Wood wins casting contest
By By Mike Giles / outdoors writer
May 28, 2004
Thirteen-year-old Tyler Wood of Collinsville has caught many bass in his young life but his biggest fishing trip to date came last Saturday afternoon in Columbus. Wood didn't know it when the trip began, but he ended up competing in the Bassmaster's Casting Kids Contest held in conjunction with the tournament and outdoor show. To top it all off, he won the eleven to fifteen-year-old division by scoring 120 points, higher than everyone else at the show.
Wood has been bass fishing since he was old enough to get into the boat with his dad Wade. "I can't even remember when he started going with me, probably when he was two or three years old,"commented Wood.
Bass fishing is Tyler's favorite pastime, supplanting even baseball. In fact Wood and his best fishing buddy, Justin Giles, both gave up baseball in order to pursue their favorite summertime sport. Wood and Giles both attended the final weigh in of the E-50 tournament that was won by Mark Davis of Mt. Ida, Arkansas.
Advanced Tackle
What makes his win even more remarkable is the fact that Wood used a spincasting reel. In fact, he traded in the spincasting reels at the young age of seven. Once you make the difficult move to baitcasting reels, there's just no comparison. And to walk up to the firing line without any practice is downright scary and hard to comprehend. Wood proved to be more than up for the task at hand however, as he handled the pressure much like Rick Clunn or Bill Dance would have.
On almost any Saturday you will find Wood and his dad on the water from daylight until dark casting for bass. The young angler's favorite style of fishing is topwater, followed by spinnerbaits and worming. Whatever it takes, he's usually prepared and up for the challenge. Wood's largest bass to date is a nine pound three ounce monster. During the summer, Wood and his dad usually fish a couple of afternoons a week as well as Saturdays.
Even though the West Lauderdale seventh grader was competing in his first casting contest, he turned out to be a natural. He obviously logs a lot of practice time as evidenced by his pinpoint accuracy with his Zebco rod and reel. If this contest is any indication, then he may even be competing on the water in a few years while some other talented youngster tries their hand at the Kids Casting Contest.
Only in America can a youngster such as Tyler Wood dream of winning $600,000 in a single tournament while making a living tournament fishing. Yes, most national tournaments have winner's purses in excess of $150,000 to 200,000.00 dollars and some are approaching the magical million-dollar mark! Rick Clunn has won in excess of 2.5 million dollars to date and that doesn't count some lucrative sponsorship contracts.
Weigh-in tribute
During the final weigh in, thousands of spectators stood at attention while the national anthem was played. Not a protester was to be found. Tommy Hamill, the local American who escaped from the hands of the Iraqis, made an appearance and even gave out the championship trophy. It was an emotional moment when Hamill appeared with his wife and children and thanked everyone for their support. He also asked us to remember and pray for the soldiers and support personnel still in Iraq.
The American dream can come in many different forms to many different people. For youngsters like Tyler Wood and his friend Justin Giles, their own American dream might just see them make a lucrative living while fishing and doing something that they enjoy. You just never know. Stranger things have happened. For now however, Wood is getting ready for a trip to a regional casting contest, and perhaps to even greater heights.
