A little bit about me!!

Softbaitmaker

New member
My friends said I should share something about myself so here it is!!
I am 69 years old and been bass fishing most of my life but really got into it hard 1983 when I began tournament fishing. I learned pretty fast that I was not as good as I thouht I was. I would bring a limit to the scales but my fish were not what it was going to take to compete. I did not join the ranks of the competitive anglers till about 1988 and I had just fished local events for about 5 years while honing my skills. I won my first event on Old Hickory lake in 1987 in a tournament that had about 55 boats in it. During those first years I spent every little bit of time I had on the water. During that time I also saw the anglers that continuosly finshed in the top 5 at events I fished. I realized that time on the water was necessary to be able to compete.
I also was in hot persuit of baits that they were fishing but could never find them. I began talking with bait shop owners and they said that many of the baits these guys were using had been discontinued and they would run out sooner or later and need to switch to new products. That was when I began asking Bait shop owners what the hot baits were back 3 or 4 years ago that were now gone and they didn't mind telling me and a couple even sold me a bag or 2 they had run across during inventories. That got me thinking and I began looking for a way to not use these baits but make more of them. After some research I found a manufacturer that not only had some of those molds in stock but would custom make molds if I could send them baits to make the proto type molds from. I spent the entire winter of 85-86 having molds made and learning how to make my own baits. It was with my own baits in the Spring of 1987 that I won my first tournament. I went on to win 5 more local tournaments that year and finishing in top 5 in several more. Bought a better boat that next winter to be able to make longer runs to places I could fish that I had to trailer to with old boat. Well, I guess that is enough to bore most of ya'll but there is a lot more to tell but will save that for another time.................... emoDance
 

Gator

Active member
Welcome to the CFF! It’s always good to learn about members like yourself. I don’t get up your way to fish but have fished Old Huckory when I lived in Franklin Tn. It’s s tough lake to fish.
 

Softbaitmaker

New member
Thanks for the welcome. Yea Old Hickory Lake does have it's moments of being tough for sure. It was a completely different lake up until 1995 when the lake underwent a complete destruction and fish kill. Bad guys were caught but damage was done. Old Hickory was a lake that would give Guntersville of the Chick a run for it's money for matted weeds and big fish. It was nothing to be able to go out and catch 5-10 bass over 6lbs everyday and a ton of 3+pounders. They a subcontractor hired by a ranking employee of the Corps Sprayed al the weed beds from the 109 Bridge to teh dam including all of the pockets and creeks along the Cumberland River. The subcontractor used the wrong poison and it did kill the weeds bu it also killed all species of fish too.
The smell of dead fish was so bad people could not fish for the stench of bloated dead fish floating everywhere. The Corps denied doing the kill and caught heck from everyone from anglers to the TWRA. Finally after enough complaints the Corps did a very deep investigation into what exactly happened. It turned out that big money contractor had purchased a large farm in one of the creeks that had some prime lake front property once the land was cleared and ready for houses. Thing was the builder knew that all the matted weeds would keep the land values down around the property so he bribed the guy at the Corps to get the weeds gone. Knowing he could not use one of the normal contractors to do it without authorization from higher ups he hired the subcontractor to do the job. The lake is still trying to recover from the fish kill from 22 years ago and the lake is just now beginning to see a possibility off getting some mats back but they are few and far bewteen and small. I will be in the grave before Old Hckory will be the lake it was in 1994. The Corps fired and prosecuted the employee and they fined the Land owner builder contractor $25,000.00. Everyone thought he should have been put in jail also but his Karma got him when the housing bubble bursted and he went belly up total bankruptcy and lost his housing developement and had about 20 house priced at 2+ million bucks a piece completed and several sold when the bubble burst. There was about 30 houses half done that did not have any work done on them for about 4 years when a new contractor purchased the development at auction.
 

Gator

Active member
Wow!!
I wasn’t aware of that. I moved away from there in 1992. Sounds like he should have been jailed before the anglers killed him.
 

fischnrod

Active member
Welcome !!! I have always wanted to fish Old Hickory maybe I can get you to take me out some day on that lake.
 

Softbaitmaker

New member
<font size="2">I guess there was probably a lot of them that wanted to hang him if they could have got their hands on him but he stay well out of the public eye for a long time after it was released what had happen. I don't thnk the name of the subcontractor that did the spraying was ever disclosed which he and his company was never charged with anything because he thought he was working for Corps and was being paid to do a job. The effects on the fish was almost imediate. it took about 2 years to killed all the weeds. TWRA began collecting fish when they realized that is was not a cause of LMBV because it was killing all species. Test came back with the chemical results and TWRA began an investigation immediately. Corps kept saying they did not do it and had no records of it. It was a tight lipped investigation because first they had to find out who did it and who would profit from it. If you fished Old Hickory in 1992 you probably remember all the matted weeds we had back then.</font>
 

Softbaitmaker

New member
<font size="2">Thanks for the welcome benchwarmer. I wish I could have not known about a fish kill and that it never happened but it did and it crushed a bunch of folks that cmae from 100's of miles to fish it like they do G'Ville and the Chick. It knock the fishing tourism down to almost nothing for about 5 years.</font>
 

Softbaitmaker

New member
<font size="2">If weather conditions would work out I would be glad to take you out for a while but as I have gotten older and on more meds I have to be careful about being on the water in direct sunlight and it be 75+ in temps. I get to fish in Spring some and in Fall some and a lot of night fishing in summer when Son In law can go fishing. I don't go by myself any more.</font>
 
Top