Ty Faber, Colorado angler, 'knocking on the door' of promotion to Bassmaster Elite Series

Kyle Newman, The Denver Post on Feb 25, 2026

Published in Outdoors

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DENVER — Long before Ty Faber was one of Colorado’s best anglers, his dad was trying to keep him from falling in the San Juan River.

Faber started fishing at about 2 years old, when his father, Mark Faber, would carry him down to the river in a backpack. There, Ty would stand at the riverbank while Mark assisted the tyke’s fly-fishing rod with one hand, and used the other hand to hold onto the back of Ty’s pants to keep the river from sweeping him away.

By the age of 4, he was casting his own line, without assistance from his pops. Those moments foretold an impressive bass fishing career by the Pagosa Springs native, who kicked off another season on the Bassmaster Opens series with a tournament at Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas last weekend.

“Every time I went, he wanted to go, and he was in love with fishing from a very young age,” Mark Faber said. “We fished for trout all the time when he was little, then one time (around middle school), we went to Echo Lake just south of town, where we would put a canoe on and bass fish.

“He was throwing a spinner bait and a big, nice bass chased it and (bit), and he caught the fish. It was maybe four, five pounds. But he was really fired up, and that was pretty much the end of his trout fishing.”

Faber is one of several Colorado anglers competing in Division 2 of the 2026 Bassmaster Opens. Three others from the Centennial Bass Club of Northern Colorado, Joey Punko, Evan Cox and Nate Caldwell, are also competing in the four-tournament Opens series.

For Faber, who also competes in Major League Fishing, this season could be the breakthrough that sees him earn a bid to the Bassmaster Elite Series. The top 50 finishers from each of the two Opens series earn a chance to compete in the three-tournament Elite Qualifier series in the fall. The top 10 in the EQs make the Elite Series, which is the top 101 bass fishers in the world.

The 40-year-old finished 31st in the standings in 2024 and 19th in ’25, following the EQs. No Colorado angler has ever qualified for the Elites.

Faber, who is also an accomplished big-game hunter, said his career goal is to make the Bassmaster Classic, a.k.a. the Super Bowl of bass fishing. Winning an Opens tournament would qualify him for the Classic.

“I would probably say that I like fishing more than hunting, but I think hunting is more special to me just because you don’t get to do it all year long,” Faber said. “But I’m just very lucky and thankful to get to do what I do and I just enjoy it a whole lot.”

Entering 2026, Faber has won $88,937 in career earnings on the Bassmaster Opens circuit, with seven top 10s in 38 tournaments, and three wins in team competitions. In Major League Fishing, he has $61,476 career winnings across 33 events and five top 10s. He’s also won multiple boats from tournament wins.

All of which is why Caldwell, Faber’s close friend, believes Faber is “knocking on the door” of earning a promotion to the Elite Series.

“It’s not a talent thing — the chips just have to fall in his lap,” Caldwell said. “He’s an elite-caliber angler, but it’s going to come down to a little bit of luck. The big fish that doesn’t get off (the lure). Late in the season, it will come down to that — who didn’t lose a big one or who randomly caught a big one that will carry to you to a top finish in a tournament. His stars just have to get aligned, and eventually they will.”

Until then, Faber is content with the pursuit. He owns a plumbing company in Pagosa Springs, which gives him the financial freedom and flexibility to pursue his dream on the water.

Caldwell, 50, owns a landscaping company to fund his angling habit, and the youngsters Punko (20) and Cox (21) are grinding to finance their fishing dreams. Both Punko and Cox work for their parents’ companies, while Punko also runs a guide service.

Punko estimates that last year, his first season on the Opens circuit, he spent around $15,000 on travel and entry fees. Neither he nor Cox made any money in 2025, but in an era where the hot-button technology of forward-facing sonar is accelerating young anglers’ development — “video-game fishing,” as Caldwell calls it — a coming-out season for either could be imminent.

Count Faber as one of their biggest supporters.

“I love that they’re out here doing it, and making sacrifices to compete, because it’s not easy and it’s not cheap,” Faber said. “I wish I could’ve done it at their age. I’m proud they’re giving it a go, and am rooting for them to succeed.”

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