A champion in the Flesh

Flesh, of Edwardsburg, Mich., made history Friday as the first female angler to win a national bass fishing championship. Photo by Gary Mortenson. Angler: Renee Hensley.

November 9, 2001 • Gary Mortenson • Archives

Michigan native becomes first woman to capture national bass fishing championship

FLORENCE, Ala. – Any lingering doubts that women can’t compete on equal footing with men on a national bass-fishing circuit were single-handedly erased after Renee Flesh walked onto to the stage during the finals of the 2001 Co-angler EverStart Championship. With all nine of her male counterparts struggling to piece together any semblance of a winning strategy on Pickwick Lake, Flesh confidently strode to the weigh-in podium and threw down the gauntlet.

Although Flesh needed only to best 2 pounds, 6 ounces to capture the title, the Michigan native delivered a two-fish, knockout punch weighing 4 pounds. In a blink of eye, Flesh not only captured one of the most prestigious amateur bass-fishing championships in the nation, but made history as well.

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Flesh, who walked away with the top prize of $10,000 and a brand new, fully equipped, Ranger boat. “And I don’t think it’s going to sink in for quite awhile.”

While tournament officials and members of the media attempted to get Flesh to speak to the issue of gender equity in the sport of professional bass fishing, the young woman failed to take the bait. In typically modest fashion, Flesh said that she had simply set out to accomplish what any angler would hope to achieve in a highly competitive tournament setting.

“Gender isn’t really a factor out there on the water,” said Flesh, who qualified for the championship despite competing on the EverStart Series circuit for the very first time this year. “I mean, the fish don’t know who we are?”

Although Flesh had turned in a number of highly competitive performances on the tour this year, earning a 13th overall ranking in the Northern Division of the EverStart Series, she acknowledged that her expectations weren’t very high coming into the Pickwick Lake battle.

“Once I made the championship, I really didn’t think I had a realistic chance of winning it,” said Flesh. “I really thought I’d be going home (after the opening two rounds of competition) on Friday morning.”

However, it didn’t take long for Flesh to prove her mettle. While many of the men struggled all week, Flesh consistently caught fish. After the second round of competition, Flesh grabbed the number-one qualifying spot in the Co-angler Division and became the only woman – in either division – to advance to the finals.

She didn’t stop there. While eight of her fellow competitors failed to bring in any fish during the finals, Flesh calmly landed two quality bass in some of the most difficult fishing conditions in the history of EverStart competition. Her perseverance paid off.

“My philosophy all along is that you are fishing against the fish, not against anyone else,” said Flesh, who put together a winning strategy by fishing crankbaits in shallow water. “If you think of it that way, it kind of takes the pressure off.”

Amazingly enough, Flesh said that there will be some unintended drawbacks to her new title.

“Now I’ll be banned from fishing some of my local tournaments,” she said. “If you win more than $5,000 in prize money, they don’t let you fish anymore. But no, I wouldn’t trade this for anything.”

Perhaps even more astounding is the fact that Flesh isn’t even sure if she’ll be able to compete on the EverStart circuit in 2002.

“I want to, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get time off from work,” said Flesh, who is employed full-time as a physical therapist back home. “I don’t have any sponsors yet, so I have to pay for everything myself. But who knows, hopefully I figure out a way to compete next year.”

If Flesh isn’t able to compete next year, the scales just may tip back in favor of the men.

Carman narrowly misses out on even bigger payday

For Jeffery Carman, the big story was the fish that got away. Carman, the only other angler in the finals who brought a fish to the scales, said that he was very close to bumping Flesh from the record books.

“It was close, really close,” he said. “When I came in and saw that only one other person had caught fish today, I really thought I had a chance to win the whole thing. As it turned out, I lost a fish that probably would have won it. But that’s why they call it `fishing’ and not `catching.'”

Although Carman would have loved to gone home with the first-place trophy, the native of Liberty, Ky., said he could live with the results.

“It really is bittersweet,” he said. “But overall, I’m tickled pink with where I finished. My goal was to make the championship and I did that. My next goal was to make the top 10. And I did that too. I caught one fish and came in second place. So, I really can’t complain.”

Coming up empty

How tough was it out there on the lake today? If the other eight co-angler finalists who failed to catch a fish are any indication, it was really tough.

“I just couldn’t get any keeper bites all day,” said third-place finisher Garry Collins, of Russell Springs, Ky.

“It was extremely tough,” said Bo Standley, of Silsbee, Texas, who took the fourth spot. “I had one fish on my line, but it pulled off.”

“It was real tough,” said fifth-place finisher Chuck Welch of Knoxville, Tenn.

“It was really that tough,” said Guy Lindstrom of Horseshoe Bend, Ark. Lindstom finished the day in sixth place.

“There were some smaller fish out there,” said seventh-place finisher Ken Keys. “But it seemed like the 15-inch (tournament minimum size) fish were all gone.”

“I didn’t really feel too bad about where I finished today,” said Wesley Burnett, the winner of the Co-angler Division at last year’s EverStart Championship. “It was really tough fishing.”

Burnett ultimately finished the day in eighth place.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top 10 were: David Bailey (ninth) of Churubusco, Ind., and Claude Broomes (tenth) of Indianapolis, Ind.

Tournament action in the Pro Division resumes tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. at the McFarland Park Marina located on James M. Spain Drive, just off Hwy. 20 in Florence. Championship weigh-in is scheduled to take place at 3:30 p.m. at the Florence Wal-Mart Supercenter on Hough Road.