February 18, 2026

The path to becoming a pro

Since he first held a rod, Justin Hamner knew his life’s mission was to fish professionally.

Hamner spent much of his childhood fishing for bluegill in nearby ponds with his dad and grandpa in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Proving his talent early on, Justin and his dad won their first fishing tournament together when Justin was just 7 years old.

“From then on, that’s all I thought about,” Hamner said.

As Justin got older and his passion for the sport grew, he began competing in junior Bassmaster tournaments and won three state championships. These tournaments introduced him to competitive freshwater fishing and gave him the opportunity to fish alongside many of his childhood heroes. 

“At the time, Bassmaster was taking each state champion and had a Junior World Championship. You got to fish with an Elite Series Pro for that world championship,” Hamner said. “So, that brought me into the professional bass fishing world.”

With support from his wife and Justin’s own drive and determination, he continued to hone in on his craft and keep his eyes set on larger competitions. But the road to becoming a pro was no easy feat.

LiveScope comes into play

Justin worked two jobs to save enough money to compete in his first open. After months of preparation and grueling hours spent mowing lawns and pouring concrete, Justin was the first angler to miss the Bassmaster Elite Series cut for the following season.

“That stung. It hurt a lot,” Hamner said. “I almost didn’t even try the next year because we didn’t have any money, and I didn’t want to put the family at more of a risk than we already were.”

Justin persisted and the next year, after more time on the water and Garmin LiveScope™ live-scanning sonar on board, he qualified.

“I remember we were fishing, and one of [Patrick Walters] friends told us he had LiveScope on his boat. Patrick threw his shaky head by a tree, and we watched the shaky head go down the worm and just looked at each other,” Hamner said. “That night, both of us ordered one.”

Justin was already targeting fish by using suspending lures, such as jerkbaits, before having LiveScope on his boat. But, with Garmin tech on board, he was shocked to unlock new fishing spots on lakes he had fished for years. He was equally surprised to discover unexpected fish patterns.

“[LiveScope] was breaking the mold of what everybody thought fish did,” Hamner said. “We were just scratching the surface. There were way more fish out there, and they were not doing what we thought they were doing.”

Transformative technology

Justin credits LiveScope with transforming him from a competitive angler to an elite one. The key to becoming elite: being efficient and continuously learning. During the offseason, Justin said he’s constantly covering water, learning about seasonal baits and studying fish patterns.

“The amount of time I’ve spent with LiveScope learning everything I can about it and everything about fish just enhances your knowledge of what fish do, how they react to certain baits and ultimately, how to catch them,” Hamner said.

With live sonar, Justin said he spends a lot less time guessing whether a fish active or not.  He’s also able to quickly identify unproductive fishing areas, known as dead water, in tournaments.

“They might have been here in practice, but after 15 minutes into the tournament day, I can tell if these fish are sitting on the bottom, not wanting to chase,” Hamner said.

Plus, Justin said he spends a lot of time marking waypoints and planning his spots with the help of Garmin mapping before any big tournament.

When it comes to trolling a bank or a channel, Justin uses his Garmin trolling motor and its reverse feature to sneak up on fish.

“Instead of having to loop around, come back and waste all that time trying to set up, you see it, and you can immediately stop and position yourself how you need to be,” Hamner said. “That just makes you way more efficient.”

In the grass-filled waters of Alabama, hitting the reverse to knock grass off his Force® Pro trolling motor is a bonus.

For Justin, Garmin technology didn’t completely change the way he fished. Instead, he used it to enhance his already stacked skill set. He said the moment he saw LiveScope in action, he knew it was going to be revolutionary.

No matter the experience level, Garmin LiveScope is for every angler. Don’t wait to get your hands on the tool that takes anglers from good to great.

_{Justin Hamner is a Garmin-sponsored pro.}