Oklahoma pro OT Fears won the Red Man All-American when I was in junior high school, and then won three B.A.S.S. events a decade later while I was suffering through law school. I met him a couple of years later through my good friend Bill Roberts, who’d drawn him in a B.A.S.S. pro-am on the Potomac and we’ve been friends ever since.
For those of you who don’t know, OT at one time held the B.A.S.S. single-day weight record for the 34 pound 4 ounce limit he slapped on the scales at Santee Cooper. That was part of a three-day catch of 77-04 (14 fish) that was then also a B.A.S.S. record. What I remember most about that tournament was not the lure he used or his pattern, but rather his subsequent description of how he had to cram those five bigs into the small then-standard livewell. He was also responsible for introducing many of us to the Bulldog spinnerbait, and is by far the best caster in thick overhead cover that I’ve ever seen. Furthermore, he can eat crabs and crawfish like nobody’s business.
I’ve fished with him in California, Alabama and Texas, and we’ve been talking about a Venice trip for years. It’s mostly been my fault that we haven’t gone – he’s ready, but my work keeps getting in the way. Even though I haven’t seen him in a few years, I smile every few months when the Caller ID lights up with his name. I was even more tickled when I came home this past Saturday and found a box on the doorstep with a return address of Sallisaw, Oklahoma.
Inside were a shirt, hat and face mask from his “Booger Red” tackle company, along with a handful of his namesake spinnerbaits that are made to handle the toughest fish around. This gives me even more incentive to make it down to the Delta, although he assures me that they work equally well on bass around the country. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about going out with OT’s mustachioed mug on my back, but I’m pretty certain I’m the only one around here who has that option, so I’m going to wear it with pride.
