One of the fascinating things about the anglers that fish the highly prestigious  Bassmaster Elite Series is that they hail from all over the country. You get a ton of guys from the Southeast (for obvious reasons), a ton from the Midwest (again, for obvious reasons), and a few other regions scattered around the country. When you see an angler from Minnesota, for example, who is fishing in the Elite Series — one would assume they are pretty dialed on the northern lake stops that tend to happen in the later parts of the season. An angler from Florida — you would assume they have a leg up on the competition in the earlier parts of the season down south. While this is generally a good rule of thumb to go by, some anglers tend to break that mold. Simms Pro, Matty Wong is without a doubt one of those anglers.

Wong grew up in Oahu, Hawaii, a region that regularly produces world-class surfers, not world-class competitive bass anglers. Because of his unconventional upbringing in relation to competitive bass fishing, we recently sat down with Matty to get the full story of his journey to becoming an Elite Series angler. 

Simms: Tell us about your early years? Where you were born, your folks, and what it was like. 
Wong: I am the product of Jennifer and Jordan Wong, who actually met on a blind date. One thing that sticks out when you ask about my early years is the word Hanai. In Hawaii, we use the word Hanai as adopted. Even at a very young age, it was apparent to me that my parents were one of only a few couples from my group of friends that were still together.

Simms: The word “Hanai” seems pretty unique to Hawaii, no?
Wong: Yes and no. There's not exactly an equivalent word for it in a place like Texas, but I have Hanai parents in Texas and Alabama for example. I just call them my Alabama parents, but they are Hanai. The year I won the Nationals in 2022 to qualify for the Elites, in my speech when I won, I spoke about just how unique the bass family is. Looking back on it, what I was trying to describe in that speech was Hanai. It's amazing how everyone is connected through the passion of fishing no matter what type. 

Simms: That's something we've definitely admired regarding the tour. It’s cool you guys really seem to be a part of these families that exist within the tour. It really seems that even though you are all competing against each other, there's still a ton of love and support for you fellow anglers. 
Wong: It’s all about making those human connections, the folks who support you along the way become invested in you. It’s like when I do well in a tournament, they feel that same sense of accomplishment for helping me out along the way. We are not all in this to make a ton of money because that’s just not the true nature of the sport. We're all just trying to make it work and lean on our Hanai.

Simms: So tell us how you got into fishing?
Wong: My father always loved fishing since he was a little kid. Initially, it was his way of spending quality time with me. He was a businessman, always on the go. I was barely out of diapers, but I remember him taking me to the local lake or down to the ocean with a bamboo pole. It really didn't matter what we caught or were fishing for, I was eaten up by the whole experience. I just loved the feeling of something pulling against me. From the beginning, fishing really made me feel alive.

Simms: So you got hooked early on?
Wong: Oh, yeah! It engaged so many receptors, especially for a kid like me. Just recently, I introduced my girlfriend to my neighbor who I would consider one of my Hanai uncles. Ironically, his last name is Wong as well. He played a huge roll in my fishing journey. He really taught me a lot about operating small vessels in large surf. You know, how to read landmarks, find currents, and navigate the ocean. He has this almost Confucius way about his teachings. He really had a massive impact on who I am today. He speaks super thick local pigeon — he’s a local old school guy through and through.

Simms: Yeah, operating a small boat on the ocean is a little different than operating on the lake huh?
Wong: Insanely different.

Simms: Do you remember any of your early learnings of running a small boat in big water?
Wong: Oh yeah. I remember one...