MERCER-The Awkwardly Honest Fishing Podcast

A true insiders, behind-the-scenes look at the sport of pro fishing . Hosted by Dave Mercer, Bassmaster Emcee and Facts of Fishing host along with his limitless list of pro fishing friends and their awkwardly honest take on a fishing podcast.

MERCER-The Awkwardly Honest Fishing Podcast is a sports podcast hosted by Dave Mercer, with 279 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 85.

Dave Mercer hosts MERCER-The Awkwardly Honest Fishing Podcast, a sports show with 279 episodes published.

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  Episode #281

  Todd Castledine - The Final FFS Debate: The Numbers Don't Lie on MERCER-281

  Sep 23, 20261h 35mS6

  The Forward-Facing Sonar debate has been driven by strong opinions. But now, for the first time, we have a full season of results to test them against. A year ago, the always opinionated Todd Castledine joined the show and made some bold predictions about what would happen when the Bassmaster Elite Series split its schedule between FFS and non-FFS events. Now the 2026 season is over—and Todd is back to find out whether those predictions held up. Did the anglers who dominated with Forward-Facing Sonar stay on top without it? Did the non-FFS events expose a different group of elite competitors? And did banning FFS actually change the competitive landscape, or did the same names keep finding a way to win? With five events allowing FFS and four events without it, we finally have enough data to move beyond speculation. This isn’t about what might happen. It’s about what actually happened—and whether Todd saw it coming. The season is over. The predictions have been made. Now it’s time to see who was right. Welcome to The Mercer Podcast & the Final Forward Facing Sonar Debate.

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  Episode #280

  3 Bassmaster Winners & the Biggest Lie in Pro Fishing on MERCER-280

  Sep 16, 20261h 20mS6

  Three Bassmaster winners. Three very different journeys. And one question they ALL have to answer: What’s the biggest lie in professional fishing? This week’s Mercer Podcast is absolutely a JAM-PACKED, TRIPLE BANGER with three of the hottest names coming off huge moments in their careers. Bryan Schmitt — Lake Champlain Bassmaster Elite Series Champion Evan Kung — Thousand Islands Bassmaster Elite Series Champion Caleb Hudson — 2026 Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year Three separate conversations. Three different perspectives on winning, pressure, life on the Elite Series and what it really takes to succeed at the highest level of professional bass fishing. But there’s one question they all get asked… What is the BIGGEST LIE in pro fishing? The answers might surprise you. We also dig into the moments that changed their seasons, the pressure that comes with chasing a Bassmaster trophy, what people on the outside misunderstand about tournament fishing, and plenty of the awkwardly honest stuff you’ve come to expect from the MERCER Podcast. Three winners. One packed episode.

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  Episode #279

  Trey McKinney’s Bassmaster Angler of the Year Win: What You Didn’t See on Mercer-279

  Sep 9, 20261h 28mS6

  Trey McKinney is officially the Bassmaster Angler of the Year — but there’s a whole lot that happened inside his boat that you didn’t get to see. Bassmaster cameraman Jake Latendresse spent the biggest moments of Trey’s AOY run on the back deck, giving him a front-row seat to EVERYTHING. On this episode of Jake’s Take, Jake takes us inside Trey McKinney’s boat to talk about the nerves when everything was on the line, the massive waves, Trey’s locked-in confidence and the subtle bait adjustments that helped make the difference. We also tackle the bigger question: after what Trey has accomplished at such a young age, how does he actually stack up against the all-time greats of professional bass fishing? The cameras captured the action. Jake saw EVERYTHING else!

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  Episode #278

  Trey McKinney: The Youngest Angler of the Year in Bassmaster History on MERCER-278

  Sep 2, 20261h 41mS6

  Less than 24 hours after making history, Trey McKinney sits down at a picnic table with Mercer to talk about becoming the youngest Angler of the Year in Bassmaster history. After finishing second in the AOY race in each of the last two seasons, Trey finally got it done. But what does it actually feel like when the thing you’ve chased, dreamed about and come painfully close to finally becomes reality? With barely any time to process what just happened, Trey talks about the pressure of the final event, the emotions of Championship Sunday, the heartbreak of the last two years and what it means to finally be able to call himself Bassmaster Angler of the Year. No studio. No time to prepare the perfect answers. Just a picnic table and a brand-new Angler of the Year talking about the biggest moment of his young career. Trey McKinney made history. Less than 24 hours later, we talked about all of it.

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  Episode #277

  Bassmaster Rumours and an Angler of the Year Race Too Close to Call on MERCER-244

  Aug 26, 202659 minS6

  The Bassmaster Elite Series season has come down to this — and there’s a LOT on the line.This week, Jake Latendresse is back for another Jake’s Take, and the timing couldn’t be better. We dig into some of the rumours making their way around about Bassmaster, what we’re hearing behind the scenes, and everything that is at stake heading into the final Elite Series tournament of the season on the St Lawrence River. But the biggest story is the Bassmaster Angler of the Year race. Three anglers. One tournament. And a battle that is simply too close to call.Trey McKinney, Drew Cook & Cory Johnston. Who handles the pressure? Who makes the right decisions? And who walks away as the 2026 Bassmaster Angler of the Year?The rumours are flying, the pressure is building, and the race is on. It’s all on this week’s Mercer Podcast.

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