They wear logo-covered shirts, drive ear-splitting, high-powered machines and fiercely compete for $1 million purses. They are mobbed by autograph-seeking fans and featured in Super Bowl ads.
NASCAR drivers? Nope.
Professional bass fishermen. At least pros such as Skeet Reese of Auburn.
And, while Reese's venue is the same as that of the average weekend angler, he brings a competitive drive to the water every bit as intense as what NASCAR drivers bring to the racetrack.
"I've always loved being outdoors and on the water," said Reese, 36. "I'm also a competition junkie, and it (disappoints me) when I can't catch a fish."
It's that competitive drive that has put him in the top tier on the pro bass-fishing circuit. BassFan.com - which ranks anglers based on their performance at sanctioned bass tournaments - has him at No. 10 this week, though he was ranked No. 1 at times last year. He was No. 3 in the world briefly at the beginning of this year. He recently appeared in a 60-second commercial that premiered during the Super Bowl for Mobile ESPN along with top pro athletes from a variety of sports.
Starting Friday, he'll skim across the waters around Kissimmee, Fla., along with 50 other top pro bass fishermen in the country (including two other Northern Californians, Greg Gutierrez of Red Bluff and Mike Reynolds of Modesto) in the 36th Citgo Bassmaster Classic. They'll be searching for the winning catch that could net the first-place prize of $500,000. (The fish are kept alive in the boats' "live wells" and released after weigh-in.)
Unless you've been paying attention, you might be surprised to learn that sport fishing is a $116 billion business and that it has more than 50 million participants, according to statistics provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the American Sportfishing Association.
Bass are found in every state except Alaska, but only a few anglers ever have success like Reese's. It didn't happen overnight. It was more like a lifetime. But he started early.
Fishing since he was a tyke
As a 3-year-old, Reese was catching bluegill with his parents at Spring Lake, near their home in Rohnert Park. From there, where his love for the outdoors and fishing was first nurtured, Reese quickly progressed to bass - and competition.
"I vividly remember catching my first bass when I was 8," he said. "I got my first float tube when I was 10, and that really got me hooked. I read an article about Rick Clunn, the godfather of bass fishing, in U.S. Bass magazine when I was 12, and I thought that had to be the coolest job in the world.
"I joined the Redwood Empire Bass Club when I was 14, and got my first bass boat when I was 18. I didn't even have a vehicle to tow it, but I figured that I could always find someone to get me to the lake."
Reese was right. There were lots more people who had tow vehicles than had boats, and they were happy to take him to the water.
He started competitive fishing in one-day tournaments, then graduated to the WON (Western Outdoor News) Bass and Western Bass circuits. He had good success his first year as a pro in 1997, especially in the Delta and on Clear Lake, two of his favorite spots.
At that time, Reese was managing the merchandising, marketing and sales departments for Outdoor Pro Shop in Rohnert Park.
"I think it is super what Skeet has achieved," said Ken Elie, owner of Outdoor Pro Shop. "He was managing the store by the time he left, but when he started working here in 1992, he was just a little snot-nosed punk kid with big dreams. But he made his dreams come true. We're very, very proud of him."
It was while working at the store that Reese decided to act on his dream of going pro.
"It was a great job, but that was when I had to make the decision to make a 100 percent commitment to professional bass fishing," Reese said. "I went for it, because I didn't want to have regrets later on, wondering what would have happened if I had only tried.
"My timing was just perfect. I won my first five tournaments after I quit, won Angler of the Year, and my first trip to the Bassmaster Classic. It was a real roller-coaster ride: TV, media, sponsors ... and it gave me the opportunity to show my personality. It was wild."
Not always as fun as it may look
The professional circuit and the money and the fame may look glamorous - and the work even may look easy. But only the biggest fishers at the top of the food chain survive.
Reese said many anglers jump into tournament bass fishing but eventually burn out on the rigors of constant travel, spotty tournament success and the strain on finances and family.
"I'm on the road 250 to 275 days a year," he said. "It's tough to be away that much, and tough on the family. That's the No. 1 thing in my life - my wife, Kim, my 3-year-old daughter, Leah. And we have another one on the way.
"I'm very lucky, because I've been fishing full time since I met Kim (at a sport fishing show in San Mateo) and she's never known anything different. She's from the music industry, so she understands the life of being on the road."
Even when he's home between tournaments, Reese is working. Last month, he made back-to-back, multiday appearances at International Sportsmen's Expositions held in San Mateo and Sacramento. He was home for a few days, but soon was on the road again to Arizona to pick up his bass boat, powered by a Mercury engine, that had been newly "wrapped" with his sponsors' logos.
After driving back to Auburn, he spent a couple of days at Folsom Lake to make sure his boat was in top shape and ready for the upcoming Bassmaster Classic. He even squeezed in a little fishing mixed with more sponsor business. Then, he was on the road again - this time by air, to Japan for a bass fishing trade show in Osaka.
Sport's growth huge
As with NASCAR, there's been explosive growth in professional bass fishing. Now, with ESPN and BASS Federation Nation swimming in the same water, the money and the prestige are building.
It's a far cry from the first Bassmaster Classic, in 1971 at Lake Mead outside Las Vegas, where the spectators barely numbered more than the competitors and their families.
"I get the question almost every day about whether I ever in my wildest dreams thought the Classic would get this big," said BASS founder Ray Scott in an ESPN news release. "I never dreamt it. I would love to say this was my master plan. But the truth is, I was so busy living the moment and trying to get to Monday without going broke that I couldn't have dreamed that big."
In recent years, as many as 20,000 fans have attended final weigh-ins, and this year, ESPN, which puts on the Bassmaster Classic as well as the series of qualifying tournaments leading up to it, will provide coverage (on ESPN and ESPN2) which is expected to draw millions of viewers.
While having the backing of a sports media heavyweight such as ESPN has brought the bass circuit prestige and money, it's also brought changes, including dropping, for now, the Western circuit. That's tough, since Reese achieved much of his initial success competing in western BASS events in the prime waters of Clear Lake and the Delta.
However, BASS is committed to returning to the West soon, according to BASS vice president and general manager Don Rucks.
"The West is a very important region to BASS, and we realize there is a large contingent of anglers who are interested in fishing BASS tournaments," Rucks said. "Though several anglers from the West currently fish our tournament trails, we are exploring the possibility of hosting events in the West, including an Elite Series swing, a Tour event and possibly even a Bassmaster Classic. But we want to be sure that all details are in place so that when we arrive in the West, we arrive strong."
None will cheer the return more enthusiastically than Reese, his fans - and his family.
About the writer:
Jim Jones of Fair Oaks is a freelance writer who specializes in fishing and other outdoor sports. Reach him at outdoors@sacbee.com.
SKEET REESE
Home: Auburn
Age: 36
Wife: Kim
Daughter: Leah Marie
Years tournament fishing: 22
Hobbies: Fishing and golf
Some career highlights
* 2003 Citgo Bassmaster Pro Tour Champion, Harris Chain, Fla.
* Seven-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier
* 24 top-10 tournament finishes since 1998
* 2002 Western Bass Forrest Wood Open champion
* 2001 BASS Western points champion
* 2000 BASS Western Invitational champion
* More than $1 million in career winnings
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NASCAR drivers? Nope.
Professional bass fishermen. At least pros such as Skeet Reese of Auburn.
And, while Reese's venue is the same as that of the average weekend angler, he brings a competitive drive to the water every bit as intense as what NASCAR drivers bring to the racetrack.
"I've always loved being outdoors and on the water," said Reese, 36. "I'm also a competition junkie, and it (disappoints me) when I can't catch a fish."
It's that competitive drive that has put him in the top tier on the pro bass-fishing circuit. BassFan.com - which ranks anglers based on their performance at sanctioned bass tournaments - has him at No. 10 this week, though he was ranked No. 1 at times last year. He was No. 3 in the world briefly at the beginning of this year. He recently appeared in a 60-second commercial that premiered during the Super Bowl for Mobile ESPN along with top pro athletes from a variety of sports.
Starting Friday, he'll skim across the waters around Kissimmee, Fla., along with 50 other top pro bass fishermen in the country (including two other Northern Californians, Greg Gutierrez of Red Bluff and Mike Reynolds of Modesto) in the 36th Citgo Bassmaster Classic. They'll be searching for the winning catch that could net the first-place prize of $500,000. (The fish are kept alive in the boats' "live wells" and released after weigh-in.)
Unless you've been paying attention, you might be surprised to learn that sport fishing is a $116 billion business and that it has more than 50 million participants, according to statistics provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the American Sportfishing Association.
Bass are found in every state except Alaska, but only a few anglers ever have success like Reese's. It didn't happen overnight. It was more like a lifetime. But he started early.
Fishing since he was a tyke
As a 3-year-old, Reese was catching bluegill with his parents at Spring Lake, near their home in Rohnert Park. From there, where his love for the outdoors and fishing was first nurtured, Reese quickly progressed to bass - and competition.
"I vividly remember catching my first bass when I was 8," he said. "I got my first float tube when I was 10, and that really got me hooked. I read an article about Rick Clunn, the godfather of bass fishing, in U.S. Bass magazine when I was 12, and I thought that had to be the coolest job in the world.
"I joined the Redwood Empire Bass Club when I was 14, and got my first bass boat when I was 18. I didn't even have a vehicle to tow it, but I figured that I could always find someone to get me to the lake."
Reese was right. There were lots more people who had tow vehicles than had boats, and they were happy to take him to the water.
He started competitive fishing in one-day tournaments, then graduated to the WON (Western Outdoor News) Bass and Western Bass circuits. He had good success his first year as a pro in 1997, especially in the Delta and on Clear Lake, two of his favorite spots.
At that time, Reese was managing the merchandising, marketing and sales departments for Outdoor Pro Shop in Rohnert Park.
"I think it is super what Skeet has achieved," said Ken Elie, owner of Outdoor Pro Shop. "He was managing the store by the time he left, but when he started working here in 1992, he was just a little snot-nosed punk kid with big dreams. But he made his dreams come true. We're very, very proud of him."
It was while working at the store that Reese decided to act on his dream of going pro.
"It was a great job, but that was when I had to make the decision to make a 100 percent commitment to professional bass fishing," Reese said. "I went for it, because I didn't want to have regrets later on, wondering what would have happened if I had only tried.
"My timing was just perfect. I won my first five tournaments after I quit, won Angler of the Year, and my first trip to the Bassmaster Classic. It was a real roller-coaster ride: TV, media, sponsors ... and it gave me the opportunity to show my personality. It was wild."
Not always as fun as it may look
The professional circuit and the money and the fame may look glamorous - and the work even may look easy. But only the biggest fishers at the top of the food chain survive.
Reese said many anglers jump into tournament bass fishing but eventually burn out on the rigors of constant travel, spotty tournament success and the strain on finances and family.
"I'm on the road 250 to 275 days a year," he said. "It's tough to be away that much, and tough on the family. That's the No. 1 thing in my life - my wife, Kim, my 3-year-old daughter, Leah. And we have another one on the way.
"I'm very lucky, because I've been fishing full time since I met Kim (at a sport fishing show in San Mateo) and she's never known anything different. She's from the music industry, so she understands the life of being on the road."
Even when he's home between tournaments, Reese is working. Last month, he made back-to-back, multiday appearances at International Sportsmen's Expositions held in San Mateo and Sacramento. He was home for a few days, but soon was on the road again to Arizona to pick up his bass boat, powered by a Mercury engine, that had been newly "wrapped" with his sponsors' logos.
After driving back to Auburn, he spent a couple of days at Folsom Lake to make sure his boat was in top shape and ready for the upcoming Bassmaster Classic. He even squeezed in a little fishing mixed with more sponsor business. Then, he was on the road again - this time by air, to Japan for a bass fishing trade show in Osaka.
Sport's growth huge
As with NASCAR, there's been explosive growth in professional bass fishing. Now, with ESPN and BASS Federation Nation swimming in the same water, the money and the prestige are building.
It's a far cry from the first Bassmaster Classic, in 1971 at Lake Mead outside Las Vegas, where the spectators barely numbered more than the competitors and their families.
"I get the question almost every day about whether I ever in my wildest dreams thought the Classic would get this big," said BASS founder Ray Scott in an ESPN news release. "I never dreamt it. I would love to say this was my master plan. But the truth is, I was so busy living the moment and trying to get to Monday without going broke that I couldn't have dreamed that big."
In recent years, as many as 20,000 fans have attended final weigh-ins, and this year, ESPN, which puts on the Bassmaster Classic as well as the series of qualifying tournaments leading up to it, will provide coverage (on ESPN and ESPN2) which is expected to draw millions of viewers.
While having the backing of a sports media heavyweight such as ESPN has brought the bass circuit prestige and money, it's also brought changes, including dropping, for now, the Western circuit. That's tough, since Reese achieved much of his initial success competing in western BASS events in the prime waters of Clear Lake and the Delta.
However, BASS is committed to returning to the West soon, according to BASS vice president and general manager Don Rucks.
"The West is a very important region to BASS, and we realize there is a large contingent of anglers who are interested in fishing BASS tournaments," Rucks said. "Though several anglers from the West currently fish our tournament trails, we are exploring the possibility of hosting events in the West, including an Elite Series swing, a Tour event and possibly even a Bassmaster Classic. But we want to be sure that all details are in place so that when we arrive in the West, we arrive strong."
None will cheer the return more enthusiastically than Reese, his fans - and his family.
About the writer:
Jim Jones of Fair Oaks is a freelance writer who specializes in fishing and other outdoor sports. Reach him at outdoors@sacbee.com.
SKEET REESE
Home: Auburn
Age: 36
Wife: Kim
Daughter: Leah Marie
Years tournament fishing: 22
Hobbies: Fishing and golf
Some career highlights
* 2003 Citgo Bassmaster Pro Tour Champion, Harris Chain, Fla.
* Seven-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier
* 24 top-10 tournament finishes since 1998
* 2002 Western Bass Forrest Wood Open champion
* 2001 BASS Western points champion
* 2000 BASS Western Invitational champion
* More than $1 million in career winnings
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