World’s Best Bass Fisherman…Bill Dance

As usually happens when I’m researching material for an article, I often run across other stories, images or historical tidbits that capture my attention and lead me down other rabbit holes. That very thing happened just the other day as I was scanning old Field & Stream magazines for another story, and I scrolled past a picture of a baby-faced angler with the quote, “It changed my whole life.” Well, of course I recognized the angler as a young Bill Dance, but it was the quote that really captured my attention. So I paused, looked at the title The World’s Best Bass Fisherman…Bill Dance, and started reading. 

This particular story was in a May 1971 issue of Field & Stream. The front cover declared ”How The World’s Bass Champ Catches Fish.” In 1971 that’s precisely what the then-29 year-old Dance was, the world’s best. The article stated that Dance had won 11 of 24 contests he had entered, including 7 B.A.S.S. tournaments, as well as always finishing in the money in those tournaments. Of course Dance would go on to even greater successes and accomplishments in the fishing industry, but this isn’t a biography. We’re just looking at a moment in time, when a young bass angler was riding the crest of a wave, when his was the hottest name in the sport.

I smiled more than once reading about Bill’s philosophy and fishing techniques, and the gear and baits he favored. Bill’s responses to the questions posed seemed so simple, so straight forward and so perfect. He starts out with the perfect answer to the biggest secret to his success, confidence. He says, “The most important factor in catching bass is determination. You must believe that you can and will catch fish. You must believe that every time you cast you’re going to catch a fish.”

A lot of the interview is Bill answering predictable questions about gear and techniques, and it’s interesting to see what was considered to be the best tackle set-ups more than 50 years ago. “I use a 5½-foot medium- to heavy-action glass rod, with a sensitive tip and a lot of backbone.” Additionally, I liked that Bill’s favorite knot also happens to be own preferred knot, the improved clinch knot. 

I thought Bill’s answer to why he sets the hook immediately when worm fishing was brilliant and humorous: “There’s also another reason for not waiting. Fish are just like a bunch of chickens. Throw a piece of bread into a flock and one chicken will pick it up and run. When she runs off four or five others will follow. Bass will do the same thing, and if you let ‘em run, you take a chance of moving the whole school.”

When asked if he used a depth finder Bill replied, “As much as I use a rod and reel. If I had to make a choice, I’d rather have a depth finder in my boat than a motor on the back of it.” It’s interesting, in light of Pete Robbins’ recent BFA story about the GPS Revolution, to hear Bill talk about how he used topographical maps, his depth finder, log book, and triangulation to find spots on a lake.

It’s a nice, tight interview and gives a great insight into what the country’s top bass angler in 1971 thought, how he fished and what gear he used. Certainly the same techniques Dance advocated back then would be and are effective today.

Several pages later in this issue of Field & Stream there was an ad for B.A.S.S. (below). Now I don’t know if Ray Scott knew this article was going to be in Field & Stream, but the ad is a perfect complement. It reads, “Would this patch make you a better fisherman? Bill Dance thinks so!”

Hopefully, this 1971 Field & Stream story, The World’s Best Bass Fisherman…Bill Dance, tickled your nostalgia a bit. I know it did mine. We’ve shared every page of the interview here, so take a few minutes and give it a read. It’s well worth it.