Randy Howell wasn’t far from home when he hoisted the Bassmaster trophy – but his trip to the top of the heap wasn’t a short one.

The winner of the 2014 Geico Bassmaster Classic is from Springville, and knows the Coosa River’s lakes quite well. (His struggles on the professional circuit were featured in Shorelines last year.)

Howell’s victory in bass fishing’s biggest event on Feb. 23 came in a most dramatic fashion. Heading into the final day of the three-day tournament, he was in 11th place, but he put together the biggest final-day comeback in the Bassmaster Classic’s 44-year history.

Howell posted the biggest catch of his 21-year fishing career that day.

“I have fished all the way from California to New York to Florida, and I have never experienced a day of fishing like that,” he said.

Howell’s win before an estimated crowd of 15,000 screaming fans at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex earned him a $300,000 payday. Experts say the win eventually will be worth more than $1 million for him in endorsements and personal appearance fees.

The victory was a culmination of 21 years of professional fishing that has literally taken him to all corners of the U.S. He already had more than $1 million in career winnings going into this year’s Classic.

Howell’s victory was a popular one with bass fishing fans because they know his story of being one of sports’ good guys. Off the water, he travels across the South speaking to churches. His main sponsor is the King’s Home, a home for neglected and abused children near Birmingham.

Through Howell’s efforts, more than 100 of the kids from that home were in the stands for the final weigh-in on Feb. 23 with matching T-shirts cheering their hero.

Each year, Howell donates the actual bass boat he uses during the season to the King’s Home. He is instrumental in selling chances on that boat with all proceeds going to the home. The sale of raffle tickets on his boat raises more than $100,000 each year for the Kings Home.

Howell’s 2014 Classic win will be remembered as a testimony to the human spirit. His personal health issues are well documented and he spent much of the first part of 2014 very ill. On the three practice days prior to the Classic, he was in excruciating pain. He caught just five fish in those three days.

Once the event began the next weekend, Howell unlocked the secret of the changing February weather and rising water temperatures to win competitive bass fishing’s biggest prize.

— Mike Bolton