Keeping with our theme of recognizing the sports many professional women anglers over the years, in today’s Friday Finale historical photo, we venture back to 1992 and the state of Virginia to feature a lady who was referenced as “Virginia’s First Lady of Fishing,” Jean Terry.
At the time of the article’s writing, Terry was a 48-year-old angler, and “the only Virginia woman ever to qualify for the prestigious Bass’N Gal Classic Star. She’s done it three times.”
Terry got hooked on bass fishing around 1983 when her husband, John, bought a bass boat. Previously a sewer and doll maker, her attention quickly changed to fishing. Though her first tournament experience with her husband was a disaster by all accounts (they fished an event in Georgia during a hurricane), she returned to the event the following year and lead the first day.
Another possible “first” for Terry was her team partnership with friend, Terry Bonds. The article mentioned that, “They are believed to be the first women to win an open (males, females combined) bass tournament in the state. The Terry-Bonds tandem won the Philip Morris-sponsored open tournament on the James River in 1989.
“The next year, they successfully defending (sic) their title against the guys.”
At the time of the article’s writing, her best finish in a Bass’N Gal qualifier was a fourth-place showing in a Mississippi event. In 1993, she would match that finish on Lake Tenkiller in the SplitFire/Bass’N Gal U.S. Invitational, qualifying her for her fourth Classic appearance. In 1994, she would top her best finish with a third-place effort on the Santee Cooper lakes system and another Classic appearance. She also served as president of the local Virginia Bass’N Gal chapter.
