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| FishTails |
Hooked on Competition
Hurricane woman gains recognition on pro bass circuit
[April 4, 2003] - John McCoy <wild.word@verizon.net> Daily
Mail Outdoors editor
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Shelley Perry - The hectic life of a professional bass angler doesn’t
seem to faze Hurricane’s Shelley Perry, who has embraced the lifestyle and is determined to succeed. Whether she’s
pitching a jig to bass at a local lake, or hauling lunkers out of her livewell at a tournament weigh-in, the 34-year-old
attacks her profession with an enthusiast’s fervor.
Photo: John McCoy |
HURRICANE -- It's hard to forget the high-profile names of America's most accomplished bass anglers.
Television exposure and advertising hype have etched their names in gold in the minds of weekend anglers throughout
the country. Roland Martin is a household name. So are Rick Clunn, Shaw Grigsby and Guido Hibdon.
Shelley Perry wants to join that star-studded circle.
Before she does, she'll need to take care of a little business. She'll need to win a few big tournaments, and she'll
need to land a few big-money endorsement contracts.
"It could happen," says Perry.
It already has, to some extent. In just two seasons in the cast-for-cash business, the 34-year-old former homemaker
from Hurricane has enjoyed better-than-average success on both the Women's Bass Fishing Association professional
tour and the Bass Angler Sportsman Society pro-am circuit.
She's currently third in the Angler-of-the-Year points on the women's tour, and has earned paychecks in two of
the four B.A.S.S. events she's entered.
For someone who never even fished for bass until 10 years ago, that's quite a transformation. Perry started fishing
in 1993 when her husband, Larry, a die-hard bass fisherman, convinced her to join him as he fished in local tournaments.
"Until then, I'd only fished for catfish," she says. "I got hooked on bass fishing -- especially
the tournament end of it -- pretty quickly. Larry and I fished in a lot of club tournaments, and he taught me a
lot of what I know now."
To mimic her husband's fishing techniques, Perry had to learn to use bait-casting tackle, something she'd never
done before. The learning curve was steep.
"Larry was the tournament angler, and I basically held down the back of the boat," she says. "But
as I got better, we started competing with each other. Then we started competing together."
The Perrys started fishing the Guys and Dolls circuit, a series of tournaments for teams of men and women, in 1999.
Competing in regional events, they qualified to compete in the U.S.A. Couples Championship.
That success spurred Shelley to enter a Kentucky tournament sponsored by the Women's Bass Fishing Association.
The timing was poor, but the results were anything but.
"I was going to school at the time, working to get my degree in park resources and leisure services,"
she says. "I had to make arrangements with my professors to take exams early and to hand in homework assignments
ahead of schedule. But in that first tournament on Kentucky Lake, I finished ninth."
Encouraged, Perry jumped headlong into the professional ranks and entered tournament after tournament. She finished
2000, her first year on the women's tour, as runner-up for rookie-of-the-year honors. Her 10th-place finish in
the overall standings qualified her for the championship tournament.
"I finished third in that tournament, and that finally earned some respect from the veterans on the tour,"
she says.
That respect increased early the following spring, when Perry cracked the winner's circle for the first time as
a pro.
"It was at Lake Neely Henry in Gadsden, Ala.," she recalls. "I was in second place after the tournament's
first day, and when I had another good day and won the tournament, it made people take notice."
The win catapulted Perry into first place in angler-of-the-year standings, where she remained most of the year.
She finished fourth, and again qualified for the season-ending championship.
As if women's tournaments weren't keeping her busy enough, Perry also began competing in Bass Angler Sportsman
Society tournaments, which are open to women but dominated by men. Because she didn't yet meet the rigorous requirements
to fish the pro-am tournaments' high-dollar "pro side," she entered them as an amateur.
Again, she enjoyed immediate success.
"In my first tournament, I was in 14th place after two days and made the cut to fish on Saturday," she
recalls. "I ended up 20th, and earned a check in my very first event."
Perry says fishing "with the big boys" has taught her some of the lessons she needs to take her angling
skills to a higher level.
"I get to fish with guys who have been doing this for years," she says. "Eventually, I'd like to
get my name drawn to partner with some of the big-name guys. I know I'd learn a lot, just watching them."
Being a professional bass angler has become a full-time job for Perry. Her tournament schedule keeps her and her
husband on the road throughout the year, and a growing lineup of seminars and personal appearances threatens to
jam her calendar past the bursting point.
"It was a thrill the first time I ever had to say, 'Let me check my calendar,' " she says. "Now
it's starting to get overwhelming. The season never ends."
Fortunately for Perry, she has plenty of support. Her in-laws take care of her 13-year-old daughter, April, while
she and her husband are away at tournaments.
Her friends are supportive, too. "I thought at first they wouldn't understand what was happening," she
says. "I thought they might shun me because of the whole 'fishing-tomboy' thing. But that's not the case.
They watch for my results in the newspapers, and they clip the articles."
Perry also heaps credit on her growing list of sponsors.
"I represent Nitro Boats, Mercury Outboards, Mid-State Marina in Sutton, Minn Kota Trolling Motors, Gambler
Worms, Rat-L-Trap Lures, Silver Buddy Lures and Warrior Rods," she says. "Those are regional-level sponsorships.
The better I finish in the national tournaments, the better chance I have of turning some of those into national
sponsorships."
The bottom line, she says, is to eventually hit the big time.
"I'd like to be the first woman to fish in the Bassmaster Classic," she says. "That's the Super
Bowl of bass fishing. If I can't be the first woman, I'd at least like to fish in it someday. If that ever happens,
I'll have reached my goal -- to be a household name, and to have people talk about the products I'm endorsing.
"I love what I'm doing, but I'm serious about it and I want very much to excel at it."
So far, so good.
Writer John McCoy can be reached at 736-6186.
As published in the Charleston Daily Mail, 4-4-03. Reprinted with permission. |
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