Westernbass Magazine - FREE Bass Fishing Tips And Techniques - Spring 2014, Page 51

Westernbass Magazine - FREE Bass Fishing Tips And Techniques - Spring 2014, Page 51

be sure that with his winning in 2010 and 2011 saw he, Sherry and their twin sons handle everything to the highest potential for the whole sport, and it was better because of it.

In 2012, Chris Lane showed us how a champion could emotionally and personally embrace the title and use the platform to completely integrate himself into the fabric of the sport, the industry and his community. Chris Lane wore that badge with honor, humility and shared it openly.

Cliff Pace surprised many in the media with his openness as a champion. Pace was criticized for his “game face” persona on stage immediately after winning. However, he quickly opened himself up afterwards and he shared the details of his event, willingly. Pace is a good man, with a strong competitive streak and he showed the world what a detail-oriented angler can accomplish on Grand Lake and after.

Now, to Howell. He is one of those anglers who completely invests himself into every aspect of his job. He is the kind who makes himself available to any and all who want his attention, no matter the size of their pulpit. Howell is a hard working angler who thrives on working the promotional side of the business and has developed himself into a tremendous angler.

I fully expect Howell to wear this Classic championship badge with as much dignity and humility as any other champion before him. The reason why is because I’ve seen his act for many years and respected the way he goes about doing his job.

I’ll give you a story that will illustrate his professionalism and marketing sense. In 2010, while the Bassmaster Elite Series was here on their California swing, the first boat I stopped on was Howell. I was driving my boat with Matt Pangrac and Harold Allen of The Bass Zone as they were doing their Wide Open Coverage with Mark Jeffreys in the studio at their lodging for the week.

Howell was outside of the State Park area of Clear Lake, and he was absolutely pounding them on a jerkbait. He had his boat precisely positioned to make the same cast over and over again so that his jerkbait would make the correct path and be at the precise depth when it entered the school.

By the time we arrived, he had probably caught a dozen bass, and had a limit weighing in excess of 22 pounds on the first morning of the event. There were average early spring conditions that day. The kind that make you wear layers with sweatpants and hoodies atop your clothing because it is chilly in the morning, but by noon, you will be too warm to wear the outer garments.

After a few minutes, Howell saw us with our cameras out, and motioned for us to come a little closer, explained where and what he was fishing so that we could position the boat and then removed his hoodie so that he would be in his jersey for the images - to do his job for his sponsors. I remember thinking how professional it was to have the clarity in the middle of his flurry to help us get positioned, and then make sure his jersey and sponsor logos were visible. To this day, I have only seen a couple of other anglers do that on tour or at any other level, and it really was a

Randy Howell Battles a Clear Lake Bass During the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series Western Swing.

Photo by Dan O’Sullivan

SPRING 2014

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