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| Few youngsters get a better early start where fishing is concerned than David Brinkerhoff. Here he's pictured with the trophy he was awarded after winning the National Kids Casting Contest. That's Ray Scott, the founder of BASS, on the right. Today David is a top Columbia River smallmouth angler. |
You Gotta Cast To Catch 'Em
By Stan Fagerstrom
David Brinkerhoff was fingerling size the first time he wrapped his fingers around a fishing rod. He's hardly let go of one since.
That's exaggerating things a tad, but by golly not all that much! Just ask some of the other anglers David has outfished or outcast over the past couple of decades. And today this likeable young man is actually making a living working with those fishing rods I mentioned in the beginning.
Today, you see, David is 25 years old. He is a marketing assistant at G.Loomis Rods. There are knowledgeable anglers, I'm among them, who will tell you that he's also one of the top bass fishermen in the Pacific Northwest, especially where the Columbia River and its smallmouth bass are concerned.
I've fond memories of the first time I met David. I knew Jim Brinkerhoff, David's father. Jim was a tournament winning angler himself. He'd seen me do casting exhibitions at outdoor shows here and there in Washington and Oregon and we'd swapped bass fishing tales on occasion.
Jim called me one evening while I still lived at Silver Lake in Southwest Washington State. "Stan," he said, "my son David wants to take part in the Casting Kids contest that they'll be holding in connection with the outdoor show in Portland. Any chance I could get you to share some thoughts about casting if I bring him out to your house"?
I told Jim I'd be glad to help. Jim brought his son to our lakeside home and we spent a couple of hours talking about and trying this and that where casting was concerned. David was nine years old at the time. He had been fishing with his Dad since he was seven.
The kid didn't need all that much help. His Dad had already given him the basics. And he didn't, as I've often experienced in attempting to teach casting to other youngsters, have a short attention span. He wanted to be a good caster and he was willing to devote the time and energy it takes to excel in any endeavour where hand and eye coordination is a requirement for success.
Was young David successful? You dang well better believe it! Over the next half dozen years he won the Oregon State Casting Kids contest six years in succession and the Northwest Regional Casting Kids twice. In 1994, after winning the regional championship, he went on to win the 1994 National Casting Kids competition.
David's success with the fishing rods he learned to handle so well helped in more ways than one. He pocketed some $7,500 in college scholarship funds that went along with his trophies as a Casting Kids Contest winner.
I confess to having had a selfish interest in David's success in those casting contests. I was on hand when he won one of these events at an outdoor show in Eugene, Oregon. I wanted to holler my head off when he whipped the last of his competition to walk off with first place.
David knew I was watching. After he won that event the contest officials handed him the mike and asked him to say a few words. I doubt even today he realizes just how much what he had to say meant to me. Among other things, you see, he thanked me for having shared my thoughts about casting with him.
If I've learned anything over the many years the Good Lord has let me be a part of the American fishing scene it's simply this; Nothing is really of great value unless it can be shared with others. I've had opportunity to help other youngsters here and there and every now and then I hear from one of them. Few things give me more of a boost.
But sharing my own sentiments isn't the only reason for this column about David Brinkerhoff. Another is that David in so many ways reflects what I think is one of the primary reasons for the outstanding success of G.Loomis rods. Fishing and the things that go with it are a guiding force in his life. I've touched on this before where the company he now works for is concerned.
Much the same darn thing was true of Gary Loomis, the founder of G.Loomis Rods. Ask him and he'll tell you he was a "Steelhead Bum" before his name ever appeared on a fishing rod. The same thing applies in spades to the man who heads up the rod building company's endeavours today.
The top man at G.Loomis Rods now, Executive Director Bruce Holt, has had a terminal case of fishing fever since he was a kid catching catfish. Today he's one of the most skilled bass anglers I've every had the good fortune to share a boat with.
The same thing is true of other G.Loomis executives. It would take the next six pages for me to detail the success Steve Rajeff, the company's Director of Engineering, has enjoyed in casting competitions. He's won more competitive casting events than anyone in the world. Most associate Steve only with fly casting. That's a mistake. He's every bit as good with either a casting or spinning rod and has the international trophies to prove it.
Those I've named, along with others, do the "walk" as well as the "talk."" You'll never convince me that this isn't a primary reason the finished products that come out of the door of the G.Loomis Rods operation at its Woodland, Washington plant enjoy the worldwide acceptance that they do.
Finally, another reason for this two part column about David Brinkerhoff is his knowledge of the Columbia River smallmouth bass fishing I mentioned earlier. Today the big Columbia provides some of the best smallmouth fishing in the Western United States.
David has been hammering those hard fighting fish for 18 to 25 years. He knows it well and has the tournament trophies to prove it. I'll share some of his thoughts on Columbia River smallmouth fishin in my next Casting Corner column.
To Be Continued... |
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| David Brinkerhoff has been fishing since he was fingerling size. He won numerous casting contests while still just a kid. Today he is a Marketing Assistant at G.Loomis Rods. He's also one of the most knowledgeable anglers around where Columbia River smallmouth bass fishing is concerned. |
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