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John's Journal... Entry 153, Day 4

AMERICA'S GREATEST BASS FISHERMAN

Clay At His Best

EDITOR'S NOTE: He's a giant among bass fishermen, and in my opinion Clay Dyer of Hamilton, Alabama, is the greatest bass fisherman with whom I have ever fished. Fishing since he was five years old, Clay has tournament fished since age 15 and has been a full-time professional bass fisherman since 1995. Clay, at 24 years old, is almost 40 inches tall and weighs 86 pounds. He has no legs, but he does have a partial 16-inch-long arm on his right shoulder. If you see Clay in a fishing tournament, you won't think he has a disability either. Clay is highly competitive and fishes two to four bass tournaments a month. Clay's sponsors include: Skeeter boats, Yamaha outboards, Minn Kota trolling motors, All Star graphite rods, Strike King Lure Company, Lowrance electronics and Team Fish fishing line. Rather than tell Clay's story to you, I'll let Clay tell his own story.

QUESTION: Clay, of all the things you have done and feel you can do, what do you feel you are the best at?
ANSWER: I feel that I'm the best witness that I can be for God. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and died for my sins. And once I committed my life to Him, and decided to be a witness for Him, amazing things have happened to me. He has made the things that I've wanted to do a lot easier. He has given me willpower, strength and courage to try things that I wouldn't ordinarily try. He has taught me not give up. When I'm fishing in 110-degree weather, sweat is just pouring off me, and the fish aren't biting, I've learned not to give up. On the days when the weather is so cold that I have to wear a snowmobile suit and a helmet, and the fish aren't biting, I've learned not to give up. The good Lord has taught me to never give up, to never throw in the towel and quit and to always do more than anyone thinks I can. I love to fish. I love to win. I love to work with and for my sponsors. But the thing that I love the most is to know that I've made a difference in someone else's life. Maybe I have encouraged someone else to be all that they can be. If I can encourage someone else to not quit during bad times, not give up when that seems the only option and to reach for seemingly impossible goals, then my life has been worthwhile, and my testimony has been effective. I feel really blessed that I can drive these high-performance bass boats and have such great sponsors. To be able to fish and work for these companies is a tremendous honor for me. I love to go to the national bass tournaments and have the biggest bass fishermen in the world say, "Hey, Clay. How are you doing? How's your fishing coming?" For them to know who I am and want to be around me is one of the greatest encouragements of my life.

QUESTION: Clay, most guys in your shape would be thinking about what they didn't have and or couldn't do. How have you turned that attitude around?
ANSWER: What I'm doing is not really a big deal. I just take what I have and try to do the very best I can with what I've got. By adopting this attitude, I've found out that I can do things that I didn't think possible. Many times people ask me how I cast or how I tie on bait or run a trolling motor and although I try and explain, I usually wind up telling them, "I really can't explain it. Just watch, and you will see how I do it."

QUESTION: How do you tie a lure on a hook?
ANSWER: I put the bait on my arm, and then I get the bait as close as I possibly can to my mouth. Using my tongue, lips and arms, I just feel the line going through the eye of the hook and turn the bait until I make a knot. Then I run the tag end of the line through the knot. I have tied on so many lures over the years, it now is a task that I do so repetitiously that I don't even think about it. Think about using your fork to scoop up food and put it in your mouth. You never really think about how you do it, you just do it. When I'm tying on a hook, I don't even think about what I'm doing. I just tie on the hook.

QUESTION: What type knots are you tying?
ANSWER: I usually tie a Palomar knot or an improved clinch knot. Ninety-nine percent of the time I use a Palomar knot. I can tie almost any knot that anybody else can tie. I think that the Palomar knot may be one of the hardest knots to tie, but it is one of the best knots that you can tie to keep from having your line break. I have to flip the line around several times, pull on a part of the line and then another part of the line, then the knot is tied. I don't ever think about how to tie a knot, I just tie a knot.

QUESTION: Clay, most bass tournament fishermen dream of the day they can get sponsors. However, most tournament bass fishermen do not have sponsors. How were you able to get sponsorship?
ANSWER: I have been very blessed to meet and get to know quite a few people in the fishing industry. But just knowing people is not the answer to get sponsorship. You can be the best- looking fisherman on the circuit and catch more bass than anyone else on the circuit, but if you're not willing to work for your sponsors and help them, then, they really are not interested in sponsoring you. When my sponsors need something, they know I'm ready to be there for them. I am ready to do whatever they need done, wherever they need me to be. I'll be working in my sponsors' booths this year at the BASS Masters Classic in Birmingham, Alabama. I will help them any way I can work in that booth. I try and work just as hard, if not harder, than the most-prestigious tournament angler the company has. I've met with all my sponsors and had heart-to-heart talks with them. I told them why I'm doing what I'm doing and what I felt that I could do for them. Instead of telling the sponsors what I want them to do for me, I've told them what I'm willing to do for them. I never ask my sponsors for anything. I feel like if I can show them that I can help them, they will show me that they want me too. And they will sponsor me on the level where they feel that I should be. That is fine with me. I'm just really proud to be associated with the companies that sponsor me. Companies are not looking for big strong muscle men or someone who wants to be the big guy and has an ego problem. They are not necessarily looking for a guy who can catch the most fish. Fishing-tackle companies are looking for someone who will be a good example and representative for their company, someone who will work for and with them and someone who genuinely appreciates the opportunity to work within the fishing industry. They are also looking for someone who will help sell their products and who understands that helping to sell their products is just as important as catching bass.

You can contact Clay Dyer at 5321 Steel Street, Hamilton, Alabama 35570.

TOMORROW: THE FUTURE FOR CLAY DYER

 

 

Check back each day this week for more AMERICA'S GREATEST BASS FISHERMAN ...

Day 1 - If I Can, You Can
Day 2 - Clay Explains His Life Motto: "If I Can, You Can."
Day 3 - Larry Hopson On Fishing With Clay Dyer
Day 4 - Clay At His Best
Day 5 - The Future For Clay Dyer


John's Journal