Randall Tharp of Gardendale, Alabama is living proof that the American dream of becoming a fulltime professional bass angler is still attainable by the common man. In 2007, Randall was still swinging a hammer as the owner of a prosperous construction business in Birmingham, Alabama. Now he is a fulltime professional angler. In just a few short years, Randall has amassed a stunning resume in professional tournament fishing. What's most impressive is that he has done it all on his own, without the initial help of big money sponsors and without the waypoints of other anglers in his GPS.

Although he always loved bass fishing, Randall did not discover tournaments until the late 1990's. After a few "wildcats" and one BFL, he humbly realized he had a lot to learn. In the early 2000's he became a dedicated student of the tournament fishing game, fishing a BFL from to time to time to measure the progress of his learning. Randall was a very fast learner.

For some blessed individuals, fishing comes naturally. They have an uncommon intuitive gift for finding fish and an inherent knack for catching them. Randall just happens to be one of those people.

By 2007, Randall was shredding up the ultra-competitive Bama and Choo-Choo BFL Divisions. In fact, in 2007 he won the points title in both of those divisions in the same year.

During a three-week span in September of 2007, Randall won $15,000 in fishing tournaments, including a two-day BFL Super Tournament on Lake Guntersville. It was then that his wife, Sara, asked, "You are really going to do this fishing thing aren't you?" Randall replied, "Yes I am," and shortly thereafter closed his construction business to focus on professional fishing as a career with her unwavering support. In 2008, his first year as a pro, Randall won an EverStart event on Lake Eufaula and then turned around and won the first two B.A.S.S. Opens he ever entered on Santee Cooper and Lake Guntersville. With three wins in just 7 months, Randall was well on his way to being a fulltime pro.

Since then, he has qualified for every fishing championship available including the BFL All-American, the B.A.S.S. Weekend Series Championship, the EverStart Championship, the FLW Forrest Wood Cup, the PAA Championship (Toyota Texas Bass Classic) and most recently, the granddaddy of them all, the Bassmaster Classic. What's more, he has been a BFL Divisional points winner three times, the EverStart Southeast points winner (2009) and the BASS Southern Open points winner (2010). During the 2010 season, Randall qualified for each championship of every circuit he was fishing – that's a Forrest Wood Cup, PAA Championship and Bassmaster Classic berth all in a single season.

Since 2007, Randall has close to $800,000 in winnings alone. While some might think such quick success in pro fishing would go straight to one's head, rest assured Randall is as humble, easy going and down to earth as his southern roots. He is extremely talented with a rod and reel yet extremely approachable at the same time. What has followed Randall's success is a host of corporate sponsors including EverStart Batteries, Ranger Boats, Chevy Trucks, Evinrude, Power-Pole, Lowrance, GAMMA, HALO Fishing, Costa Del Mar, Tabu Tackle and Chattanooga Fish & Fun. Indeed Randall Tharp has proven that it does not take trust funds or corporate bank rolls to start a fishing career. What it does take is complete focus, a steadfast dedication to the water, the moral support of his wife and family...and a little raw fishing talent does not hurt, either.