Ep. 69: Oliver Ngy of Big Bass Dreams on Big Bait Fishing & Community Tournaments

Guest: Oliver Ngy (Big Bass Dreams) | Hosts: Daniel Dahlin ([FISH]rx), El Charly, Luke Dean (Bait Slingers / Artemis Charters)

Oliver Ngy built Big Bass Dreams as a personal brand and expanded it into an umbrella covering BWA Black Spirit and Defiant Fishing Tackle. Episode 69, recorded live on December 16, 2024, covers the big bait approach that defines his fishing, a three-month online tournament series spanning California’s biggest bass fisheries, and his philosophy of fishing differently than the crowd to find bigger fish.

In This Episode

• Big Bass Dreams brand expansion — Oliver brought BWA Black Spirit and Defiant Fishing Tackle under the Big Bass Dreams umbrella. Multiple brands in one community structure rather than competing separately. His approach to building a brand around personality and access rather than a single product
• Three-month online tournament series — biggest bass wins the pot across a three-month window spanning mid-January through the Bassmaster Classic. Five longest fish counted across the period. California included because it kicks out some of the biggest bass in the country
• California big bass standing — Oliver’s point: California consistently produces the country’s largest bass. The combination of warm water, trophy genetics, and the Florida subspecies introduced in 1959 makes California a legitimate big bass destination on the national stage
• Don’t fish the most popular bait — Oliver’s approach: come at the fish from a different angle than what everyone else is throwing. If the crowd is on a specific swimbait and a specific color, he’s on something else. Less pressure on the presentation means more willing fish
• Freshwater to saltwater transfer — Oliver has been crossing over between freshwater and saltwater bass, applying what works on one side to the other. The common framework: bigger bait, different angle, fish where others aren’t. The specific presentation adjusts; the philosophy stays
• Strike King and Nomad ambassadorships — Oliver runs multiple brand partnerships simultaneously including competing tackle brands. His philosophy: different products for different presentations, and no single brand owns every situation

Beyond the Rod & Reel with Big Bass Dreams

The “don’t fish the most popular bait” framework is something the show has circled around from different angles across many episodes. Gary Reyes said it about big baits vs. conventional presentations. Benny Florentino said it about weedless swimbaits in places anglers avoid. Oliver is saying it about bait selection across the entire market: if everybody is on it, the fish are educated on it. Find something different and you’re fishing with less pressure.

The online tournament format Oliver is running is an interesting community model — a three-month window instead of a single day removes the luck component and rewards consistent fishing. It’s also accessible in a way that destination tournaments aren’t. The format spreading across California brings the community together without requiring everyone to fish the same water.

Watch the full episode on the Time On The Water YouTube channel. New episodes every Tuesday at 6 PM.