
Aoki also owns the lure company DStyle, which offers a full line of baits fashioned for the finesse angler as well as the power fisherman. You can view the baits at their website as well as purchase them from a few online tackle sources on the net.
Click on the link below to hear Daisuke tell his story of how he went from fishing gobies with his grandfather to the Classic stage.
