A SEASON AT THE BASS WARS

by Nick Taylor ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 21, 1987

An engrossing tale of the obscure and slightly oddball world of competitive bass fishing. As free-lance writer Taylor quickly learned, bass are not trout. Trout are chased down woodland streams by anglers wearing Abercrombie & Fitch, while bass can be found in just about any freshwater: they're ""tavern brawlers"" ready to do battle with nemeses in funky shorts and baseball hats bearing corporate loges. Bass fishing is so populist that, one day in 1967, promoter Roy Scott decided to establish bass-fishing competitions, a regular ""season"" leading up a ""Masters Classic Tournament""--a World Series of bass fishing. Twenty years later, the Bass Angler Sportsman Society has nearly half a million members; and Taylor chose to follow some of the top pros from Midwestern lake to lake as they worked their way towards the dream of the Classic. The rules are simple: a time limit, two men to a boat (to eliminate cheating--in some tournaments a polygraph for the top finishers is de rigueur), and the winner with the weightiest load of fish taking all. The fishermen themselves are fascinating. There are the young ones like Randy Mosely and Randy Blaukat, college-educated, good ""communicators"" hip to television. And the older ones: all-time tournament money-winner Roland Martin, and Taylor's chief subject, closemouthed Rick Clunn, who is 40 going on 80 when it comes to catching black bass, and who says things like ""It's amazing, the interconnectedness of it all."" None of the three anglers wins the Classic in Tennessee, but their journey towards it is a poignant one. Recommended reading for fishing buffs and just plain sports fans.

Pub Date: Dec. 21, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1987

Categories: NONFICTION