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Robert Gee showing off a bass while in competition last season.
Professional angler Robert Gee is from Knoxville, Tenn., but he has close ties to Cherokee County, which is where his parents and grandparents are from.
His father, also named Robert Gee, is from Murphy, while his mother, Joy Postell-Gee, is from Andrews. His paternal grandparents, the late Leon and Peggy Gee, were from Murphy. His maternal grandparents, George and Trish Postell, live in Andrews. George Postell served many years on the Cherokee County Board of Education as chairman as well as also being a county commissioner.
Gee spent his summer months in western North Carolina, spending time at his grandparents house on Nantahala Lake. During the summer months, he would fish at Nantahala Lake and Lake Chatuge in Hayesville, while having experiences that make him the outdoorsman he is today.
He initially got into fishing because George Postell introduced him to fishing.
“When I was like 2 years old, he had an older boat that he took me for the first time on Nantahala Lake, and I’ll never forget it. Me, my grandpa, then my dad’s dad, my other grandpa and my dad, we all went fishing in a boat we had,” Gee said. “We did that a lot of the time in the summertime on Nantahala Lake growing up, from when I was like 2 to 12 years old.”
Gee got into the competitive side of fishing when he was around 16. He began by fishing local tournaments in high school.
Gee added that he’s always had a competitive side, playing baseball in high school, but he decided to go to college and fish competitively instead of going to college to play baseball. He graduated from the University of Tennessee last year.
He worked his way through the 2023 Bassmaster Opens EQ and finished the season fourth overall. This qualified him for the Bassmaster Elite Pro Series, the highest level of professional fishing.
Gee compared fishing for recreation versus fishing in competition, saying fishing for recreation is a more relaxed experience and there is more pressure in competitions to get bites. He also mentioned that competitions are timed.
In Bassmaster Elite, competitions are eight hours long, and they keep the top five bass to be weighed. Competitions are judged by the weight of the five bass turned in for the weigh-in.
Gee said some of his favorite places to take his rod and reel in the region include the Valley River, which he fishes for trout, and Nantahala Lake in Macon County.
He offered advice for those wanting to get into competitive fishing.
“If you really want to compete at the highest level, you have to put all your time and effort into it. Competing at a high level in fishing doesn’t happen overnight,” Gee said.
“You have to spend a lot of time working at it like a professional athlete would a sport, like baseball or football. You have to spend two-thirds of the year strictly just working on your craft and honing in on your skills. So just put the time in and work hard at it.”
Some things Gee has learned from spending his life fishing that can be applied outside of it include, “Always work hard, and if you really want something, you have to work for it as hard as you possibly can and put all of your energy and time and focus into it. Even if you don’t see results fast, over time you’ll start seeing results if you keep putting your head down and keep grinding toward your goals,” Gee said.
Gee will make his debut on the Bassmaster Elite Pro Series during the 2024 Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Toledo Bend in Many, La., from Thursday through Sunday. The event will be streaming on bassmaster.com and on television via Fox Sports 1 and FS2.