When I met Roy in 1996, he didn't have a fishing boat, but he had a dream to be a pro bass angler. That was at a Western Region tournament at Lake Powell, and Roy was fishing as a nonboater. He was assigned to random anglers and fished on the back of their boats throughout the tournament, going wherever they wanted to go and getting first casts into the best holes.

Roy, age 37, had spent every dime he had getting to Bullfrog and didn't have $10 to join the Big Fish pool. Then, of course, he landed the biggest fish in the tournament but missed out on the pool's $700 in cash - but he made the Utah State team.

That's largely how it's gone for Roy. He can catch fish like few others, but he still needs a real job to feed his passion. Roy has stuck with his dream and eked out more miles on his truck than mechanically possible, hauling a bass boat all over the country.

Roy and I became good friends over time and have managed to sneak in some fishing through the years. The highlight has been fishing together three times in the annual Catch a Cure for Cancer fishing tournament at Starvation each June. The man is one of the kindest and humblest anglers, or humans for that matter, I've had the pleasure to know.

Last August, Roy made the tough decision to commit himself completely to professional fishing. Money was lean with entry fees to be paid and the ever-increasing cost of gas for his truck and his boat. But as he had many times in the past, Roy found support in family and friends.

Saturday at Nevada's Lake Mead, his dedication to the dream paid off to the tune of $100,000. I almost cried with pride when a text message showed up on my cell phone telling me that Roy had claimed victory at the Wal-Mart FLW Series National Guard Western Division tournament.

"Hopefully I'll be able to save some of it," Roy said of the money when I talked to him in California on Tuesday. "But I've got some things to pay off, and it probably won't last long."

Roy sounded a little tired and said he was looking forward to a summer vacation from his profession.

"I've been at a tournament every week since January. I've been home like eight days. I'm pretty worn out," he said while preparing for another tournament, this one on the California Delta.

That being said, Roy is pondering his chances at the U.S. Open, sponsored by WON Bass in August on Lake Mead, a reservoir he has to call his home water because it is the closest major tournament lake to Salt Lake City.

Until then, he looks forward to hooking the next one.

"I'm just looking forward to that next cast," he said in typical Roy Hawk fashion.

brettp@ sltrib.com