Ode to the Fisherman by Mark River Peoples

When I was a young boy growing up, I was fortunate to experience both sides of the Mississippi River. Born in East St. Louis and later moving to North St. Louis County, I grew up fishing the banks of both sides of the River. We used to time the Buffalo runs along with white bass, striped bass, and yellow perch.

By Kirk Thornton

My Father, who hated babysitting, would drag us down to the River in our old station wagon, battling mosquitos until they were unbearable. We would forage the floodplain for stranded fish while chasing rabbits through the bottomland forest. We used to dig for green river worms, native to the Mississippi River floodplains and wetlands, which fish are very particular about. Still to this day, the fish prefer these wetland worms over the Walmart worms.

We eventually moved to the suburbs on the Missouri side of the River, and it was the first time I had cable TV. It was a luxury, but difficult to watch, because of the pecking order of siblings and the lack of TVs in the house. I realized that the only time I could watch cable was late at night or early in the morning.

By Federico Giampieri

One particular day, being a morning person, I turned on the TV to ESPN. It was 5 am, and a bunch of people in fishing boats were waiting for the sun to rise to go fishing. I watched these fisherman tying interesting contraptions to their lines, reeling them through the water and catching fish. Competition fishing was a first for me, and I was hooked. I couldn’t believe It, but I was only six years old.

On the next fishing adventure, I noticed some of these “contraptions” in an old tackle box. I grabbed one, and my Dad said, “you won’t catch anything with that out here,” but my mind told me I could. I walked out of sight to experiment, found a creek inlet, and started casting. I watched the lure move in the water. I was amazed at how it maneuvered and glided. It was a small lure called a “rooster tail.” Suddenly, I felt a strange “thump” on my line, intently setting the hook, and the fight was on. I thought I had a whale, but more like a two-pound bass. I ran to my Father to show my catch, and he snickered, looked at my brother, and said, “he got lucky.” I marched down the bank of the River, showing off my catch, then instinctively released the bass unharmed.

The following week at 5 am, I watched another tournament, ” B.A.S.S Masters.” This man in a cowboy hat and a charismatic voice sounded the horn to launch the boats. Later to find out his name was Ray Scott, the mastermind behind these tournaments. He spoke about the “thump” I felt when the bass engaged with my lure. I’ve been a fisherman and a fan ever since.

By Scott Gardner

Ray Scott started the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society in 1967. He made history in the state of Mississippi at a tournament on Ross Barnett Reservoir by implementing catch and release rule in his tournaments to preserve the fisheries for future tournaments. As the tournaments became more popular, Scott started to see signs of neglect to the waterways he competed in. He sued over 200 companies over polluting waterways and rivers, and his efforts spearheaded the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, which eventually formalized the Clean Water Act of 1972.

Unfortunately, Ray Scott passed away in May of 2022. His vision of conservation and environmentalism is unmatched. Without his efforts, our waterways would be depleted and polluted to no return. Thanks Ray Scott for all you’ve done, and “May the River Be With You!”