I’m not sure where to start to describe the impact bass fishing has had on my life. I think it’s safe to say that I have gotten a lot more out of bass fishing than probably any of my other hobbies combined. It’s a sport that has provided me a lifetime of great memories and has allowed me to make some of the best friends a man could ever ask for.
Let’s start by going way back to my early days of fishing on our ranch in East Texas. What a great training ground it was! I was basically self-taught after being introduced to bass fishing by my best friend’s dad (who also sparked my interest in hunting as well.)
By the age of 10 (in 1972), I was a subscriber to Bassmaster Magazine which really lit my fuse for basic bass fishing information. What a great publication full of tips and tricks with full scale color drawings on how, when and where to catch fish. I would literally sit by the mailbox with excitement waiting on each issue.
For a young boy who was not an avid reader and struggled with dyslexia, if it wasn’t for Bassmaster Magazine, I’m not sure I would have learned how to read at all. This magazine gave me a purpose and a reason to learn how to read!
I remember the first tackle box I ever saw; it belonged to my dad. I was enthralled with going through it and handling all the funny looking baits. Some I had learned about through my Bassmaster Magazine, while there were other baits I had never seen before.
Now many of these baits never made it back to dad’s tackle box because I lost most of them on a stump or a log in one of our stock ponds on the ranch. Dad was never much of a fisherman, but he would do inventory occasionally to see just how many of his lures I had lost.
He never really got upset about the lures lost in action, but I could tell he was disappointed that some were missing. I guess he was just happy I found something I was passionate about other than baseball.
Well, baseball did take up much of my time up until 1985. It was then, during a routine physical, that my doctor randomly asked me what I was going to do to fill the void of my baseball playing days. I told him that I would probably play a little softball, a lot more golf, and bass fish.
Little did I know, it would be a friend of mine who would introduce me to tournament fishing by asking me to fish a night tournament on Lake Bistineau. This was life changing for me and ignited my passion for competitive bass fishing.
After fishing local and regional team trails up until 1998, I decided to take my fishing to the next level by fishing the highest level on the FLW Tour as a co-angler. But I also jumped in the BFL’s (the lowest level of FLW) and fished as a boater/pro while also entering the FLW Everstart Series (now Toyota Series) and Bassmaster Opens, which for the last 20 years has been my passion.
For the last 8 years, I’ve basically been dedicated to a couple of tournament trails within American Bass Anglers Organization: one called the Solo 150’s (their highest level) and the other called the new Pro League. Both I have truly enjoyed and still look forward to fishing.
But, over the years, I have made some lifelong friends and connections with some of the biggest names in the bass fishing world. These people, who have achieved so much, also introduced me to others who have had a huge impact on me as an angler and a person.
There’s something about the bond anglers have that is so special. These are guys who will come to your rescue in time of need on and off the water. Guys you can share information with and that you can trust to keep that info to themselves.
At each tournament, memories are made. Stories are told over and over of situations we have been in before and stories of great days on the water both during practice and the tournament. But understand, anglers tend to exaggerate or stretch the truth occasionally.
But the bonds you share with other anglers is what makes bass fishing such an enjoyable sport. Till next time, keep on fishing and keep on setting the hook as you never know, the next fish you catch just might be the fish of a lifetime.
Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com
