CARTHAGE, MO – Two local fishermen are getting a chance to reel in a title in the coming month.

“To place in that top 40 it would be amazing, It would be awesome. It would be a story we can tell our kids and grandkids.” Says Matthew Thomason.

That’s what Matthew Thomason of Webb City and Cole Potter of Carthage have the opportunity to do in the coming months as they go up against 250 other teams in the qualifying round of the Bass Pro Shop U.S. Open.

“It was kind of a joke when we first heard about it between him and I, and it just kind of came out to be the right time for the both of us, and we’re like sure lets try it. We fished a lot of tournaments locally and we thought why not give it a shot with the best.” Says Thomason.

Now, not only has a once joke turned into a reality, but a dream come true.

“This tournament would mean more than anything to me. Just growing up fishing, over the last few years got into tournament fishing, always wanted to make it pro. This tournament would mean a lot.” Says Potter.

But to win it, they have to go up against people from all over the globe.

“We’re gonna be fishing against guys not only around the world, but guys from Texas, guys from Michigan, all over. Everybody fishes different, every lake is different, so we’ll get an idea, you know it could be new things we’ve never tried we could hear about.” Says Thomason.

Not only will this tournament look good on their resume, but help them with the money needed to go pro.

“A lot of getting into the pros is skill, but it takes a lot of money to get there, and I think winning this tournament will definitely get me what I need to try and make it.” Says Potter.

The qualifying round will take place on October 16th at Grand Lake in Oklahoma.