Charleston native Jeremy Starks won the Bassmasters Elite Series
Southern Challenge Pro Tournament in Alabama last June and he's headed
into the 2009 season hoping to bring home more trophies. His first
tournament is this weekend, March 12-15, in the Battle on the Border at
Lake Amistad in Del Rio, Texas.
With the recent warm spell, anglers around the region shook the dust
off those spinnerbaits and fishing rods and started thinking about bass
fishing again.
Cedar Grove, W.Va., native Jeremy Starks hardly quits thinking about fishing, and for good reason -- it's his day job.
Charleston native Jeremy Starks won the Bassmasters Elite Series Southern Challenge Pro Tournament in Alabama last June and he's headed into the 2009 season hoping to bring home more trophies. His first tournament is this weekend, March 12-15, in the Battle on the Border at Lake Amistad in Del Rio, Texas.
With the recent warm spell, anglers around the region shook the dust off those spinnerbaits and fishing rods and started thinking about bass fishing again.
Cedar Grove, W.Va., native Jeremy Starks hardly quits thinking about fishing, and for good reason -- it's his day job.
Starks, who Herd fans may remember was out on the 50-yard-line for the coin-flip for last year's WVU vs. Marshall football game, is gearing up to fish again as the 13-date ESPN Bassmaster Elite Series starts up Thursday through Sunday at Lake Amistad in Del Rio, Texas.
Starks, who finished 64th last year in the world's top bass circuit and won the $100,000 first-prize last year at the Southern Pro Challenge Wheeler Lake in northern Alabama, is primed and ready to start his fourth year.
Starks will compete in eight Bassmaster Elite Series events and four Bassmaster Open events. The 2009 tour will take him to lakes and rivers in Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee, Iowa, New York and Maryland. Most, if not all, Bassmaster events are broadcast on ESPN. Fans also can follow Starks' progress "live" at each event online by visiting www.espn.com and clicking on the "Bassmaster" link.
Starks, who grew up on the Kanawha River in Cedar Grove, just outside of Charleston, said that it has been a slow, steady climb up to be able to compete with the world's best bass fishermen.
"I grew up in Cedar Grove on the river and have fished the river since I was 5 or 6 years old with my dad," Starks said. "He bought me a 14-foot boat with a 15-horsepower motor when I was 12. I fished every day in summer, and every day after school I was on the water. I had an opportunity to fish all the time when I was younger, and I watched the professional anglers and viewed them like most people do football and baseball players. I had a dream to be one of those guys."
Although Starks dreamed of hoisting monster bass into the boat, he got his education as well.
A graduate of Boomer Christian Academy, Starks went to West Virginia Tech after high school and became a paramedic, eventually working for the city of Charleston.
Starks, though, always had one eye on the water.
"The reason I chose to work for the city was because of such a large amount of time off -- I could still pursue the fishing career. You just don't start off at the upper levels. Just like golf, you've got to go through the qualifying system and move up to each level to reach the Elite Series, which is the top 100 anglers."
The series runs through September, but Starks, who does take some time off in the fall to go bird hunting up in Michigan, said he spent much of the off-season fishing in Florida, at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia and Kentucky Lake in western Kentucky/Tennessee.
"There's really no off-season, you're always learning new bodies of water and keeping yourself ready to fish," Starks said.
For Starks, getting ready to fish involves having 25 fishing poles ready to go, each outfitted with a wide array of artificial lures such as spinnerbaits and crankbaits.
"The whole boat is used as one big tackle box," Starks said. "I've probably got $20,000 of product on the boat. That's not even counting rods and reels. The neat thing about fishing is a guy can go take a kid and go to Gander Mountain or SportMart (a Charleston sporting goods store), spend $50 and go down on any lake or stream in West Virginia and have a great time."
New for 2009, Starks' boat and truck design will feature strong, bright colors, the state Capitol dome, fishing art and a message about clean coal power.
His sponsors include the Friends of Coal, Walker Machinery Co., Pocahontas Land and One Stop Convenience Stores, among others.
"West Virginia is a state that has a generous share of scenic and strategic natural resources," Starks said. "There's not an outdoor enthusiast around who hasn't found wonderful fishing, hunting, birding and recreational activities in every corner of our state. At the same time, our exceptional energy resources -- coal, in particular -- are invaluable economic drivers for our state and our nation. I'm proud to have the opportunity to showcase both as I travel around the country."
Starks also loves fishing the home state, whether it's finding a great, unknown smallmouth stream near Dingess, or fishing one of the well-known hot-spots such as Stonewall Jackson Lake or the New and Greenbrier rivers.
The pro, whose biggest bass weighed 10.12 pounds (caught in Florida), said he thinks it is hard to beat some of the Mountain State streams and lakes.
"If I had to bet my life, if I could catch a fish anytime anywhere in the world, I would go to the Greenbrier River," Starks said. "I am not sure where on earth you could go to catch as many fish as you can catch on the Greenbrier. I have been fortunate enough to fish all over the world, and while the Greenbrier might not have many big fish, as far as taking a kid fishing and guaranteeing to catch some fish, no place is better to go wading and for easy access, and it doesn't get fished very hard. It's a shame."
Starks, who also loves fishing Stonewall Jackson Lake in late winter and early spring, said one tip he has for area anglers is to get out there now.
"Most anglers wait a little too late to get out there," Starks said. "A couple weekends ago, we were on Kentucky Lake, and it was 31 degrees and snowing like crazy, and I caught as many fish as I've ever caught -- probably close to 40. I think that is a big misconception that you should wait until the dogwoods bloom. There's some really good early fishing and I don't think there's any better time to be on Stonewall Jackson than early March."
March 09, 2009 @ 09:30 PM
DAVE LAVENDER
Herald-Dispatch