THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 9, 1994 TAG: 9411090485
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, OUTDOORS EDITOR
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
For most fishermen, the sport is a hobby, an escape from their jobs.
But for Rick Morris, bass fishing is his job. His office is an 18-foot boat.
Last spring, the 32-year-old Virginia Beach resident decided to turn pro - to cast for cash. As a full-time competitor on the $4 million Bass Angler Sportsman Society circuit, Morris is fishing for fame and fortune against the likes of Roland Martin, Ricky Clunn and David Fritts.
Someday, Morris may be as well-known as Martin, the Marylander who parlayed his piscatorial prowess into a long-running TV show.
Or Clunn, the Texan who is the circuit's all-time leading money winner.
Or Fritts, the North Carolinian who won the Bassmaster Classic, considered the World Series of professional bass fishing, back-to-back in 1992 and '93.
Morris' friends in his local bass-fishing club, the Virginia Bassmasters, have warned him that he is chasing a dream, one unattained by thousands of anglers who, for more than a quarter-century, have sought to catch a pot of gold with a fishing rod.
But if it's a dream, don't wake Morris up. He recently won a $20,000 bass-boat rig by finishing third in a contest on the Potomac River.
If confidence helps, and Morris says it helps a lot, there may be some even bigger paydays a little farther downstream.
``I know I have the skills,'' said the former artist at the Glass Baron, a glass-art business his brother Ivan, 40, a sometimes tournament fisherman himself, owns on Diamond Springs Road. ``I've been messing with this stuff (tournament fishing) for several years,'' Morris said. ``About a year ago, I realized that I had what it takes. I'm good enough. I just need the experience.
``I'm getting that. During the next year I'll probably be fishing between 200 and 250 days. And I learn something just about every day.
``My strong suit is versatility. I'm not the best at fishing crank baits. I'm not the best at flipping, and I'm not the best at using the Pig-and-Jig. But I can use every fishing technique pretty well.''
Crankbaits . . . flipping . . . Pig-and-Jig. . . . Like any pro sport, bass fishing has its own lingo. And Morris not only can talk the talk, he can walk the walk.
He's being modest when he says he uses different techniques ``pretty well.'' Morris has finished in the money in three consecutive tournaments and has won $26,000. That's close to the $30,000 he figures he must win annually to support his wife, Pam (they were married in May), and to cover his tournament entry fees and travel expenses.
He is being helped along by a solid lineup of sponsors, providing everything from discounts on boats and motors to free fishing lures.
``Right now, my goal is to make the 1995 (BASS) Classic,'' he said. ``That'll open the door to a lot of new sponsors and make those I already have interested in helping me even more.
``I figure I have a 50-50 chance of making the field. That's not bad. It would be a big hurdle to make it, a big accomplishment.''
Previous Classic champs, including Fritts, have said that winning the event is worth $1 million. Although first place pays ``only'' $50,000, victory brings product endorsements, fishing seminars, speaking honorariums and public appearances at outdoor shows.
The Classic, set for High Rock Lake near Greensboro next August, is limited to the 41 top professionals from across the country, including defending champion Bryan Kershel of Connecticut.
Morris, who moved from Albany, N.Y., to Virginia Beach when he was 6, said he will be disappointed but not disillusioned if he fails to make the '95 Classic.
``This is my first year of really going full-time at this,'' he said. ``I'm giving myself five years to make it work, to prove that I can may a decent living. If not, I'll go back to being a glass artist. That's not a bad life. It's just not as much fun as fishing.''
Morris caught his first largemouth bass at age 6 on Nassau Lake, near Albany. He was hooked from that moment, he said. His biggest bass was a 9-pounder boated at Buggs Island Lake, on the Virginia-North Carolina border. That spot remains his favorite fishing hole.
Don Sprinkle, a masonry contractor and longtime member of the Virginia Bassmasters, is not one of those who thinks Morris is dream-chasing. Although Sprinkle knows the pitfalls, he believes that Morris can make it.
``It's tough,'' said Sprinkle, who has fished in a few big-money BASS tournaments. ``You think you're good, so you go up against the pros and you soon learn that's there's a big difference between being good and winning a lot of money.
``But Rick has a shot. He has three big things in his favor: Determination, concentration and dedication.
``But tournament fishing takes a little luck, too. With some luck, Rick could be the next Roland Martin, Ricky Clunn or Davis Fritts.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color BASS photo
Rick Morris of Virginia Beach has finished in the money in three
consecutive tournaments and has won $26,000. That's close to the
$30,000 he figures he must win annually to stay afloat.
by CNB