Rick Morris takes his fishing to extremes. Case in point: When he learned the technique known as slow-rolling a spinnerbait, the Virginia angler went all the way.
In fact, Morris was once working a spinnerbait so slow and methodically across the bottom of the Northwest River in Virginia that he caught a 40-pound snapping turtle. "It must have come right through his open mouth," he joked. The turtle was released unharmed.
Ish Monroe Strives to Achieve; Qualifies for 2007 Bassmaster Classic
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, angler Ish Monroe's only exposure to bass fishing was during the summers he spent in Michigan with his father.
Then, when he was 10 years old, a tournament-fishing show planted the seed of competitive bass fishing in him and Monroe never allowed anything to interrupt his new-made plans to become a pro. As a teen, he talked with sponsors and learned what they sought in a bass pro. He then went to summer school each year so he could graduate early from high school and attend Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Calif., where he majored in marketing.
All along the way, Monroe ignored the naysayers.
"Growing up, my friends were into everything else," he recalled. "There were drugs, there was violence. They were into cars. While my friends were going out on dates, I was fishing." Monroe actually skipped his high school prom to fish.
"Pretty much everybody laughed at me. All through my life, I've heard, 'You can't go fishing for a living.' I always thought, 'Why not? These other guys are doing it. Why can't I?' They said, 'You're young, you're African-American, and you're here in the Bay area.'"
That the 32-year-old pro - who this year became the first African-American to win a top-level BASS tournament - has fashioned a career in this sport is remarkable. Included are three previous appearances in the Bassmaster Classic and his just-decided qualification into the 2007 edition.
"Making the Classic, to me it meant everything. It was a lifelong dream. I think from an all-around standpoint, it brings a different demographic to the whole sport of bass fishing. So I think it will make kids in any ethnic group think, 'I can do this, too.' "
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?
1980 Classic winner Bo Dowden has been retired from tournament fishing for several years now. The 67-year-old Louisiana native runs his real estate company in the shadow of Toledo Bend Reservoir and rarely fishes except for the occasional local, one-day "pot" tournaments.
"I finally harassed my two sons (former BASS competitors Bo Jr. and Eason) into going to college," Dowden said. "I'm the goat that has to stay around the house and generally tend to things."
His was a distinguished career that included 14 Bassmaster Classic appearances and 99 in-the-money finishes in 241 BASS tournaments.
"I'll be honest with you, I miss it terribly," Dowden admitted. "I still dream of running down Guntersville or across Lake George and seeing the islands up in (Thousands Islands) New York and the lakes out west like Havasu."
WRAP RAP
Oklahoma pro Edwin Evers' wrapped boat promotes a fairly unique sponsor - the Michigan RV dealership Lance and Burnside RV. Evers is one of several pros who travel to tournaments with camper-type RVs on the back of their trucks. In his case, it is a 9-foot Lance Max with a cab-over sleeping area.
"It's simply the best way to fish these tournaments," Evers said. "It's inexpensive and staying at campgrounds, you don't have nearly as many hassles as you do in hotels."
DID YOU KNOW?
2005 Bassmaster Angler of the Year Aaron Martens is color blind.
IF I HADN'T BECOME A BASS PRO
Elton Luce, Jr. of Texas might still be working as a draftsman and vice president of an engineering company, where he worked for 29 years.
THEY SAID IT
"I'm a genuine bass angler. I never got in it for the money. I never got in it for the glory. I did it because I love to fish and I was competitive. It's not the competition with the anglers so much as the fact that I'm outsmarting the fish, and I took pride in that and still do. I think you have to love this sport for what it is and what it was in the early years to be successful at it. " - Peter Thliveros of Jacksonville, Fla.