A guy who knows a heck of a lot about tournament bass fishing contacted me last week, wondering why there was no hoopla over Christiana Bradley's Top-10 finish at the Potomac River Northern EverStart. As you might guess by the name, Bradley is a woman.
Here's my take on that: There's simply no competitive disadvantage for females in this sport. It's not golf or tennis, where the ability to strike an object with tremendous force counts for a great deal. Any angler of either gender with sufficient experience, using high-quality equipment, can cast far enough to succeed. The ability to summon physical strength for short bursts of action is of very little consequence.
Success in tournament fishing is about making smart decisions and using one's allotted time wisely, and as far as I can tell, women have no less natural ability in those departments than men do. I can't speak for anybody else, but I can say that my own decision-making abilities are not on par with either the woman who gave birth to me or the one I married. Oh, I could probably out-fish them on most days, but only because (a, they had a lot less fishing experience, and/or (b, they just didn't care.
When Janet Parker made a serious run at qualifying for the Bassmaster Elite Series via the Central Opens last year, that was a big deal. She was taking on all comers on a multiple-event circuit and if not for a bomb in the final derby, she would've achieved a significant "first." Parker or some other woman (maybe the aforementioned Ms. Bradley) may eventually clear that hurdle. If it happens, it will be covered on this site. But after that initial feat goes into the books, it'll be no major whoop the next time.
I don't know Christiana Bradley and I couldn't pick her out of a police-style lineup, but I feel like I do know a little bit about her. She's sponsored by insurance giant Geico, and the company contracts with a media agency to produce press releases on her competitive exploits. The releases are always well-written and informative.
She appears to be extremely serious about this pursuit and always seems to know precisely why she succeeded or failed. She should be congratulated for her fine showing at the Potomac, but not on the basis of her gender. Somehow, I don't think she'd appreciate a back-slap of that nature.
––John Johnson
––BassFan Senior Editor
Snapcasts are brief opinion pieces produced by BassFan staff members. The views presented are the author's alone.
