Wesley Smith holds up a couple of keepers at the BFL Wild Card. The West Point grad won the co-angler title.

Wesley Smith has been fishing since long before he can remember.

Earlier this month, that lifelong journey reached depths not even he could fathom.

Smith, a 2013 West Point graduate, secured the co-angler title at the FLW’s Bass Fishing League (BFL) Wild Card at Lake Hartwell (Ga.) back on Nov. 15 with a two-day total of 18 pounds, 12 ounces.

He entered Day 2 in eighth place before reeling in 11-12 to surge to the top and earn a spot in 2016 BFL All-American, which will be held at Lake Barkley (Ky.) June 9-11.

“It feels great,” said Smith, who also has a top-10 and top-15 finish this season. “I went in with a good attitude. The lake fished almost exactly like Smith Lake, which helped. I caught a 5-pounder on the first day that really helped me out, too.”

As a co-angler, Smith is designated a different boat and boater (professional) prior to launch before each tournament day.

Although it’s “a great way to learn from guys who’ve been doing it for awhile,” the first-year amateur fisherman added it can be a huge challenge to adapt to various quarks of each boater.

Some fish shallow, others cast deep. Some hit up familiar spots, others try out new ventures.

It’s all about going with the flow, according to Smith.

“No one guy fishes exactly alike,” he said. “You’ve got to mix it up and be really versatile.

“With this being my first year, I’ve gotten used to it a little bit. The boater on my second day, James Bird, was pretty far behind in his division so he helped me get to the right spots to catch some fish. It was a cool experience.”

Smith spent 2015 in the Choo-Choo division of the BFL. He’ll move up to a boater beginning in January but will still keep his status as a co-angler when he fishes in the All-American down the road.

The plan is to climb each rung of the ladder all the way to the FLW Tour.

“It’s a dream, definitely,” he said. “I’d like to go the All-American and win it. That’d be $60,000.”

Despite moving from co-angler to the front of the boat in 2016, Smith isn’t too worried about the change affecting his abilities come the three-day tournament in June.

He plans on making a couple of trips to the venue when the water gets up and hopes to map out a few areas that could yield some big returns when the lures are cast.

“I’m comfortable either way,” he said. “All you have to do is catch them when you’re a co-angler. With the change, you’ve got to go find them and catch them. That’s the pressure.”

Smith is no doubt on his way to living a dream. However, with fishing now working its way into various high schools around the state, he can’t help but opine on what might have been during his days as a three-sport athlete at West Point.

“Man, those guys are learning so much at an earlier age in those programs,” Smith said. “I’m just out here doing trial and error. It’s going to be a really good generation of fishing coming up.”