Dudley’s desire

A young pro proves that winners never quit

Behind every great bass angler is a mentor, a teacher who willingly shared intimate knowledge of the ways of bass and the secrets of catching them. Like so many other fishermen on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, 26-year old David Dudley credits the wisdom of his father, James, for his success.

“My dad would take me and my brothers fishing and use the trophies he won as prizes for us,” Dudley recalls. “He took us fishing all the time and he crammed 50 years of bass fishing knowledge into me.”

While his four brothers are avid fishermen, it was David who caught the tournament fever, a fever that infected him at a young age. He and his father won a team event on their home water, Smith Mountain Lake, near Roanoke, Va., when Dudley was 13.

“I used to answer the phone, `Bass pro David Dudley, may I help you?’ I watched TV shows all the time and I just dreamed of becoming a professional fisherman,” Dudley says.

Although James Dudley says his son did well in school, fishing sometimes interfered with his classroom activities. He recalls a teacher who found his son sitting in the back of the class with his textbook open, but the book only hid a fishing magazine. James also remembers his son using his lunch break to fish a pond close to the school.

“I honestly believe that fishing kept him and my other sons out of trouble,” says Dudley’s father.

While David relied on his father during his early teen years, a driver’s license gave him the opportunity to break out and establish his own reputation as a bass fishing phenom. And it didn’t take long. His first major victory came on his home lake when he was 17. This time, Dudley was crowned Mr. Bass, a coveted state title that helped solidify his decision to live the life of a touring pro.

“My dad and I sat down and talked about what would be the best career path for me to become a successful professional bass fisherman. We decided that the best route would be the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, so I fished three different divisions here in the East right out of high school,” Dudley says. “By fishing so many different bodies of water, I learned how to deal with various conditions and how to make important decisions. You can’t go anywhere by staying close to home and fishing waters that you know really well.”

Dudley also competed in BASS events, winning the Eastern Division Angler of the Year title at 19. That title earned him a spot in the Bass Masters Classic and the label of the youngest competitor ever in that tournament. Soon after that event, he finished first in another event while he was still 19. Both are records that have yet to be broken, but with so many young, talented anglers out there, Dudley figures it’s only a matter of time before a younger contender comes along.

“I did the same thing that a lot of other guys did when I was just starting out. I slept in my truck to save money, and I poured every dollar I earned right back into fishing. It seems as though I made just enough money in tournaments to make it to the next tournament. Those were some tough times,” he says.

After an otherwise smooth start down the road to fishing stardom, Dudley’s fishing took a nosedive in 1996. Paychecks were few and those that he earned were small. But Dudley is an incredibly talented angler with a God-given gift to catch fish when others can’t. The numbers speak for themselves, and with trademark perseverance, he is back on top of his game and rapidly making a name for himself on tour as a member of Team Castrol for 2002.

He hasn’t had any first-place finishes, but he’s had several near misses. Dudley has qualified for the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship five years in a row. He placed fourth in the 2000 Forrest Wood Open, seventh in the 2000 Wal-Mart Open, third in a 2000 EverStart Series event and fifth in the 1999 Ranger M1 Millennium tournament. And last year, Dudley earned $100,000, his largest paycheck ever, for a second-place finish in the $1 million Forrest Wood Open on Michigan’s Lake St. Clair. Not a bad comeback indeed.

Surprisingly, Dudley’s first love doesn’t swim in freshwater. He enjoys bass fishing, and he’s deeply entrenched in the tournament lifestyle. But if he had a choice, he’d spend his life fishing saltwater.

“We’d go to the Outer Banks every year for our family vacation when I was growing up. The fishing was fantastic,” he recalls. He liked it so much he moved to the coastal town of Manteo, N.C., in 1997, earned a captain’s license and now guides whenever he isn’t on the road or competing in bass tournaments.

There is no competition in the ocean, however, and Dudley thrives on the competitive nature of bass fishing. God willing, he says he’ll be in it for many years to come.

For information on saltwater guide trips with Dudley, visit www.nagsheadfishing.com.