Today’s Friday Finale historical photo is another of the many professional female bass anglers we’ve been trying to highlight, Brenda Davis of Sand Springs, OK. The article and image date back to a write-up that appeared in The Columbus Ledger back in 1987.
The story featured two main topics, the first being a bio of Brenda’s endeavors on the tournament trail to date. Here is an excerpt of that portion of the story:
“Davis is a classic example of a veteran professional bass angler. At 43, she has fished the Bass’n Gal circuit since 1977, placing 12th in her first tournament.
“The manager of a sporting goods store in Sand Springs, she was introduced to fishing at the age of six by a grandfather, who would take her bowfin or bass fishing back home in Arkansas.
“One of 10 children, she had five brothers and four sisters. ‘None of my sisters fish. All of my brothers are fishermen and hunters. I was out fishing and hunting with them when the other girls were doing the dishes,’ she said.
“But she always enjoyed bass fishing most.
“She was the Bass’n Gal Angler of the Year in 1984 and has finished 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 14th and 20th paces in Bass’n Gal tournaments. She is looking for her first win.”
The second part of that story was a slightly different outlook on the status of professional women’s leagues at the time as compared to last week’s post about Sugar Ferris. The editor, in town for the year end Championship, took a more optimistic outlook into the sponsorship picture, writing:
“Among the national media here for the tournament were Sports Illustrated, Cable News Network, the Associated Press, Victory Films and ‘Jim Wilson Outdoors.’ Reporters from some 15 states were there, many spending the week.
“How much support does Bass’n Gal have from the fishing industry? The 35 women competitors were each provided use of a Ranger Classic Star 375V boat equipped with Mercury XR2 outboard, Humminbird electronics, Minn Kota trolling motor and Ranger Trail trailer. An angler on the tournament trail could buy this boat fully rigged for $18,500. That means nearly $650,000 worth of boats and equipment for one tournament alone. Ranger does this for BASS and other circuits. But the publicity they get out of it probably could not be bought.”
