eBassFish Newsletter

June - 2008

New Skeeter for Freeman!

photo by Richard Freeman

On Saturday, May 31, WBT angler Denese Freeman took delivery of her new SX170 Skeeter. Phil Pearson, General Manager of H&H Marine in Oklahoma City was honored to close the deal and present Denese with her $25,000
Women's Bassmaster Tour 1st Place co-angler prize package from the Lake Lewisville event in April.

Woman On Board! by Linda Berry
(Written for the current issue of Bass Anglers' Guide Magazine in California,
this was the first article submitted by a female in the 17 year history of the publication)

photo by Denese Freeman
Kathy Magers and Charlotte Frazier of Texas
share the boat during pre-fish.

I was on my way to Lewisville, Texas recently to fish my very first tournament as a boater on the Women’s Bassmaster Tour, when I received a call from Katrina DeHaven, a pro-angler from Arizona. Many of you on the West Coast may have heard of or met Katrina, a beautiful and vibrant young lady who chose tournament fishing over a corporate career after being told by her doctors that if she wanted to live – she needed to get outdoors and start living.

I met Katrina at a Bassmaster Classic in Florida in 2006. She was one of the first women anglers I interviewed for ebassfish.com, an on-line magazine my sister and I created that is devoted to women anglers and their right to tournament fish in a predominately male sport. I remember being so intrigued by Katrina’s story that I quit taking notes and sit in awe as she described her childhood and her journey from the corporate world to tournament angler. Katrina was taught as a child by her father to fish blind-folded . He told her that if you lose one sense you compensate that lose with another sense. In learning to fish, this allows you to feel and define the structure and the bite and sense what the fish are doing through touch and sound.

Katrina’s story is unique as is all the women anglers I have interviewed over the years, but I have found that we have one basic element in common – our passion for the sport. Most of us fished as children and as we got caught up in other life events, fishing became something we “use to do”. One good thing about fishing is that you never forget how nor do you forget who taught you to fish. Sooner or later, we get the opportunity or feel the urge to “go fishing” again. It is in our blood!

My mom taught me to fish, but my husband taught me to bass fish. It was at a point in my life when I actually had some time for myself after raising two children. Once I got hooked on bass fishing, I went every day - after work and on weekends and sometimes I would play “hooky” from work to go fishing. I was hungry for any knowledge I could gather on the sport. I read every magazine I could get my hands on and watched all the “fishing shows” on TV. The day I found out there was actually a tournament competition for women anglers and that many of them owned their own bass boats, I knew I had found my path in life. I decided to give tournament angling a try and sent in my membership for Bass N Gals, a national trail for women anglers. I fished a couple of events as a co-angler and absolutely loved it. Being around so many female anglers who shared my passion for fishing was overwhelming to say the least.

I also found out that tournament fishing was an expensive hobby. All the events were usually 800 plus miles from my home in North Carolina. In addition, it was hard to get the time off from my job as manager of a local hardware store. I concluded that I could fish a complete year on another trail close to home for the expense of one Bass n Gal tournament. The only problem was that these trails were predominately male and in most cases I would be the only female entered in the event as a co-angler. I was use to fishing from the back of the boat with my husband, but how would these guys accept a woman on board their boat, much less competing against one? I had no problem with it myself, so I sent in my entry fees to the Carolina Division of the Red Man Trail, which is now the BFL. Finally, I could compete without missing so many days from work, the entry fees were lower and all the tournaments were within 200 miles of my home. I knew it wouldn’t be the same as fishing with the women, but it would allow me to compete and give me some much needed experience.

The first tournament was the most intimidating - not knowing what to expect or how I would be treated by these guys - but I decided I would show up with a good attitude and not give them any reason to complain about their female co-angler. After all, we were all there for the same reason and I wasn’t competing against the guy on the front of the boat, I was competing against the other co-anglers and the fish. As it turned out, I did all my worrying for nothing! Except for the occasional ribbing they got from a handful of the other guys about drawing a woman partner, all the boaters I drew over the next several years accepted me as an angler first and a woman second. After a few months on the trail, they knew I was there to fish and that I was a serious competitor. I took advantage of this opportunity to improve my fishing skills and my people skills. Every day on the water is a learning experience and every angler you are paired with at a tournament whether they are male or female, has their own fishing style and their own personality. You have to learn to adjust to both from the back of the boat. No different really than co-existing with family, friends or co-workers.

Another issue you have to address when pairing male and female anglers together is the bathroom situation. In my early years of tournament angling, I trained myself to make it through the tournament day without going to the restroom and I would tell my male boater first thing before we launched that if he needed to go anytime during the day to just to say so and I would turn my back. No problem as far as I was concerned - and for the majority of the guys I fished with it was not a problem either. In recent years, most tournament rules now allow for a bathroom break and either angler can leave the boat to answer nature’s call as long as the angler remaining on board ceases fishing. The best news is that there is a product out now called "The Bassroom" that solves the dilemma of "where and how to go". It is a privacy system designed to fit most bass boats that sets up quickly and gives anglers more fishing time and less "down" time. You can learn more about "the BassRoom" at CoverYourBass.com

Remember Katrina, the girl I mentioned in the beginning of this article? She was calling to wish me luck as a first time boater. When she fished her first tournament as a boater two years ago, I was her first co-angler. In recent months, Katrina’s health has deteriorated. The same doctor who told her to get outdoors and live now tells her that she can no longer fish and do the things that gave her so much joy in life. Plagued with medical problems since birth, her body is giving out. Katrina is the perfect example of why we should chase our dreams, whatever they may be, while we still can.

There is really no excuse these days for women not to compete in any sport of choice. So many doors have opened for us. Did you know that 33% of all anglers are women. I challenge you to take that first step and climb aboard the back of a boat, fish as a co-angler is some tournaments and decide if tournament angling is right for you. Ladies, what are you waiting for?

(editor's note: The article written about Katrina DeHaven in 2006 is titled "Blessed for Success" and can be accessed in the article archives of ebassfish.com. Click here to read.)

Neely Henry Winners
WBT
Pam Martin-Wells
Pro-angler -Georgia

Marilyn Biszmaier
Co-angler - Kentucky

Don't forget!
Flag Day - June 14th
Click here to view larger photo
Photo is courtesy of
Warriors On The Water and was
taken at Jordan Lake in North Carolina
on April 18th.

It's A Wrap!

Featured Wrap
FoxFire Alarm Systems

Debra Hengst - San Antonio, Texas

National Fishing
and Boating Week
June 1 - 8

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