By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Jacob Powroznik lives an existence that would be the envy of a lot of folks who love the outdoors – catching bass for cash during the spring and summer and guiding waterfowl hunters in fall and winter.
Only knowledgeable clients could attest to his ability to set an effective decoy spread or call down a flock of Canada geese from high in the sky. His fishing prowess, however, is easily measurable.
According to the BassFan World Rankings calculation system, he's the best there is right now.
The 5-foot-11, 275-pound Virginian is a unique individual, for sure. What follows are some of his musings on a variety of subjects.
On his favorite outdoor pursuit: "Hunting spring gobblers would be my favorite of all. The bad thing about that is that's when the bass are spawning and they're biting good and it's kind of when I have a lot of tournaments to fish. This year I'm going to get a week off to turkey-hunt just before I visit California for the first time (for the Elite Series event at the Sacramento River/California Delta). Last year I only got 1 day, but the year before that it was 2 weeks. Listening to a turkey is my greatest passion."
On his turkey-calling ability: "I can call one in. I can use box calls, slate calls and different mouth calls, but I'm to the point now where most of the time I just use a diaphragm."
On how many turkeys he's bagged in his bagged in his lifetime: "I've probably killed 40 or 50. In Virginia we're only allowed three gobblers a year."
On watching other sports: "I like to watch the first 10 laps of a NASCAR race and the last 10, but nothing in between. I like excitement and if there's a wreck, it's probably going to be at the beginning or the end. It's the same reason people go to a hockey game – they want to see guys either score goals or fight. Basically, if I can't be outside doing something, I'm kind of bored. Instead of watching a basketball game, I'll go out and build 10 spinnerbaits. I'm not a real big TV kind of guy."
On golf: "It's fun and relaxing, but a lot of times I don't make it past the 9th hole. I have more fun at it than most people, though, because I get to hit the ball a lot more often."
On marriage and family life: "I've never been married – I'm still single and ready to mingle. A buddy of mine I grew up fishing with and who's helped me through my career a lot, he told me to wait until I was 40 before I even consider it (he's 36 now). He said I'll know when it's time."
On his least-favorite aspect of pro bass fishing: "The only thing that bugs me about it is when we go somewhere, we always seem to hit bad weather. Like at the Classic when it was 13 degrees. They're having their coldest winner in 50 years and the Classic gets dropped right on top of it. You go other places and practice for 3 days in nice weather, then the tournament starts and it's raining sideways."
On driving through Atlanta: "I hate it. Atlanta's a great city, but I hate the traffic on I-85. One time I got there about midnight and I thought it was going to be no problem, and then all six lanes were backed up for about 16 miles because there was a wreck."
On how he passes the time while driving: "I'm a big country music fan and I also talk on the phone a lot. It's a good time to catch up with buddies or talk to sponsors. I can kind of clear my mind as I drive by doing stuff like that."
On his favorite musical artists: "Hank Williams Jr. is probably my favorite because he sings songs about catfishing and trot-lining and skinning deer. I also like Willie Nelson, Conway Twitty and Merle Haggard."
On what he'd be doing if he didn't fish for a living: "When I got out of high school I went to Beach Week, which is a big party, and as soon as I got back I knew I either had to go into business with my dad, who dug footings for houses, or pursue bass fishing. I'm lucky that bass fishing worked out because otherwise I'd be digging ditches."
On how he became interested in bass fishing as a career: "My dad is good friends with Woo Daves and I got to hang around him a lot. He took me out with him to practice at the Classic at Logan Martin before they changed the rules on that. My dad blames Woo for creating a monster, but he's been a great friend and he's taught me a lot."
On whether his No. 1 ranking carries any significance: "Yeah, it would mean something to anybody. I mean, look who's been up there at the top of that thing. It's one of the things we all strive for and a lot of good stuff comes from it. People follow it and they know."
