From life-saving to life-altering and life-affirming, the myriad stories from the bass fishing world have fueled Daily Limit columns over the past 10 years.
The author is proud to have penned articles on many of the sport’s legends, while also recording feats of potential greats along with news, trends and human interest topics.
As the Daily Limit enters its second decade, let’s look back at some of the author’s favorite posts.
Before heading to the 2015 Bassmaster Classic, I was scrolling social media and came upon a rather curious post from David Walker. Walker wrote that, during practice on Lake Hartwell, he pulled a man from the frigid waters.
Wait, what? Sure sounds like he saved the man’s life.
It was around 9 p.m., so I texted Walker to see if he was available. He was. After a short interview, the story, Walker pulls man from Lake Hartwell, was posted after 1 a.m. It was well-received, as was the follow-up story on the man he saved, Brandon Ardister, who said Walker was his “angel in a bass boat.”
Later that same year, another angler performed a rescue, although that situation wasn’t quite as dire. After pulling out a win in the Chesapeake Bay Elite, Aaron Martens added to his legend by pulling in a youth who had fallen from the dock. The Daily Limit had some fun reporting on the five big Bassmaster things happening that week, which included some Martens’ tall tales and him breezing toward his third AOY title.
One feels responsibility for a report worthy of the subject, most times an icon in the industry. Such was the tack taken to craft a take-out feature on long-time announcer Tommy Sanders, “Bassmaster TV’s unsung hero.” More recently, a well-sourced article was also the assignment when Sander’s long-time broadcast partner stepped back from LIVE – “Zona gone but will certainly never be forgotten.”
After so much had been written about The Great American Fisherman, there was pressure to capture that greatness when Roland Martin invited me to visit him in Naples, Fla., in 2018. “Rolling with Roland” provides enlightening details on how he strayed from the family’s engineering heritage into fishing.
Most days, Jerry McKinnis arrived first at the Little Rock office. I was often second, enjoying coffee he already made while at times getting to pick his brain on the latest Cardinal baseball news or Bassmaster event. He died in 2019, and I was assigned with writing an article, “McKinnis lived storybook life.”
As if that wasn’t enough to live up to, just months later, Forrest Wood died, prompting a feature on their lifelong bond, “The Forrest and Jerry story.”
Another favorite from 2019 was on Bassmaster photographer extraordinaire James Overstreet. Hit with a debilitating disease, JO espoused a positive philosophy in “Don’t get caught not living.”
Overstreet was laid up in a hospital when Rick Clunn rallied for his second win on the St. Johns, living his inspiring line from three years earlier – “Don’t accept your best moments are in the past.” Clunn has been the subject of several Daily Limit posts, many of which are linked in this article reflecting on his 50 years in B.A.S.S.
Magic can happen to anyone, as evidenced by Lee Livesay’s big final day to win the 2021 Lake Fork Elite. With his sister feeling the presence of their grandpa, Livesay’s victory touched on the supernatural. Another cool aspect was the Judge in Livesay’s boat, Molly Keen, who relished her small part in B.A.S.S. history.
Clunn came up in another interesting post that garnered tons of attention. A man bought a property in Festus, Mo., and discovered his barn find could be the holy grail of bass fishing, namely Clunn’s Ranger boat from his famous 1984 Classic win.
Perhaps the most ballyhooed Classic story is that of Bryan Kerchal, who won the title in 1994 as a B.A.S.S. Nation qualifier. Thirty years after, his dream lives on, with many believing Kerchal’s title had the greatest impact on the sport.
The pressure to win a Classic ramps up during competition, and those falling just short live with what-ifs. Canadian Jeff Gustafson nearly fell in that category on the Tennessee River in 2023, when after leading he suffered an excruciating final day with only two fish.
Finally, this detailed report on Easton Fothergill and family shows the great desire to make a mark in the fishing world. Fothergill displayed tremendous resolve to recover from brain surgery in time to compete in the 2023 College Bracket, which put him on the path to becoming Classic champ.
Those are just a sample of the fascinating stories I’ve had the pleasure of covering while working for B.A.S.S. Looking back at the amazing people and occurrences, one wonders what the future might hold.