Charlie Reed, the winner of the 1986 Bassmaster Classic, died last Friday in Hochatown, Okla., after a bout with lung cancer. He was 78.
At the time of his Classic victory at Chickamauga and Nickajack lakes, Reed was 51, which made him the event's oldest winner until Woo Daves won the Classic at age 54 in 2000. The final day of the 1986 Classic was the first time the event was televised live to a national audience on The Nashville Network.
Reed fished four other Classics (1987, 1989, 1991, 1994) and more than 125 Bassmaster events in his career, but the '86 Classic win was his lone B.A.S.S. victory. He totaled six Top-10s in his Bassmaster career before stepping away from pro fishing in 1997.
A mason by trade, Reed's work ethic on the water was evident, according to those who knew him well.
"He was a very hard worker and that work ethic carried over to his fishing," said Jerry Walthall, a longtime friend who credits Reed with being his mentor. "I just used to fish around here in the streams and rivers, but I started fishing the lakes with him and that gave me a boost in terms of my ability.
"He'd go off to a tournament for a couple weeks and then he'd get home and call me the next day and say, 'Wanna go fishing?' We'd practice things he'd learned on the tour and go to lakes around here and fish for fun."
For example, he said Reed introduced him to the Carolina Rig, which he had learned about on the tournament trail.
"We kept that hidden around here for a long time," Walthall recalled.
He never boasted about his fishing accomplishments, though, Walthall said.
"He was a very proud and very humble person," he said. "He's one of the most humble people I ever met. He was not a bragger and didn’t boast on himself. He was a pretty quiet person."
Jimmy Houston competed against Reed for years in Bassmaster events. Houston won the B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year title the same year Reed won the Classic. He said Reed had been to his ranch on several occasions to fish and hang out. Their wives were friends and competitors on the Bass'n Gals circuit.
"Charlie was a really good fisherman and a really good guy, one of the gentlemen in the game," Houston said. "When we heard about his passing Friday, it saddened us."
During the recent Lake Chickamauga FLW Tour event, upon seeing a group of boats, including eventual winner Casey Martin, fishing tightly together, Larry Nixon recalled saying to his co-angler, "All of those boats are piled up right where Charlie Reed won the Bassmaster Classic."
"Charlie was a great individual," said Nixon, who competed against Reed for a number years on the Bassmaster circuit. "He and his wife were great for the sport of bass fishing back when I was beginning."
Reed is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Vojai Reed, who was an accomplished angler herself. She won the 1984 Women's World Championship of Bass Angling and in 1991, she became the first female to fish the B.A.S.S. Tournament Trail and finished 58th in a field of 244 at her first event.
Reed is also survived by a son and two daughters.
