'Reel' women recast a sport

Pro bass fishing, once dominated by men, is now hooking women competitors.

from the February 23, 2007 edition

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The women are generally patient and reserved. Some get animated when a big bass strikes. "You get people jumping up and down," says Babb. "We call it 'going Ike,' " she says, a reference to bass fisherman Mike Iaconelli, whose deck dances are legendary.

Through "culling," anglers put back smaller fish and try to hit their catch limit with the largest possible specimens in their live wells. (Juanita Robinson won at Lake Amistad with a record-setting catch: 56 lbs., 8 oz.)

"I'm looking forward to getting out there [this weekend]," says Colleen McKay, a co-angler from Worcester, Mass., who has not yet been assigned her pro for the event but suspects it might be one who will rib her about her accent. Ms. McKay finished second last year at Lake Dardanelle in Arkansas.

McKay says she will enjoy the all–women environment at Lake Mitchell. She often goes head-to-head with men, and predicts more convergence. "Do I see a woman winning the [Bassmaster] Classic some day?" she asks. "Absolutely."

For now she and other women point to the WBT as its own worthy pinnacle. "There are a whole lot of women who don't know we have this level of sport-fishing for women," says Clark. "And the word's got to get out there."

 

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