02-22-2008, 06:10 PM
The pitch: There's this guy, a Californian. Goes by the name Skeet. He's 38. Still has a little dye in his hair. Drives a big, yellow truck. The thing holds 214 gallons of gas, tows a sleek boat. He's made himself into one of the elite anglers on the professional fishing circuit, but he can't escape his past dancing for money on nightclub stages and in nightclub cages.
Will Ferrell's next project, right? Wrong. (Well, OK. It could be Will Ferrell's next project. We've got him pegged for a golf movie, but why not fishing?)
That character, the 38-year-old fisherman named Skeet Reese was profiled earlier this week by The New York Times, which described him as being able to "skip a mop jig in the one-foot alleyway between a dock and a moored boat, and he can do it with either hand."
We'd like to see you do that, fancy pants. (Honestly, it's very, very hard. We tried to toss a pen between our editor and his desk and . . . we're sorry.)
By the way, the Bassmaster Classic begins today on Lake Hartwell, near lovely Anderson, S.C., where, if you're in the area, you can swing by and check out the 32 six-foot-long largemouth bass currently decorating downtown. Each created by a local artist.
Reese, the 2007 angler of the year, is ready to go after finishing second in last year's Classic.
Not to overanalyze, but is there another culture in the world that would turn fishing into a competitive sport? Where we come from, fishing is for relaxing. Our uncle who would go out with a six-pack, a pole and a tackle box? He never looked like he was training.
Hemingway employed fishing as a metaphor for life, struggle, dignity, honor, defeat and so on. And so on. But it's also an excuse to sit in a boat with a floppy hat pulled over your eyes while you nap.
Then again, what do we know? It's been 12 years since we last caught a fish and Reese, according to his bio, has more than $1.2 million in earnings.
He also lists angling as one of his hobbies. Do you think Tom Brady lists football as one of his? No. He lists models. Skeet Reese fishes, which is why he's better at it than anyone else, which is why his is a story of inspiration. If you read this, and you're currently go-go dancing in bars, and you want out, just learn to skip a thingamajig between stuff from a distance. You'll be in the money in no time.
Ryan White: 503-412-7024; ryanwhite@news.oregonian.com
Will Ferrell's next project, right? Wrong. (Well, OK. It could be Will Ferrell's next project. We've got him pegged for a golf movie, but why not fishing?)
That character, the 38-year-old fisherman named Skeet Reese was profiled earlier this week by The New York Times, which described him as being able to "skip a mop jig in the one-foot alleyway between a dock and a moored boat, and he can do it with either hand."
We'd like to see you do that, fancy pants. (Honestly, it's very, very hard. We tried to toss a pen between our editor and his desk and . . . we're sorry.)
By the way, the Bassmaster Classic begins today on Lake Hartwell, near lovely Anderson, S.C., where, if you're in the area, you can swing by and check out the 32 six-foot-long largemouth bass currently decorating downtown. Each created by a local artist.
Reese, the 2007 angler of the year, is ready to go after finishing second in last year's Classic.
Not to overanalyze, but is there another culture in the world that would turn fishing into a competitive sport? Where we come from, fishing is for relaxing. Our uncle who would go out with a six-pack, a pole and a tackle box? He never looked like he was training.
Hemingway employed fishing as a metaphor for life, struggle, dignity, honor, defeat and so on. And so on. But it's also an excuse to sit in a boat with a floppy hat pulled over your eyes while you nap.
Then again, what do we know? It's been 12 years since we last caught a fish and Reese, according to his bio, has more than $1.2 million in earnings.
He also lists angling as one of his hobbies. Do you think Tom Brady lists football as one of his? No. He lists models. Skeet Reese fishes, which is why he's better at it than anyone else, which is why his is a story of inspiration. If you read this, and you're currently go-go dancing in bars, and you want out, just learn to skip a thingamajig between stuff from a distance. You'll be in the money in no time.
Ryan White: 503-412-7024; ryanwhite@news.oregonian.com