Travis Gerrits’ time in international competition is apparently not over.
With his deep-seeded sporting nature extending beyond a wildly successful aerial skiing career, the Milton Olympian has taken the plunge into high-stakes fishing.
Just a few short years into that venture – after hanging up the skis and buying a boat with father Rob – 33-year-old Gerrits now finds himself amidst the inner-most sanctum of his new passion.
That came last week on Alabama’s Wheeler Lake, where he and a Canadian contingent cast off against anglers from as far away as Australia at the Major League Fishing Toyota Series Championship.
Describing his efforts over the two-day bass fishing preliminary round as “not super great,” Gerrits snagged two fish during each round with a daily weight of roughly four pounds.
That was enough for a top-100 finish, but kept him out of the final day of competition -- eventually won by a 19-year-old American, who claimed a grand prize of $235,000.
“Not a bad day’s pay,” quipped Gerrits, a Milton Sports Hall of Fame inductee who’s now recovered from a kidney donation to a close family friend in February. “Being competitive by nature, I certainly appreciate the super high calibre of this. I missed out on three fish, losing one right at the net. But hey, that's fishing."
Growing up fishing with his family – including his grandfather – Gerrits believes the intestinal fortitude built up in aerial skiing is serving him well on the water.
“That mental aspect… making the right decisions at the right time, and giving yourself the best shot for success. You have high hopes but you don’t get too down on yourself if you have a bad practice. You don’t go out to win practice. You work on your technique so you can win in competition.”
Steadily boosting his grasp on the fundamentals and not hindered by the endurance required for eight to 10 hour stretches on the boat, Gerrits has gradually raised his stock on the CSFL provincial circuit.
He stamped his ticket to Alabama with a second-place finish at the Canadian Open on Lake Simcoe.
His fish tales include reeling in some sizable sailfish in Costa Rica and Barbados, while more locally he and dad love the schools available at the family cottage on Pigeon Lake near Bobcayeon, as well as many other spots in the Kawarthas.
So what exactly about angling has hooked Gerrits’ attention?
“I’m always learning out there and I love the adrenaline, that disconnect from the rest of the world. It’s a vacation in itself, and the same rush I was chasing in aerials.”