Entry 86-5

Emily Shaffer: Professional Angler

How I Started Tournament Fishing

Editor's Note: Emily Shaffer from Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, a member of the Strike King Pro Staff for 14 years, has hunted and fished all her life with her dad and her brother. She actually met her husband, Larry, at a bass-fishing tournament weigh-in on Percy Priest Lake in 1988. He asked her to go fishing at 5:00 a.m. the next morning, and the two have been together ever since. Shaffer fishes the WBFA Tournament Trail (Women's Bass Fishing Association), and she began her competitive fishing career with the Bassin' Gals Circuit many years ago. Starting in January, 2004, Shaffer will compete on the FLW Circuit, one of only three women fishing FLW. When Emily was asked how she felt about fishing in the male-dominated FLW, she smiled and answered, "I'm not competing against the men. I'm competing against the bass. When I throw my Strike King lures out toward targets that I believe hold bass, the fish don't know if a man or a woman is at the other end of the line." In 1995, Shaffer won the Women's Classic Championship and was Angler of The Year in 2002, besides winning two other national women's fishing titles.

Question: Emily, how did you become a professional tournament bass fisherman?

Shaffer: As I mentioned earlier in the week, I met my husband at a bass tournament weigh-in in 1988 at Percy Priest Lake, and he and I started fishing together the next morning. I'd gone to the tournament with a friend of mine whose husband was fishing in the tournament. After we met at the weigh-in, for the next two years, our dates pretty much consisted of fishing together. We fished together on the PBC tour in Tennessee, which was the Professional Bass Circuit tour. I learned to tournament fish from a lot of men on that tour, and I discovered that I not only liked to bass fish, but I really liked to compete as a bass angler. My husband encouraged me to start fishing some of the women's bass tournament events. When I became involved in fishing the women's circuit, I realized I really loved it. I joined local bass clubs, and every fisherman I fished with taught me not only how to catch bass, but more about how to tournament bass fish. I'd encourage any woman who wants to learn more about bass fishing and who loves to compete to join the Women's Bass Fishing Association, P.O. Box 538, Pelham, Alabama, 35124. Or, call (205) 663-5243, e-mail EBCWBFA@aol.com, or visit the website at www.wbfatour.com.

Question: You're on the road a lot fishing tournaments, working with sponsors and teaching fishing to single parents and their children. How does your family handle your being gone so much?

Shaffer: Since my husband retired in 1993, he's become my personal bass caddy and business manager. His job also is to find the bass for me to catch and make me look good. He travels with me everywhere I go. However, in the early days of my fishing career, I traveled alone. I learned to unload and load my boat by myself, take care of all my equipment on the road, and handle all the problems that being a tournament bass fisherman involves. But now by having my husband with me, he takes care of many of those problems that I once had to take care of alone. I'm really fortunate and glad that he can travel with me and share my life as a fisherman. He and I are really a team because we both love the sport of fishing so much. We really enjoy being together, traveling, fishing and competing. I never would have dreamed that I would have enjoyed spending 24 hours a day, seven days a week with anyone, but now I can't imagine a life without my husband and myself being together all day every day.

When I first started allowing him to teach me to fish, I was a little uncomfortable having him telling me every move to make, everything to do, every lure to choose and every target to cast to. But then when I realized that he was taking 20 years of fishing experience and giving that knowledge to me, and all I had to do was pay attention, I really began to appreciate what he was teaching me. I became a much-better student. Now, I have to admit, sometimes I have to say, "Hey, listen. Let's take a break. I just want to play for awhile. My brain is on overload." At that point, he'll stop teaching and allow me to just fun-fish. So, we've learned how to work together, how to fish together and how to compete as a team, even though he may not be out on the water when I'm competing. I really believe that fishing together has made our family life better.

Contents:

• Part 1: Bass Fishing Isn't Just for the Guys
• Part 2: How to Teach Safe Fishing
• Part 3: Single Connection
• Part 4: What Being a Woman and a Tournament Bass Fisherman Is Like
• Part 5: How I Started Tournament Fishing