RICHMOND, Va. — A nearly dead-last finish at bass fishing’s world championship paved way for what evolved into a bass fishing career lasting 25 years and counting for Art Ferguson.
“It was the most intimidating and exciting experience I’ve had in bass fishing,” recalled Ferguson, now in his 25th year of B.A.S.S. competition.
The Michigan native, now 50, is back where fateful events turned his way on the James River, also site of this week’s Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open presented by Allstate.
Ferguson, then 25, was among the youngest anglers fishing the 1990 Bassmaster Classic. He qualified through the club ranks of the B.A.S.S. Nation. It was a remarkable achievement considering his age and the vetting process for getting there.
What Michigan’s state champion and top angler from the Northern Division remembered most was the final weigh-in. The Richmond Coliseum was packed with 23,000 fans. The crowd worked itself into a cheering frenzy with the entrance of top pros, including local favorite Woo Daves. Then Ferguson entered the arena and the crowd went silent. He climbed on the stage empty-handed.
“I didn’t know what to say or do,” he said. “My family was there, all five of my sisters, and it was a moment to both remember and forget.”
He would finish 40th, one spot ahead of last place.
As fate would have it, Ferguson found a way to make his living bass fishing despite the bad luck. Weeks before he quit his job as an apprentice plumber. Plumbing was his father’s trade and it was family expectation for the son to follow his footsteps.
At the Classic he was recruited by Roland Martin to guide at his marina on Lake Okeechobee. Ferguson jumped on the opportunity and moved to south Florida. He stayed 14 years while competing on the Bassmaster Tournament Trail.
Ferguson later launched his own guide business. He continued building his resume with three more Classic appearances in 1999, 2000 and 2004.
“Back then I considered myself a tournament angler and then a guide,” he said.
The priorities are reversed with Ferguson now calling himself a full-time guide and part-time tournament angler. From April through November you will find him guiding clients for trophy smallmouth on Lake St. Clair, where his angling roots are firmly grounded. What else keeps him there is a home, family and Maria, his Canadian girlfriend.
“What life is all about at this point is a good relationship and the balance between work and family,” he said.
Ferguson is a snowbird among bass guides when the fall chill sweeps across Michigan. By November, he will be guiding on the Kissimmee Chain and other central trophy largemouth lakes in Central Florida. He keeps a home there and winter weary customers happy.
What appeals most to him isn’t what you might believe. Having the opportunity to make a living catching trophy smallmouth in summer and Florida largemouth in winter seems the ultimate in job satisfaction.
“What I like most is teaching people how to catch the fish,” he said.
A recent student was Jon Lester, the franchise pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. Worlds collided with the matchup since Ferguson is an avid baseball fan.
“We talked baseball most of the day,” said Ferguson, a diehard fan of the Detroit Tigers.
More common aboard Ferguson’s boat are repeat customers, many loyally following him from Michigan to Florida for 25 years.
“I’m at a point where my many of my customers are like extended family,” he said.
Somehow he finds time to run another business, Provider Tackle. Like many indie bait companies his started in the garage. It’s still there but Ferguson is the lone employee, handling everything from hand-tying the brand’s jigs to taking orders and shipping.
This week Ferguson’s mind is on returning to the Classic, via the river where that quest began. He’ll have more chances at Oneida Lake, where he won the 2002 Open, and at the season finale on Lake Erie, where he’s a veteran guide.