Aspiring tour-level angler Janet Parker can already claim one distinction that many established pros cannot: She's been approached for on-the-water advice by four-time Bassmaster Classic champion Rick Clunn.
"When we were at the Arkansas River, I went up to him and thanked him for making the Rico (topwater bait), and I showed him the one I used to catch my fish," she said. "Then a little bit later, we were in our boats getting ready to trailer to Bass Pro for the weigh-in and he said, 'Janet, come over here for a second, I need to ask you some girlie advice.'
"I walked over and he asked, 'How do you keep knots out of your ponytail while you're fishing.' I thought that was pretty cool."
The free-spirited Clunn has sported long hair at several junctures of his lengthy career and is in one of those phases now. He got the following tip from Parker:
"I told him I get knots in my pony if I have it positioned too low and it rubs back and forth against my lifejacket or coat, so you have to position it high enough that it doesn't rub against your clothing."
On Historic Path
Through two of the three Bassmaster Central Opens, Parker has outfished Clunn and a whole bunch of other current and would-be tour pros. After a 6th-place finish at Lake Lewisville and a 10th at the Arkansas, she trails only Californian Chris Zaldain in the points.
The resident of Little Elm, Texas is in prime position to become the first woman to ever qualify to fish the Elite Series. A placement among the Top 50 or so in next month's rescheduled finale at Table Rock will likely secure her an invitation to compete on B.A.S.S.'s top tour in 2012. If that happens, she'll accept without hesitation.
"I'd be lying if I said that being the first female to qualify wouldn't be one of the motivating factors," said the 40-year-old former physician's assistant who also spent a 3-year stint as a junior high school science teacher. "But the big thing is I'd like to become a role model for young women and show them that they can do this – it is a possibility – and that's something that I didn't have as a young girl.
"I don't feel like gender is an issue in this sport. It's not you against the men or you against the other anglers. It's you against the fish, and do you have the skills to trick those fish into biting and then get those fish into the boat? That's where the competition is."
She concedes that a woman might face a very slight physical disadvantage, but says that can be overcome with the proper equipment.
"Women don't have the same upper-body strength as men and we have shorter arms, so we need to make some adjustments for that. For one thing we need stiffer rods, and I'll always use fluorocarbon or braided line, or at least a fluorocarbon or braid leader (to eliminate the stretch that's inherent with monofilament).
"That way we can compensate for that lack of strength and get a better hookset. It makes a big difference."
Determined to Succeed
Parker has fished since she was a small child and got her first taste of the competitive aspect of the sport when she joined a women's-only club in the Dallas area during her teaching days. She looked at it as primarily a stress reliever for her day job ("I loved the kids, but the parents drove me nuts," she said), but also wanted to develop and utilize the techniques she'd read about in Bassmaster Magazine.
She figured the club would be focused on learning, but says she quickly found out that wasn't the case.
Digby, Parker's border collie, is her constant companion on the road and he also spends a lot of time in the boat.
"The women who had the knowledge and experience wanted to beat the ones who didn't know any better and take their money," she said. "I said, 'Fine. If you won't teach me, I'll go and learn on my own, and then I'll come back and take your money.' And that's what I did."
She joined the Women's Bassmaster Tour when it launched in late 2005 and won the 2009 event at the Ouachita River. She also fished the FLW Tour and FLW Series as a co-angler and said she gleaned a tremendous amount of knowledge from fellow Texans Mike Hawkes and Sean Hoernke during that period.
"I owe them so much. They allowed me to pre-fish with them and hang out and watch how they got ready for tournaments. What I learned from them probably accounts for 90% of my fishing ability."
Won't be Intimidated
Parker said intimidation won't be a factor if she gets to compete on the Elite Series next year. She's had plenty of interaction with tour pros to this point and is certain that she'll receive the same amount of respect she shows to her fellow competitors.
Her dealings with them thus far have been nothing but cordial. She points to an example on day 2 at Lewisville, when Jeff Kriet had arrived at a point she'd fished the previous day before she did, but then surrendered it to her due to her higher position in the standings.
She'd planned to just fish down the adjacent shoreline, but Kriet would have none of it.
"He told me, 'You take it, but if you leave, it's mine,''' she recalled. "He certainly didn't have to do that, but I have a great amount of respect for him for doing it."
Notable
> Parker is the VP of a marketing company and spends most of each summer in Minnesota running corporate fishing events.
> She said he greatest strength as an angler is fishing soft plastics and her primary weakness is deep cranking.
> She's never competed at Table Rock, but pre-practiced there in April before the Open was rescheduled due to high water. "About a week before the rains came I was consistently catching 15- to 17-pound stringers," she said. "But after the water began rising and got muddy, I struggled. I was extremely relieved when B.A.S.S. postponed the event."
> She's been sharing information with Paul Ferguson, another Texas angler, for the Central Opens and said that arrangement has been a big help.
> Her wrap sponsor is rent-to-own retailer Aaron's. Other backers are Ranger, Evinrude, Humminbird, Minn Kota, Rapala and Dobyns Rods.
