Huk Welcomes Luke Palmer
Three seasons into his professional career and Luke has qualified for 4 Bassmaster Classics and placed 26th, 29th, 20th, and 28th in angler of the year points.
Luke Palmer was introduced to fishing at a very young age by his father Tammy. Living on a very busy farm and having a family owned business meant very little time to spend with his dad. Fishing was “his” time with his father and Luke cherished every moment of that.
As Luke grew up he played basketball and baseball competitively (high school fishing hadn’t taken off quite yet). He would hop in local fishing tournaments with his dad when he could all the way through high school and college. These team tournaments were his first exposure to the competitive nature of fishing...which Luke fell in love with. Luke is an athlete at heart and loves to compete.
Luke knew he had a love for the sport and thought he had acquired enough skill to try to take a step higher and fish in the Bassmaster Open events. So at 18 he registered and competed in his first Open circuit. He suddenly realized he probably had a lot more to learn than he thought and needed to just keep working at fine tuning his skills.
Luke went to college at Murray State to earn a business degree. He knew that the 4th generation family business would need him and this time of learning needed to be his goal. While in college he got involved with a bible study group which surrounded him with solid young people that were working towards like minded goals in life. This kept Luke on path. Luke would fish every chance he could in between school and work, keeping that dream alive in his mind.
At that point in time Luke knew he was needed in the family business and that needed to come first. After college, he was working all day at the hardware store and then evenings were spent with his lawn service business that he started in high school. He would treasure any free time he could get but it was coming more far and few between. Fishing was a great hobby for Luke but at this point in life he knew God had him right where he should be, helping his family grow the business.
His dream of fishing at a higher level came into play a few years following college. His dad and mom encouraged him to give it another try, so he entered the Bassmaster Opens once again. It took only 2 seasons to qualify for the elite series (following his win at the Ray Scott national championship that same year). Luke had big decisions to make. Does he take the step and fish at that level or just be content with knowing you qualified?
With the encouragement and support of his family, Luke decided to take the plunge, use his savings and fish the Elite series. He promised his dad he would only take off to fish the tournament weeks and would still be full time at the hardware store. It was very important to Luke not to leave his family one man down at the store. The store was growing tremendously over the last few years and Luke knew this was and still needed to be his focus.
Luke’s dad has always maintained a very busy work schedule to provide for his family. Hours spent with the kids were few but Luke grabbed any minutes he could by helping with farm chores and fishing any chance dad would mention it. His father’s work ethic is what drives Luke today! He could “just” be a professional angler, however it’s not who he is! He is a blue collar hard working guy from Oklahoma who dreams of providing for a happy healthy family one day of his own.
Three seasons into his professional career and Luke has qualified for 4 Bassmaster Classics and placed 26th, 29th, 20th, and 28th in angler of the year points. Exceptional finishes for professional anglers who fish full time. Luke is accomplishing this while working a full time position at the family business….and still maintains his high school lawn service business. As difficult as this schedule is for him, he still feels he is right where he needs to be.