The Rod That Changed Bass Fishing
IT WAS A rod you probably don’t know about from a company that you do. It didn’t change bass fishing by bursting onto the scene with wild, far-reaching, big-money acclaim. No, it was unheralded and forgotten in its own time. Still is. But it did alter the fortunes of one man. And, in doing so, changed everything for all of us.
In the 1960s, the iconic angler who would become America’s Favorite Fisherman was making less than $500 a month as a traveling hardware salesman. Born in Memphis and raised in Lynchburg, Bill Dance was Tennessee through and through. He was also a natural at bass fishing who, by middecade, was garnering some serious attention.
While he could not fathom the incredible journey ahead, a chance meeting at Pickwick Lake would be the catalyst for what was to come.
It was much like many other days. Fishing from a johnboat with his wife, Dianne, Dance had a near limit by midmorning of respectable, if not brag-worthy, fish. It was pretty typical
