Christiana Bradley is a well-known touring pro on the Women’s Bassmaster Tour (WBT.) Heads turn as she zips down the lake in her flashy boat with the GEICO Power Sports graphics wrap (complete with gecko holding fishing pole over his shoulder.) Going into her third year on the 3 year-old WBT, she’s found that a career in pro fishing is not only thrilling but a lot of hard work.
Like fishing, being a pro angler takes an extraordinary amount of preparation, patience and down right determination, and Bradley, a Northern Virginia resident has plenty of all three. She thrives on the sport as well as the business challenge. So how did she end up fishing for a living? Here’s her most interesting story:
KM.com: Where are you from?
Christi: I was born in Alexandria, VA. Moved around quite a bit in the first 5 years of my life (San Antonio, TX, Murfreesboro, TN, somewhere in GA, then back to VA).
KM.com: Tell us a little about your family life.
Christie: I have an 18 year-old son. He’s a pitcher on the baseball team at school. He’s going into his senior year and will hopefully go to college next year. He’s an incredible kid – handsome and really good, very respectful.
I was a single mother for about 13 years. My sister and I owned a townhouse together where she raised her daughter and I raised my son. In 2000, I met Mike Bradley when we fished against each other in a small local club. We spoke only in passing at tournaments for several years. Over time, I thought about him more and more.
Finally, in 2004, I couldn’t take it anymore and I emailed him. We started emailing each other — about fishing, of course and finally decided we should go fishing together.
We went out on Father’s day. We got the boat stuck on a flat in the river and had to wait, not only for the tide to come back in, but we had to wait for it to finish going out, then come back in.
What a day! There was little said for the first couple of hours. Then I called my sister and asked her to rent a helicopter and have it drop a 6 pack to us. He finally laughed and we eventually decided we would go have a steak dinner after we got the boat out.
Several months later, he asked me to marry him while were flipping lily pads in a creek. After looking at schedules for the church, photographers, the hall, etc., we decided to marry on June 4, 2005. About 6 months later, I was looking at those old emails and discovered an amazing coincidence- the day I sent Mike that email was June 4, 2004, exactly one year earlier.
KM.com: What line of work are you in, aside from pro fishing?
Christie: I am a senior systems engineer – I maintain servers for Internet websites. When there’s a problem at 3:00 A.M., I get paged – I’m on call 24/7. I have found myself logging in while sitting in a hotel in Texas and once even on the boat when problems arose.
KM.com: How’d you become involved in fishing – then pro fishing?
Christie: My brother, Gary Schembs, has had a passion for bass fishing since he was probably about 12. He got me into it and I have loved to fish since I was about the same age. When he got his first bass boat, he took me out and let me get used to fishing from a boat instead of from the bank. One year, let me compete in a “his and hers” tournament with him.
We won that and the next ‘his and hers’ tournament. He decided he wanted me to be his regular partner the following year. We worked well together and made a great team.
Mike, my brother, Gary and our families and I went to the Classic in Pittsburgh in 2005. That’s where we saw the WBT display. Mike and my brother both said immediately that I should check it out – he was ready to sign me up right then!
I met a couple of beautiful ladies that day who told me all about the plans for the women’s tour and encouraged me to fish the preview event in TX. A couple of weeks later, I signed up.
KM.com: What or who hooked you on this sport?
Christie: My brother and the Rappahannock River in VA hooked me on the sport. The Rappahannock is the most beautiful fishery I have seen (so far). My husband says I am spoiled in many ways- having both that fishery and the Potomac River so close to me – it’s spoiled me, that’s for sure.
KM.com: What’s the hardest part of pro fishing?
Christie: The hardest part of pro fishing so far is figuring out the balance between getting enough rest and getting enough practice. I am very competitive and hard on myself. If the sun is out for 16 hours on a practice day, I am on the water for 16 hours.
Since I do everything on my own and have limited time off work to practice, I can be exhausted by the time tournament day comes around. I know I will perform better if I figure out that balance for myself.
Keeping myself hydrated and eating right are also difficult. It’s funny- I spent years making sure my son didn’t eat too much junk and I find myself eating almost nothing but junk while on the road.
KM.com: You’ve become famous now as being the “GEICO Gal”. What does it feel like to represent one of the largest companies out there? Describe the pressure and the pride…
Christie: The first time I saw my new boat with the beautiful GEICO wrap, I knew I’d made it. My being a pro was “for real.” Only a few years ago, I remember watching Bassmaster on ESPN with my brother and talking about how amazing it would be to actually get paid to do what you love. And now, I do!
I look at my boat – with the “GEICO Power Sports” brand, the gecko holding a fishing pole, my name right there on the side of it, and sometimes, just shake my head and smile in disbelief.
My husband reminds me that I should be proud of what I’ve accomplished. Through hard work and persistence, I’m sponsored by one of the most well known companies in the country. Partnering with GEICO has allowed me to focus on fishing.
The recent ads GEICO placed in Bassmaster and North American Fisherman might be the greatest thing so far- they show that GEICO believes in women’s professional fishing. I think there’s mutual pride, in that I’m proud to be on their team, and I feel they are proud to have me as well.
I look forward strengthening this bond. Hopefully, it will help pave the way for other WBT pros, showing we can land major sponsorships. And hopefully, we’ll see more non-endemic sponsors support the tour as we realize our potential and the opportunities we have to offer sponsors.
KM.com: What’s the best part of pro fishing?
Christie: Everything! The drive- seeing so many parts of the country I might have never seen if I weren’t doing this like watching the confused look on people’s faces when they see me pull up to get fuel.
The girls- having other women (of all ages) talk to me about what I’m doing and seeing the sparkle in their eyes. Hearing and seeing those women at the weigh-ins: the ones you just know are there thinking they might like to try this. The opportunity to learn new bodies of water; figuring out the fish.
KM.com: Do you think the average person has any idea of the involvement and dedication it takes to fish pro?
Christie: When the WBT started, I was working in Washington DC. I can’t count the number of people I worked with who said “Isn’t fishing just pretty much luck?” I am sure the average person has no idea what it takes to fish professionally.
I think the only way to know this is to experience it – all of it, alone. From driving 23 hours towing a boat, to maintenance and repairs on the road, to changing trailer tires on the side of the interstate, to fishing in 100+ degree heat for 15 hours a day, returning to a cheap hotel, preparing your gear, boat and yourself to do it again the next day for 10 days in a row, then driving 23 hours back home.
Anyone who says anglers aren’t athletes has no idea what it takes.
KM.com: Do you see that women are more able to make a living by fishing professionally now?
Christi: I do think women are able to make a living fishing professionally, but not just by fishing tournaments – yet. I think plenty of the women I’ve competed against have what it takes to hang with the male pros. But speaking specifically of the WBT, I think we will get there in time.
As the tour gets more exposure, more sponsors will come on board, payouts will increase, etc. I’m sure some women do make a living fishing professionally (tournaments and guiding in some cases), but today, it’s probably only a handful of women. The women who are successful in the future will absolutely need to have the desire and drive to make it happen.
KM.com: What do you see for the future of this sport?
Christie: I am anxious to see what happens with the sport of professional fishing in the coming years. I obviously hope that it continues to grow. It’s changed so much in recent years, it’s hard to predict what the future will be like.
With the help of the PAA, I think the pros will start to have a lot more input than we may have had in the past. I only hope that the WBT continues to grow and expand to the rest of the country. Personally, I’d love to see a lot more ladies from my region join, so maybe one day we will see a WBT event on the Potomac River!
KM.com: And what are YOUR future goals?
Christie: To win an event, then Angler of the Year. I’m anxious to win a tournament – holding up the trophy will be amazing and a proud moment for me.
Angler of the Year is the greatest accomplishment one can achieve – it means consistently out-performing the competition, earning respect of everyone from fellow competitors to sponsors.
Christie is sponsored by GIECO, Triton Boats, Mercury Engines and Motor Guide Trolling Motors.By: Kathy Magers
