by Jim McCune
In 1990 I became disabled during active duty in the United States Navy. I had my leg almost severed by a forklift, and it put me in the hospital for quite a while, and in a wheelchair and crutches even longer. When I finally went home, I was bored out of my mind, and a Navy buddy Bill Atkinson from California tried to take me bass fishing.
At first, I told him no, because throughout my life all my fishing experiences were negative experiences. He came to visit a week later, and I told him to take me anywhere as long it was out of my apartment. We went fishing and after three hours, I was feeling just like every other time, but he told me to just wait, that as the sun went down the fish would bite. Sure enough, just about dark, a 3- or 4-pound bass slammed my lure, and I have been hooked ever since.
In 1991 we went to the Bassmaster Classic in Baltimore, Md., and watched Ken Cook win the classic. I was stationed in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in a temporary holding unit because of my injured leg. Visiting the Classic ignited my passion for fishing, and seeing all the vendors and watching the pros compete was an amazing experience.
I was permanently retired later that year, three months after my wife gave birth to our son, Tyler. Our first child, Stephanie, had passed away six months before my leg incident. It was a stressful time, and fishing was the perfect outlet for all that stress.
I moved back to Illinois and went to work at a warehouse while getting back on my feet. My son was introduced to fishing at a very young age. I walked the banks for several years before I got a 10-foot johnboat that I rigged up with a foot-controlled trolling motor. Several years later I was able to pick up an 18-foot aluminum boat with a 90 HP Mercury motor.
As my son grew, it was evident that he would be a passionate bass fisherman himself. In the late 90s I was with my family walking around Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Mo., when someone walked by asked me where I got my Black Bass Foundation hat that I was wearing. We began to talk about fishing and he asked me a question that made me think about what fishing has meant to me and my son: What have I done to give back to fishing?
Well, that question changed my life just like when Bill (my navy buddy) introduced me to fishing years ago. I listed below what I have done that since the day that man, Steve Kerr, asked me what fishing meant to me, and what have I done to give back to fishing.
- Anglers Legacy for the past 20-plus years — introduce at least one person to fishing.
- Illinois Bass Federation Nation Youth Director for five years.
- Illinois Jr. Bassmaster Club Director for five years.
- St. Joseph Ogden High School Bass Fishing Coach since 2009 and still coaching.
- I work for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources teaching beginning fishing. I have since 2000 and still continue to do so.
- I take seven elementary school kids fishing after school every year and sometimes twice if I can fit it in.
My son was an Illinois Jr. Bassmaster Champion three times and an Illinois Casting Kids Champion one time — championships listed below. He also fished in collegiate fishing and went to Nationals at Lake Chatuge in Georgia/North Carolina.
- 2006 he fished in Florida with Mike McClelland during the Jr. Bassmaster World Championships, fifth Place finish.
- 2007 he fished with Edwin Evers at the Jr. Bassmaster World Championships.
- 2009 he went to Escanaba, Mich., and fished the Regionals on Lake Michigan, but didn’t advance to Nationals.
I have been to 14 Classics over the years; my son has been to 12 and my entire family has been to eight. My son became a Life Member about six or seven years ago, and all my kids can fish for and catch bass. My family consists of my wife, one biological son and four adopted kids from the Illinois Foster Care system where we were foster parents for roughly 20-plus years.
This is all to the best of my knowledge and a short version of why I decided to become a Lifetime member of B.A.S.S.
