A story of how I got to the Women’s BASSmaster Tournament Trail
The Early Years
My parents had me on the water in a boat before I could walk and had a fishing pole in my little hands before I could hold a spoon. If there was water, I was in it, swimming, fishing, duck hunting, skiing, you name it. My father took me fishing before I knew things actually lived beneath the brackish water of St. John’s River in Sanford, Florida; where I was born and raised. As a child I had my own little tackle box and fishing pole and would ride my bicycle to the pond and catch Bream all day. Tying my own hooks on and releasing my own fish, I got hooked at an early age on fishing.
I was into many sports including horseback riding. I dabbled in some competition but found that I was pretty good at swimming. I competed in synchronized swimming for a few years but yearned for the speed of racing. I started competing on the high school team when I was 14. I was the Florida State Champion my junior and senior years in the 50 & 100 freestyle in 1989 & 1990. Due to my success in high school I was sought out by colleges to join their athletic programs. I went on recruiting trips to the University of Southern California (USC), Kentucky, Georgia, and finally the University of Alabama. Loving the campus and the people I accepted a full swimming scholarship to the University of Alabama. During college I made NCAA’s as a freshman and missed making Olympic trials by about 1-100th of a second in the 50 meter freestyle. I also met my husband Jay. Missing out on a lot of fishing every time I would go home my father would take me out to the coast and we would fish for Reds and Speckled Trout. Jay became a permanent member of our fishing crew.
The Bathtub
Finally in October of 2004 Jay and I bought our first boat; a brand new, second hand, Carolina Skiff aka: the Bathtub. We wanted a shallow running boat to allow us to fish the flats and catch the Reds and Specs that we love to chase instead we found ourselves fishing the local waters of central Alabama. The fishing is totally different here than in Florida and really made us look deep into our fishing souls. “Why can’t we catch fish here”? We kept trying and finally a very good friend of ours; Greg Norris, creator of Lip Lock Fish Formula, began giving us advice and showing us the ropes. Crank baits, Rat-L-Traps, Jig-heads OH MY, all foreign baits to us but we were ready and eager to learn. Every “first” fish we caught on a new lure was a celebration and a learning experience.
My First Tournament
One day Greg told us about a charity tournament he was helping to put together; the Ace and TJ’s Grin Kids tournament. After a lot of prodding we agreed to participate in the tournament. I trembled uncontrollably with excitement and anxiety the entire way to the launch at Lake Login Martin. We were the first to put our boat in the water and watched as the “True” anglers came in droves. We sat in our Bathtub and watched in awe at the beautiful Tritons, Pro-Crafts, and Skeeters slipping into the early morning water. Luckily we were drawn as the 6th boat to take off; so we thought. Safelight came and I was the captain taking off in our bath tub as fast as we could with our little 50 horse power Mercury engine. Next thing we knew we were swamped by one of the other competitors. I looked down and we had 2 inches of water in our boat. I didn’t care! We were headed to our fishing hole and no one could stop us. After about 30 minutes of fishing I pulled up a 5.5 lb largemouth on 10 lb test. Luckily Jay netted him just before the line snapped. At the time I didn’t know what I had except it was a really big fish. We fished all day in the worst conditions I had ever seen on a lake. It was cold, the waves were big and oh yeah, we really didn’t know what we were doing. Exhausted, we came in early; I weighed my fish, got some pictures and was told…you might be in the running for big fish. “Big Fish, what is that” I asked myself. Cold and tired Jay and I sat and watched the other anglers come in. The announcer kept calling my name, Jo Dee Bucki, Big fish …..to the very end. The last to weigh in was a young man who looked like he knew fishing like I knew my own name. I could see the bag he was straining to hold up and there was a huge fish peering through the opaque material. It was a 6 pounder; shattering my chance at big fish. Graciously, those who put on the tournament acknowledged my efforts by awarding me with a bait-casting reel that I didn’t even know how to use. That one tournament hooked me for life to the bone.
The WBT (Women’s BASS Tournament)
A few months later I learned about the Women’s BASSmaster Preview tournament from the guys at Alabama Lakes. They gave me the encouraging nudge I needed to take the leap of faith. I signed up and made it my goal to be in the top 25; and at the very least, I knew I would be a part of history, learn more than a boat-load about fishing, and more importantly meet some exceptional lady anglers.
The day arrived, filling the car with every rod and lure I own I drove 10 hours in solitude to Lewisville, Texas. My mother, knowing I was a little low on funds met me in her Mini RV at Lewisville RV Park so I could avoid lodging fees. As soon as I arrived I was accepted with open arms by the boaters that had already set up camp; the lady anglers and their husband’s, aka: Bass Caddies, made me feel right at home. The next day Rose Ellis, one of our great local Birmingham lady anglers, took me out to practice on the lake. We practiced all day and I caught some fish only one being a keeper which was enough to give me the confidence I needed to feel comfortable and relaxed. The next day was the briefing, and then the boater & non-boater match-up. I haven’t had butterflies in my stomach like that since the NCAA swimming finals. To my delight, I drew Betty Stahl as my boater; she is one of the most respected Alabama lady anglers and one of my newest found mentors. A sigh of relief swept over me, and I knew I could go into the next day and have some fun as well as learn a thing or two.
Day One
Morning came and the ladies jockeyed their boats into place with ease. I sat and watched as the sun peaked over the horizon; the silhouette of the boats, their captains and the red, green and white lights was one of the most surreal moments of my life. Finally, it was our turn, number 47. We took off and rocketed across the lake; the wind was blowing and the ride was rough but we made it to our spot and started to fish. Within no time I had my first keeper in the well. We caught many fish that day but all just short of the 14 inch limit. In the last hour Betty took us to a spot she felt good about that was different from the pattern we had fished most of the day. Within a few casts I had my second keeper. I suddenly knew then why Iconelli screams when he lands a keeper. We made it to weigh in and my two fish put me into 7th place, but I needed to be in the top six to make it into the finals on Saturday. Feeling fortunate to be in 7th I thought to myself “well maybe I can make it into the top 10, that would be COOL”!
Day Two
The boater I drew for this day was Susan Gregory from Mississippi. Immediately we hit it off and I knew this was going to be another good day. Again, first thing that morning I had a keeper. The fish blew up on Susan’s top water lure so I figured he was still lurking around down there. I decided to give him a go, so I threw a worm that he picked up immediately. Once landed, I held my catch up, whooping and hollering, receiving applause from the ladies in the boat across the way.
After a while a huge cloud bank rolled in and the winds picked up so we moved to another spot which ended up being the change we needed that morning. I lost a very good fish that I knew could have put me on top. He leaped into the air spitting out my lure as if to say “NOT THIS TIME JO DEE!” I screeched as the lure plunked into the water; feeling a bit sick I knew that this would be the first of many, but I had to forget and move on. Susan suddenly was on them picking up one nice keeper then a nice 3.5 pounder. I hooked into another that almost took my rod under the boat. I played him well and soft and suddenly the line went slack. I sat there in disbelief. “Not another one” I thought. That sick feeling crept back – “that fish would have won it for me”. With each fish I lost I learned more and became a better angler than if I would have landed them. Susan hauled in her third keeper and finally I landed my second keeper just before the skies cleared and the bite shut down. Engine trouble forced us to return early so I had to wait what seemed an eternity to find out if I would make it into the final 6. Knees weak, heart pounding I watched as the last of the non-boaters came in. That day I was the only non-boater in the top 6 to bring in two fish. These two beautiful fish put me into a tie for third, what a day. Jay, who seemed to be more anxious than I, was on the phone with me getting the play by play and suddenly it was over; I was third going into finals! I DID IT! I was going to the big show.
The Finals
The conditions this day were a little better but not by much. We had blue-bird skies, bright sun and wind. The lake had been pressured for weeks and all the good fishing holes were hit hard. My boater, Lisa Stennard from Tennessee, and I were determined to get some fish and have some fun. Lisa had done very well for the past two days placing her in second and winning big fish the day before. The first location we came upon was beautiful and I just knew we were going to catch our limit here. If I were a fish this is where I would be. It was a creek-bed lined with timber just off main lake. Lisa starts out very close to the bank pitching to the timber. I love to fish a jig-head and worm then my next favorite is a Texas rigged worm but pitching is something I have not practiced much. I had been cranking all week and doing pretty well so I stuck with that and lost one (again) early. Suddenly Lisa catches two keepers. Okay, that was what I needed to be convinced I had better learn this pitching thing real quick. So, I start pitching around the timber without much success. I did pull in one 13 1/2 inch Largemouth that I swear winked at me as if to say, “psych, bet you thought I was a keeper”. I worked hard that day but was off my game. After the sun came up the bite shut down and we only got nibbles and dinks the rest of the day.
At weigh in only 3 non-boaters had fish but that was enough to put me into 5th. I was still very proud and very thankful to be fishing that day when many other; very deserving, much better anglers were not. The learning experience was one of a lifetime and those 3 days changed my entire life. I won some money, a beautiful trophy and earned some sponsors; G&G Milow, Lip Lock Fish Formula, FlexDigital, AcuTech, Concept Printing, Heavenly Hair, Team FisherGirl, Net Bait , and Alabama Lakes. I will be fishing all the tournaments next year now that I have some help.
I took a chance, followed my dream and now I am living my dream.
