Bound Finding Success In Bama Bfls Now That He Has Time To Fish And Study The Sport
Jeremy Bound had wondered for years what it would be like if he just had the time to fish.
He last had a taste of tournament fishing in the Walmart Bass Fishing League’s Bama Division in 2004, but then life got in the way: school, children, career.
He got his college degree at Athens State, then pursued a career with Amazon.com. His wife finished school and they had two children.
“I had never really taken fishing seriously. I was going to school and then working and I never had time to practice a lot,” said the Decatur, Ala., angler who is leading the points in the Bama Division after three tournaments this year. He is 13 points ahead of Terry Stevens of Marianna, Fla., heading into the fourth tournament of the season on Neely Henry Lake Saturday.
But there are half a dozen or more anglers well within striking distance with just two tournaments left on the 2012 schedule. The series final will be held on Pickwick Lake Sept. 8.
So far this year Bound has earned $1,282 in prize money, including $763 for 6th place on Lake Guntersville Feb. 18, his best finish, and $519 for finishing 7th on Lake Martin April 14. He did not get a check for his 34th place on Lake Eufaula March 17.
When he decided to move back to Alabama one of the stipulations he established with his wife was that he would get back into fishing. His career change led him to the Walmart Distribution Center in Cullman, Ala., where he works a Saturday-Sunday-Monday weekend.
While that would normally not be conducive to fishing weekend tournaments, Bound has made it work for him.
“I save my vacation time so if I can work it where I don’t take too much time off when it really don’t need to it works out,” he said. “Then I have time during the week to go practice and hone my fishing skills. I spend a lot of time on the water during the week.”
That schedule, along with his new commitment to fishing, has paid off, he noted.
“I have fished all my life, but I never took tournament fishing too seriously, although I do like to compete. When I got serious about it I started doing pretty good. Just being able to spend time on the water, researching the fish and pretty much learning how to fish. The main thing is to finally have time to do that and stay on top of my game.”
Bound said he believes there will be a pretty decent early morning shallow bite in the grass Saturday before the sun gets up.
“Then I’ll have to get out on the river ledges with a Carolina rig and throw a finesse jig. I also caught a pretty big spot on a crankbait when I was practicing there a couple of weeks ago. So that will be my game plan – fish shallow in the morning, then move out on the river ledges and slow down with the Carolina rig and finesse jig.”
Bound said he has given himself a few years to pursue his fishing dream and see where it takes him.
“I like fishing and I hope this competitive fishing works out for me. I want to continue to pursue it and see where it goes. I’ll give it a shot and see how I do. Maybe I’ll be able to pursue bigger and better things in the future.”
Walmart Bass Fishing League – Bama Division
Sat, Jun 30, 2012
Neely Henry Lake
Coosa Landing
