I've got a quesiton for the Ladies.......

[Staci Matheis]

I've long wondered why men and women don't compete in the same fishing tournament series. If ever there were a sport where both were equal, surely this must be it. I've come up with some ideas, but I'm sure that they aren't the real reasons.......



10. Wives and girlfriends would have the potential to earn as much or more than the men.



9. Male bass would compete to be held - maybe even kissed - by the women.



8. Female bass would come up to the women to share pictures of their children.



7. Maidenform might want to sponsor a series - and all the boats would have to be dual consoles.



6. Who wants a rear view mirror in a bass boat? They'd all be turned the wrong direction anyway.



5. Fish are scared away by the noise created by an empty coffee can rolling around in the boat.



4. Long hair might clog the floor drains.



3. Five minutes of fishing time would be lost stopping to refresh make-up on the way back to the weigh-in.



2. Flowered seat fabric in a bass boat?



1. It's a know fact that a true measure of masculinity is how expensive the toys you own are..... And what real man could handle knowing that the best rods and reels made were the "Penny Berryman Signature Series"!



me!

 

[TrepMan]

I'm not EVEN touching this one Scott, you are in for a WORLD of hurt from our Female members!



Here's on on the same line though - What do the Pro's (or you guys who fish real Tournaments like FLW, BASS) do when you gotta go potty during the day? With camera's and other folks watching I assume the guys don't just go off the side of the boat? And what about the ladies?



I don't know about the rest of you but my bladder is about 6-8oz big, so i need to stop a few times a day.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Scott man, you are in need of some serious therapy! First of all, how can you say that it would be equal competition? Ever had a woman in your boat? (No really?) LOL I don't know about you, but every time a woman is in my boat, whether it be my wife, mom, or a client, they stomp the snot out of every guy in the boat! Some kind of cosmic irony or something. See ladies, THAT'S why we want to go alone, so we look like better fisherman! Can't be havin' da missuz sittin dar all purdy and out fishin' us. No way, no how! And I'll keep talkin tough as long as my wife ain't here to read it! LOL

 

[Tom(fishfafun) Lutz]

Scott....



This is the sound of me swimming away gracefully from the BAIT!!!!!!



Tom

 

[TrepMan]

Rob - You are RIGHT. Just go check the pic's and story of my guided trip, Beka KILLED me!

 

[Carli Drake]

Geee Scott,



Here I thought you were a nice guy! I'm going to chalk it up to the "fever" tho and not even reply to your reasons!

Take a couple asprins and let us know when you're feeling better!



Carli

 

[Staci Matheis]

Heck, Carli..... I thought I was poking fun at men! Well..... Maybe not the coffee can..... Well..... Maybe not the mirror thing either..... Well..... Come to think of it..... Maybe it was poking fun at both sides!



me!

 

[Bill McElroy]

Truck sales kinda slow aye Little Dog?? LOL

 

[TrepMan]

I like that Adam! When on the guided trip about 2 hours in I had to go, I asked the guide his preferrence and he said if my wife didn't mind it's OK to go over the side, which I did. We did take her back to the dock for a break after 3 hours.



Now back to that coffee can Scott - My Grandfather (on my Mom's side) used to live in Brooklyn NY when I was little and my brother and I would spend weekends at thier place (we lived across the river in NY at the time). I'll never for get getting into a traffic jam on one of the bridges and telling Pop "I gotta pee" and he reached under his seat ('70 Plymoth Furry) and brought out a mason jar and said "here use this". Unfortunetly it was already full from his last encounter!

 

[C C]

Oh Scott, {sigh}.....Years ago when I fished in a BassNGal club in Virginia I was told that women do not fish in tourneys with men is because the guys didn't want to be a passenger in a boat with a woman driver or the thought of a woman driving their boat just was out of the question.



Also, for some reason I recall that many Pro tourneys specifically ban women from fishing in them. To be honest I am not up enough on it to know if this has changed or not.



Now, this is not a slam to either of the sexes, it's just what I remember being told when I asked, why don't women fish in the men's tourneys.



Cass

 

[Staci Matheis]

That's stupid.....



Cass, I'll ride with you or Carli or Barb (Or any woman who'd have me!) any day of the week! And be proud to say I did!



me!



(Probably one heck of a lot safer than spearing waves with Mack and Mini.....)

 

[Bill McElroy]

TRUST us Little Dog,...there's NOTHING Mini or I would love to do more than scare the livin' dog meat outa YOU on a particularly rough day on our water!!..LOL...We'll showya how the BigDogs drive and survive on real water up here!!!

 

[Carli Drake]

Cass....



Some men are just afraid that us women will show them up!



I tried to join a local B.A.S.S. affiliate club and they wouldn't let me join because I'm a woman! I told them that Ray Scott doesn't have a problem taking money from me to join the national organization so why should they? The answer was..."because we go fishing to get away from the women! If we let you fish in our club, we'd have to let our wives/girlfriends". Soooo I found another club that would let me fish their tournaments.



Carli

ps....I fished the Bass 'n Gal Alabama Invitational in 1995...were you there?

 

[C C]

Scott, sounds like you have not rode with a woman in a boat yet. You need to come out this way and I will be happy to take you for a ride and show you the us women know how to spear the waves to, but with a 60hp I won't be spearing too many waves, so just for you I will have to borrow a buddies boat with a 200hp for the ride. LOL



Carli, Nope I missed that one and all of them in the 90s, I fished with the group back in the 80s.



Geeze, that is making me sound old. Cass

 

[Staci Matheis]

I love old and older women! Heck, whadaya expect from a 52 year old, short, scrawney, ugly, bald guy? I'm desperate! I won't pass up nuthin'! Well..... Maybe some.....



You're right - I have never ridden in a boat with a woman before. However, if it's anything like riding in a car with them..... I am so very grateful to have someone else do the driving for a change! Gives me a chance to just sit back and enjoy the ride and scenery - or take a nap like us old men are in the habit of doing!



And, yes, I have generally been out-fished by every woman I've ever gone fishing with! My wife (ex) and her daughter used to put me to shame! But you know something? We all had so much fun that it didn't matter one bit! It's not the competitive sort of thing it is when you go fishing with the guys and your masculinity is at stake!



me!

 

[Staci Matheis]

Oh..... And, Ladies..... Have you seen the newest Rebok "Is a Wmoan's World" commercial..... The one with the women dining at the "Family Restaraunt" called "Bananas"!??!

 

[Mark Hofman]

Funny you should bring up bananas, Scott.



In college, the one girl nearly every boy drooled over ('xcept me, of course) came into the dining hall with a banana on her plate. All male eyes were riveted* upon her as she delicately peeled the fruit...



...and used a dull knife to whack it into small pieces, which she ate with a fork!"







*I figure since I used this word, I can put this on a board about boats!

 

[Staci Matheis]

Did you hear that John Wayne Bobbitt got remarried last week?

 

[Adam Murray]

I thought he was doing porn?

 

[Stacey Foster]

Scott - Scott - Scott...



It sounds like you are in need of some R & R or, like Carli said, aspirin...DESPERATELY! When are you coming to California so I can smack you?



~S

 

[Mark Hofman]

I'll take care of Scott. In three weeks we're gonna hit a private lake where the Missouri Conservation Department wants 3,000 bass taken out per year and the best that's been done is a little less than 1,200.



My brother-in-law has a nine pounder from this lake hanging on his wall. Best I've done is a five pounder, and I have a photo of a nice three pounder in my library.

 

[gone bye bye]

I dont know what the problem is....I have had women on my boat lots of times.....



Mini

 

[Staci Matheis]

Uh..... Mr. Clinton..... What is the meaning of the word "had"?

 

[Adam Murray]

To fish???

 

[Staci Matheis]

What MO is referring to is that we are taking blind boy scouts out fishin'! I've always loved to take kids out for a day - it's so much fun to see them get so excited over every little fish! But the opportunity to take out someone who can't see..... Wow! I am so very fortunate to have this opportunity!



me!

 

[Mark Hofman]

And what Scott isn't telling everyone is that, although we have a noble task to take these scouts fishing on that Saturday, we also get to pre- and post-fish the lake just for fun on Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. That's how we get paid for volunteering!



Sometimes, you give of yourself and receive back more than you gave. Bad news is...he's gonna be in a boat with ME and my father-in-law.

 

[Barb Baggott]

Interesting Scott!



I remember camping with my sister's family a year back and we decided to have a fishing tourney. It was Debbie, my sister Karen and myself against the menfolk, brother-in-law and my 3 nephews. We all left the dock and decided that in order to make sure of the count, we'd stay within sight of each other. Well, to make a long story short, the 3 of us must have came upon a school of fish and we started hauling them out left and right. The men came over and couldn't catch anything. I decided to try and cast into their boat but missed, but got a nice 2 pound bass a foot from their boat. They were none too happy.



They lost and you have never seen worst losers then they were as they had to make dinner and do all the dishes that night. It was better than winning a trophy!



And oh BTW, they refuse to fish against us to this day!



Barb

 

[Staci Matheis]

Ya gotta love it!!!!!

 

[Staci Matheis]

Thank you, Penny!



me!

 

[Bill McElroy]

Thanks Penny,...that's the smartest response to that question I've heard yet!!! Feel free to post more often!!

Fondly,

Mac

 

[C C]

I do believe that Penny has hit the nail on the head quite eloquently and I do agree with the reasons stated. They all make perfect since and thank goodness for change because it sure does make me happy to learn that all of the Pro tourneys are open to everyone. I know that the fellas I fish with could care a less if I am a woman or not as long as I do my part as a boat partner or if I am driving put them on fish. It doesn't matter to me either way, as long as I get to fish.



Thanks for the input, hope to hear from you again.



Cass

 

[Bill McElroy]

The women that Mini and I fish with and against up here are as competative and as good as a LOT of the guys,...even better than some!! I would have NO problem whatsoever teaming up or sharing a boat for the day with any of them.....infact I look forward to it.

Mac

 

[Staci Matheis]

Come on, Mac..... Admit it..... There are wsome women who are better than any of the men!



me!

 

[Carli Drake]

Gee Scott....



Penny's post left you speachless!!!



Thanks for posting Penny and giving us your perspective as a Pro. In my neck of the woods, some of the clubs won't take a woman seriously until she can prove herself. Fortunately I found a club (Towne 'N Country Rod & Reel) that has accepted me for who I am and I didn't have to prove anything to them.



Cass....the last tournament of last year, I took one of the guys from the club in my boat as his partner had lost the lower unit in a previous tournament. He fished the back of the boat and I put him on the fish that won the tournament for him! Like you, it doesn't matter to me...as long as I get to fish too!!



Carli

 

[Staci Matheis]

Yeah!

 

[Rich Stern]

Penny, thank you for visiting the site and sharing your wisdom. It's an honor for the web site.



I hope you'll join us here again.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

That was Penny Berryman? WOW, are we getting some big hitters in here now! Penny, should your schedule allow it, feel free to join us at our annual rally at Lake Champlain. I have been trying to get a pro staff member here via Jackie, but it has been difficult. If you elect to fish it, please take it easy on us, except for Scott that is. Whoop him a good one and rattle his head a little please! Thanks a bunch for stopping in.

Rob

 

[Mark Hofman]

What a great response to SCOTT, Penny!



Seriously, he's a great guy, and I'm taking him fishing on my favorite bass lake in three weeks.



Your thoughtful and professional response to his initial question is deeply appreciated. Many of us have spouses who we would, more than most other things, love to see get into the sport as much as we are. For men, professional bass fisherwomen, are a role model we can hold up to our wives.



Thanks for taking the time to write, and to be part of the discussion.



MOFish

 

[Staci Matheis]

Today has been kinda like going to a Saturday evening classic car drive-through at the local Dog 'N Suds - and having Shirley Muldowney show up!



Penny -



Showing up here and taking time out of your extremely busy schedule to share your thoughts and experiences with us was truly a wonderful thing for you to do..... I can't begin to tell you how much we all appreciate your thoughtfulness!



You are so very fortunate to have had your father share with you his love of fishing and of life!



We can all look up to you, not only for your skills and accomplishments, but for your very positive outlook and attitude towards your sport, the other competitors and those of us in the bleachers!



Truly the stuff of a World Class Athlete!



God Bless You and your Family!

me!

 

[Greg Meyer]

[email protected] do I get her to autograph this hat...?



Boys and girls...WE have hit the "BIG TIME"...Next, I am sure that Penny Berryman will be asking me (and some of you other folks) for advice, on fishing...



Thanks for stopping and sharing...Next...hit some of the "how to" questions please...if you have some freed time.



Rich!!!!! Oh Rich!!!!! If she sends anything to you like Greg's great articles...you would put them up, right?



Oh, and as far as I am concerned this could become the Nitro Tracker Owners and Penny Berryman Fan Club Website...Or maybe, the Penny Berryman Fan Club for Nitro and TRacker Owners Website... I happen to think she is a great role model for my two daughters who sometime feel awkward telling their friends that they like to fish with Dad.

 

[Staci Matheis]

Calm down, Greg! Calm down! It's MY job to get all excited and flustered at the mere mention of Penny's name!



And, this would have to be more like a religion than just a fan club - she is a Godess, don'tcha know!



So..... When you come down to fish Mark Twain..... Bring the girls! Mark is likely going to have Rachel with him. Me? I think I'll just have Penny's picture emblazened on a t-shirt! Close to my heart! I could become one of her "Monks"!



:^)

me!

 

[Ken Neeley]

Penny,

Thanx for the input and taking the time to share with us.

I look forward to meeting you if and when they ever decide to send you up here to my store in the Great White North!!!

 

[gone bye bye]

She posts on here just like you she speaks in person....truly a class act. Thanks for stopping by, and I cant wait to see you the next time you come to the Detroit Store. Perhaps a little smallmouth fishing on St, Clair?



(Boy Scott is gonna get jealous....lol)



Mini

 

[Bill McElroy]

Penny,...bring a few of your personal rods with you if you can....I'll put a few "perty bass" on those handles!! You'll be the envy of all the women on the tour!!,.....when they ask you who did them for you,..just wink at them and say,.."I have connections!!"...LOL...Hope to see you again soon.....thanks for the compliments you send my way when you see me in the stores!!........have a GREAT season!!

Mac