George Perry caught the current World record bass of 22 lbs. 4 oz. in Georgia during very tough times in this countries history. Even during those hard years people could still justify fishing as a means of putting food on the table. Today, due to the cost of equipment and fuel, I am sure the cost per pound of the fish you caught would be way to high to use that for an excuse for you angling adventures.
Yet during the late seventies and early eighties, during the Oil embargo fuel crises, anglers continued to fish.
While the largest recreational boat manufactures in this country were going out of business this was the same time that Ranger, Skeeter, and Tracker Aluminum boats emerged to be major companies in the boating industry. My largest sponsor at that time was Glastron boat company. They had hired me in 1976 to help them design a line of fishing boats. At that time they were the largest manufacture of family runabouts in the World. The day they essentially closed their doors Peter Pirsh, the departing Glastron president, said, “I wish we had gotten into fishing boats earlier. The big yachts and fishing boats are the only boats showing some recession resistance.”
During that time of long lines at the gas stations and most stations closing early or running out of fuel my fishing future was uncertain. I would carry 6 extra six gallon tanks in my boat when traveling across the country because the availability of fuel traveling the highways was uncertain. I did not even know if the Marinas would have fuel for our boats when we arrived for a tournament.
There were some scary moments, the worst of which was my attempt to torch a Sonic Drive Inn. I had stopped to get a hamburger and I was siphoning 6 gallons of gas into my car when the guy in the car next to me said, “Hey buddy there is a whole bunch of something flowing under your car”. The siphon hose had slipped out of my gas tank and not only was the gas running under my car but half of the other vehicles parked at the Sonic. Fortunately no one discarded a lit cigarette before I could borrow several buckets of soapy water and a mop. That was the cleanest Sonic Drive Inn parking lot in the country after I left.
We are headed into another time of uncertainty. Every buying decision made, one must ask what is essential or not essential. This is very difficult for a country that has had the freedom to consume as much as it wants. So where does fishing fall in this essential versus non-essential buying decisions. Since fishing as a source of food is at least currently not justification enough, allow me to present another viewpoint. Most people, anglers included perceive angling as only a recreational past time thus not essential. Essentials are shelter, clothing, and nourishment.
Most fishermen and other outdoors men, whether they can express it or not, know that within these journeys into nature there are rejuvenating and healing qualities way beyond the actual casting and reeling. Most of us are genetically connected to the explorers and pioneers and native peoples who loved this country for its wildness, for its wide open space. Urban sprawl of today is a product of humans having to work in the craziness of the City yet desiring to live close to nature. More than once growing up I remember my Dad saying, “If I don’t get away I am going to go crazy.” Believe me this is no cliche. If humans have no way of escaping they will go crazy. Fishing is the last remaining vehicle for the masses to escape into the magic healing and sanity of nature. I have long promoted that we need a paradigm shift in thinking. Fishing is much more than a recreational activity.
With that said we the anglers do need to become a little wiser about our pursuit. Tournament anglers, myself included, have unintentionally sent the wrong message to young anglers and fans. Due to high profile Tournament coverage by the media we have mistakenly implied that to be a good angler you must fish out of a $40,000 to $50,000 dollar boat. NOT TRUE!!! The boat size and price does not make you a good angler. Most good Anglers could perform just as well fishing out of much smaller, less expensive boats. So why do we choose the largest and fastest boats. First of all, historically we did not choose the boats. The Tournament organizations and their rules chose the boats. Most of my career I ran 18′ boats with 150 H.P. engines. Most of my career we were limited by the Tournament organization rules to a maximum of 150 H.P. and only progressed to larger boats as tournament rules allowed. In the early days the rules dictated that you and your drawn partner must decide whose boat you would use each tournament day. If you could not decide than a flip of a coin determined whose boat. Believe me there was a lot of politics and sales pitches. The number one argument to convince or shame the angler you drew into going in your boat was, “My boat is brand new and it is the largest and fastest.” It was this testosterone jockeying to use your boat that drove most of us to use larger and faster thus more expensive boats.
It is time to be more sensible about what boat you really need. I am going to rig a Tracker 18′ aluminum boat with a 150 H.P. engine for the Classic at the Red River in February and yes the Red River is ideal for this type boat but I also intend to use this boat at several of the other B.A.S.S. events this year including Toledo Bend and Amistad. This boat is more fuel efficient, requires smaller towing vehicle, requires cheaper insurance, and is all around more user friendly. I restate, “I have caught just as many fish out of a 18′, 150 H.P. boat in my career as I have the larger boats.
Certainly if you are going to fish Lake Erie it would be wise to have a larger boat. More important than a large boat is the boat operators ability to navigate and understand rough water. There is a real science to operating any boat in rough water. It is not about pointing the bow of the boat toward the nearest bank and trying to get there as fast as you can! I won the first B.A.S.S. tournament ever won with all smallmouth on Lake Ontario out of a 18′ boat fishing an area that most anglers would not go because it was so rough.
These are definitely changing times, but as always fishing will endure. Just remember that it is essential to feed the body, but it is just as essential to feed the soul.
For more articles and Updates on the Classic visit the Rick Clunn website.By: Rick Clunn
