The American bass angler’s dream
Reel Women: In their own words
Editor’s Note: After compiling some of the best fish stories from our female fishing fans over the last month or so, FLWOutdoors.com is finally ready to share them with the public. For the next several weeks, beginning Feb. 12, we’ll feature a different submission every couple of days, with a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule beginning Feb. 16. To be sure, the stories submitted by our readers have been most impressive as well – ranging from the truly humorous to the utterly heartbreaking. We hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we did. And hopefully, as more and more women get involved in the wonderful sport of fishing, we’ll get to read and hear about many more stories from our female fans in the future. Enjoy.
Judy Wong
Sugar Land, Texas
The American bass angler’s dream
Fishing is a passion for me. I love the thrill of the catch – from the hook set, to the fight, to the landing of the fish. During a tournament competition, the thrill is magnified even more.
One particular tournament that I will never forget is the Women’s Bass Fishing Association’s Classic World Championship that took place in August 2001 on the Red River outside of Alexandria, La. This three-day competition would determine who would be the world champion. We were given two days of practice prior to the first day of competition.
On day one, I chose to make a 60-mile run and lock through to an upper pool on the river. My first area did not pay off, so I changed tactics and went to another oxbow where I had caught a good bass during practice. Upon reaching “the spot” where I caught a 4-pounder during practice, I was nervous, anticipating a strike. It was deja vu as a big bass hit my bait in precisely the same spot I had caught a big bass during practice. The fight was on and the rush of adrenaline was overwhelming, not to mention the nervousness I felt in trying to land this big bass. Only after that 5-pounder was safely in the livewell was I able to breathe a sigh of relief. After catching another 4-pound bass and two other smaller bass, I had to leave and make the long 50-mile boat run back to the launch site.
Day two would prove to be one of my most thrilling and exciting tournament days ever. An angler never knows what to expect from day to day, even hour to hour. After making the one-hour boat run, I arrived at “my spot” and used the same chartreuse-and-blue Strike King crankbait to catch another 4-pounder; it was a feeling of ecstasy. When I opened the livewell to place the bass in, I discovered a dead bluegill that was coughed up by one of the bass I caught the previous day. This reconfirmed to me that these big bass were suspended in the flooded timber, feeding on bluegills. After several more casts, I tied on a modified ¾-ounce spinnerbait with a chartreuse-and-orange skirt to give the bass something different to look at. My first slow-rolled cast yielded another 4-pounder. At this point I felt I had died and gone to heaven. My day was short but so exhilarating. Just before I had to leave to make my long run back, I caught my fifth bass. I had a livewell full with close to 20 pounds of bass.
Upon my takeoff, my boat began to vibrate and I almost had a panic attack, knowing I had a livewell full of bass and thinking I had engine problems. I was able to flag down another competitor, who helped escort me back to the launch site. I was relieved to find that it was only a damaged propeller that caused the vibration on my Ranger boat.
The emotions I experienced thus far in the tournament were overwhelming. Holding up those beautiful bass to a standing-room-only crowd at the Alexandria Convention Center was exciting. I experienced confidence in knowing that I might win along with the feelings of doubt that, if I didn’t catch enough bass on the third day, I could lose it all.
“Nervous” would best describe my feelings as I made my first cast. Worry set in when I failed to catch a bass from that “sweet spot” after several casts. I broadened the area I was casting to and finally landed three small bass. Upon casting the spinnerbait again to precisely the same spot where all the previous big bass were caught, I set the hook into yet another 4-pound bass. The range of emotions I experienced during that struggle with that bass was off the charts. Knowing that three photographers in surrounding boats had come to capture all of this on film made it even more difficult. A feeling of contentment came over me as I felt fairly confident that I had won this classic tournament. I felt blessed that the Lord had watched over me and allowed me to win this championship.
After so many years of competing, I was finally able to get on stage and recite a speech I had memorized but had failed to give until that day: “I am truly blessed to live in a country where I can fish for a living. As a Chinese-American woman, to travel around the country and pursue little green fish and make a living at it is surely a dream come true. No where else but in America do women have these opportunities. We are truly blessed. God bless America and God bless each of you.”
This speech was given on August 25, 2001. On Sept. 11, 2001, our nation was attacked by terrorists who condemn our way of life.
In September 2003, I was invited by Gary and Beverly Yamamoto to be part of a goodwill tour to visit and thank our troops stationed in Germany. It was a very fulfilling and emotional opportunity for me to personally thank those men and women who serve our country and allow me the freedom to pursue this sport of bass fishing I love so much. Women may make unlikely “professional bass anglers,” but we do it for the love of the sport and the thrill of the catch and the emotional highs it allows us.
I had a winning weight of 42.53 pounds with 14 bass for three days of competition. I also had the big bass for all three days. This is the kind of tournament all bass anglers dream of, and mine finally came true.