Magic struck again under the little bridge where Mark Zona came to love fishing.
At 10 years old, Zona caught a 4-pound smallmouth, a unicorn for the stream with mostly 12- to 14-inch largemouth, to shut up some older kids taunting him. He weaved that tale into his poignant induction speech to the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame last month.
Back home in Sturgis, Mich., just a few days later, Zona was mystified to learn his feat was duplicated. Archie Niblock, a youth he had taken fishing, caught a similar fish from the same spot.
“The weekend I gave that speech, the kid catches a 4-pound smallmouth under the bridge,” Zona said, “and that was only the second smallmouth I’ve ever seen caught there.
“That absolutely blew my mind. How weird is it that he caught that bass on the weekend I gave that speech?”
Shut-up juice to bullies
For his induction, Zona held his historic smallmouth mount at the podium. He explained how that bridge catch capsulized his career goal to make bass fishing cool. His path to become one of the most recognizable figures in the industry began at that bridge, fueled by that catch.
“I grew up fishing under that bridge,” he said. “I was fishing there every day from 6 years old all the way up to probably 15. That was my spot.”
The skinny 10-year-old was there when three older kids on bikes stopped on the road above and taunted him.
“You’re a loser. You’re a dork. You’re not going to catch nothing,” they jeered.
Zona said he just wanted a bite to shut them up. He skidded the pre-rigged worm under the bridge and watched his line rise. After his hookset, the fish jumped, and he knew it was the biggest bass of his life.
“I got ‘em. I got ‘em. It’s this bass right here,” he said, lifting the mount. “Those dudes looked at me for the rest of my life like bass fishing is cool.”
Zona rushed home on his bike to show off his catch, the three boys pedaling after him. Zona said it was akin to the famous bike scene from E.T. – pride ascended him on the float home.
“Those kids never, ever, messed with me again,” he said. “As I fished, that’s all I wanted people to know — bass fishing is cool. It’s the only thing on earth, next to your family.”
Big Al no longer skeptical
Zona’s parents had mixed feelings. Mom fully supported his passion; dad had reservations fishing could be a career.
“She was the promoter. She really was pushing,” Al said at the BFHOF banquet. “Me, I was skeptical. Yeah, get a job.”
Only seeing fishing as a hobby, Big Al was still impressed when Mark rushed in with his trophy smallmouth. He recalls this exchange.
“Mark, that’s a nice catch!”
“Isn’t it, dad!”
“I love it … Where’s your fishing pole?”
“Oh, it’s back over there.”
Al said that happened several times, where neighbors would call saying he left it at the bridge.
Another exchange Al reported was Bonnie taking Mark to purchase a bass boat … in the middle of winter … with ice on the lake.
“Did you use it?” Al asked incredulously.
Mark told him, “The guy said it really runs good.”
It didn’t.
As a teenager, Mark had fished about 40 to 50 days in a row, pushing Al into dad mode — “You need to get a job.” Bonnie chided him to leave the boy alone.
“No. 1, thank you for listening to her,” Mark said, looking straight at Al. “She always said, ‘I don’t care what you do, just try to do the best you can. Be the best at what you do.’ I tried to live up to that.
“Dad, thank you for taking me trolling and fishing. We sucked when we started … You still do. It’s been awesome. My Dad still doesn’t think I have a real job … Hey, you are absolutely spot on.”
Al has come around. Even before Mark’s enshrinement, he said he’s been proud of what his son has accomplished.
“My boy did good. Yes, I say it all the time now,” he said. “I was skeptical back then.”
No stingers for Scorpion
With twin sons Hunter and Jakob watching from the head table with their girlfriends, Zona remarked how he’s proud of the young men they’ve become.
“I look up to you guys,” he said. “You’ve grown into something I was not … I was a handful.”
Then it was time to acknowledge his wife, Karen, who serves as CEO of Zona Inc., and recently made the final call to move on from Bassmaster LIVE to concentrate on Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show and other business interests.
“Karin, you’re my best friend. You’re the best human being I have ever known,” he said, becoming misty-eyed. “Tonight is for you, but most of all, it’s because of you, and I truly mean that. I don’t know where I’d be without you.
“I owe you for being the Scorpion, the CEO, and making critical decision for the company we run. We have a lot of things left to do.”
Zona earlier thanked Bass Pro Shops CEO Johnny Morris for housing the BFHOF and all he’s done in the sport and all the sponsors who stuck with him. He closed his speech by circling around to the message he served up to those bullies at the bridge.
“Everyone I’ve listed, go back to those kids,” he said. “You have helped me for the last 21 years show tens of millions of people how cool bass fishing is.”
A chip of the ole Niblock
Zona met the boy who caught the smallmouth from the same bridge about four years ago. He saw Archie and his father, Troy, fishing the spot and stopped to say hello.
“This is going to sound bad, but looking at their tackle, it was horrific,” he said. “I told them to come down to the barn and let me get you fixed up.”
They became friends, and Zona even took them fishing this summer. Zona said Archie is as naturally gifted as any youth he’s ever seen, so who knows where fishing will take him. Perhaps he will spend his life working to make bass fishing cool for future generations.
Archie already has a leg up with a catch that grabbed Zona’s attention.
“I don’t want to say local magic, but it’s really interesting to me,” Zona said. “It’s just amazing that I’ve only seen two smallmouth ever caught there, and it’s by two 10-year-old kids 42 years apart. I still can’t believe that lightning would strike twice.”