He’s a founding member of one of the oldest bass clubs in the country, the Lake Nepessing Bass Club, and the only person to be a member for all 43 years.
As the story goes, the club began on a cold day in February 1976 at George’s Bait & Tackle, located below the Inn on Lake Nepessing, which is east of Flint. Forty members signed up that day, paying $5 each. The proceedings then moved upstairs to the bar and the first round of dues was used in its entirety to buy drinks for all.
The 2019 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship on Lake St. Clair is the third Bassmaster professional tournament the 71-year-old DeMott has worked. This week he did a great job of ferrying me around the waters of St. Clair in his 1989 Champion boat. He knew the St. Clair River particularly well.
DeMott spent 32 years as a skilled tradesman at AC Sparkplug, which is part of General Motors. He referred to GM several times as “Generous Motors.” He’s a Vietnam War Veteran, where is walked point with a german shepherd. He and his wife of 48 years have two kids and four grandkids.
DeMott had both knees replaced this year, and still managed to fish in 15 tournaments.
And by the way, DeMott and I picked the exact same Fantasy Fishing teams for the AOY Championship: Zaldain, Combs, Pipkens, Paquette, and Mueller.
A gentleman and a scholar!
