Robert Russell is in the midst of writing his second big fish story. But this time, two decades later, he’s determined not to have the story be about the one that got away.
Russell is headed back to the Big Bass World Championship, 20 years after he first participated in the event. And this time Russell is determined to come home with the top award.
Russell, a 61-year-old who lives in the area between Granite Falls and Arlington, was this year’s Washington State winner, catching the largest bass among those who entered the competition from the state. That earned him a bid to the Big Bass World Championship, which takes place Oct. 27 on Lake Hudson in Salina, Oklahoma.
Russell, who also was the Washington representative in 1998, is believed to be the first two-time Washington State winner in the event, which began in the late 1980s and took a hiatus from 2003-12 before being revived in 2013 — Brad Uhl, who now runs the event, said the official records from before 2013 have been lost. This time Russell is headed to the World Championship not just to take in the experience, but beat the other 48 competitors for the grand prize that includes up to $75,000 and a new boat.
“I’ve been dreaming about it for 20 years, ever since I took second place in 1998,” Russell said.
“I’m excited,” Russell added. “It’s something I thought I’d never get to do again. Winning (the state) back in ‘98 was a lot of fun. We’ll see how it goes this time.”
The Big Bass World Championship is a competition designed for recreational anglers. Entrants put down $25 at the beginning of the year, then spend the period between Jan. 1 and Aug. 15 trying to catch the biggest bass possible. Anglers use a tape measure provided by the organizers to measure the length and girth of any fish they catch, then take a photo of the fish and send in the results, where the measurements are converted into weight. The largest fish caught in each of the 48 continental states, along with last year’s winner, advance to the World Championship, which is held at a different location each year.
Russell, fishing on Lake Tye in Monroe on May 15, caught and released a bass that measured 21 inches long and 17.5 inches around. That converted to 6.34 pounds, and after three tense months of waiting it stood up as the state winner.
“It was crazy because it was like going back to the scene of the crime,” Russell said about his winning fish. “It was the same lake where I caught the fish back in ‘98, just three days apart. And I wasn’t fishing out of one of those big boats, I was fishing out of a pontoon boat.”
There’s a reason why Russell fishes from an 8-foot rubber pontoon boat. Russell spent 13 years living in Arizona between his two state titles. During his time in Arizona he suffered a fall that left him with several serious injuries. He had to have his back fused, his shoulder reconstructed and both his knees replaced.
Therefore, fishing is his primary source of getting physical activity. That’s why he uses either a pontoon boat or a float tube to fish, and it’s why he practices casting in his backyard.
“It’s tough, it’s really tough,” Russell said about fishing with his injuries. “It’s hard to stand for a long time — I have to sit and stand and sit and stand.”
But Russell compensates through his experience. In 1998 the World Championship was held on Table Rock Lake in Missouri. Russell pulled in a 4-pound fish and thought he had a chance of winning. However, he was edged by Alabama’s Steve Honaker.
“I remember it was just the excitement of fishing on waters I’d never seen before,” Russell said. “There are a lot more fish there than we have here. I remember catching a lot of fish, and having my fish tossed back at the podium was sad. I really thought I had won it back then.”
This year’s World Championship will be different from when Russell competed in 1998. Back then the field was split into two, with half the competitors fishing one day and the other half the next. That allowed the second-day competitors the chance to see what worked the first day and use that knowledge to their advantage. This year everyone is fishing on the same day under the same conditions. Competitors will be paired up in boats, with fishing commencing at 7 a.m. and weigh-in taking place at 2:30 p.m.
And Russell believes his prior experience at the World Championship will come in handy.
“I was so wound up back then,” Russell recalled. “I was like a tornado, everything was just going so fast. I think this time I’m able to kind of calm down and really realize I have been there, I’m going back, and I have an opportunity to do something that I’ve been wanting to do forever.
“Now let’s go get a world title and bring it back to Washington.”
If you have an idea for a community sports story, email Nick Patterson at npatterson@heraldnet.com.
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