Jim DeMint
U.S. Senator, South Carolina
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| Davy Hite: On the Water... and Off |
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| Posted by Kelly Long |
09/18/2008 - 05:51:22 PM |
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A 15-year veteran of professional bass fishing, Davy Hite has caught hundreds of memorable fish. But to this day, one he recalls as particularly important.
“I was five years old, walking the banks of Lake Murray at my grandparents’ place, throwing a topwater plug when he hit.” It is a moment that devoted bass fisherman can recall – their very first bass. The tension of the line. The bend of the rod. The splash of a largemouth trying to shake itself loose. It is no doubt thrilling for anyone to experience, but for countless youngsters, it becomes an immediate fascination.
The fish was not a trophy, but it was Davy Hite’s first bass. There on the banks of Lake Murray, the young fisherman was instantly hooked. Throughout his childhood, Davy fell in love with chasing the illusive freshwater predator.
A natural competitor, Davy entered his first tournament at age twelve. “I found that I really enjoyed the competitive aspect of bass fishing,” he told me during a recent interview. “I used to cut grass to get enough money for entry fees.” At the age of thirteen, Davy outfished a field of seasoned anglers to take third place in a local bass tournament. It was the second competition he had ever fished. He fell short of the first place prize, but tasting victory set in motion a dream that Davy would chase for the next ten years.
“I’ve always dreamed of doing this for a living,” Davy says of competitive bass fishing. “Its one thing to enjoy your work, but to actually live out a dream? Its just incredible.”
But it’s a dream that comes with its share of risk. An old Chinese proverb says that pearls don’t lie on the seashore; he who truly desires one must dive for it. For Davy, the first great risk was simply diving in. “There is so much uncertainty at the front end of a career like this,” he says. “I always felt I had what it took to do this for a living, but I had to walk away from a stable job to get here. I had to be willing to risk it.” Until 1993, Davy worked for the South Carolina National Guard. The Saluda native was making $30,000 a year at the time, and he and his wife Natalie were just starting a family who would depend on him. “I had no idea if I could find someone to sponsor me, or if I could keep a sponsor year to year,” he says. Sometimes you just have to dive in. That’s the element of Davy Hite’s character that makes him an interesting tournament fisherman; he’s willing to take big risks.
But the risk paid off. His very first year as a professional angler, Davy qualified to fish the Bassmaster Classic, the superbowl of competitive bass fishing. Fellow angler David Fritts won that championship on Lake Logan Martin in Birmingham, Alabama, but by simply qualifying, Davy had accomplished a great deal his first year in the sport. In a recent edition of the South Carolina Sportsman, Davy wrote about the experience: “I can remember that nobody followed me. I was sitting there fishing one day, and I saw 30 or 40 spectator boats following Denny Brauer, thinking about what it would be like to have that happen.”
Throughout his first years, there were tastes of success and the sting of defeat. He recalls the most crushing moment of his professional fishing career as the second place finish in the 1996 Bassmaster Classic on Alabama’s Lay Lake. In the closing moments of the championship, George Cochran of Hot Springs, AR edged him out of first place by one pound. “It was a real punch in the gut for me,” Davy recalls. “I thought I had the tournament won. I was the last one to weigh in, which usually means you’ve got it in the bag. At the last minute, it slipped away from me. I was devastated.”
In 15 years since he left his ‘stable’ job, Davy has achieved phenomenal success. He’s fished in twelve Bassmaster Classics. In 1999, 22 years after fishing his first tournament, Davy stood on stage at the final weigh in of the Bassmaster Classic held on Louisiana Delta. This time, he won, edging out by five pounds long time pro Denny Brauer, whose fanbase he had envied just six years prior on the water in Birmingham.
In his career with B.A.S.S., Davy has finished in the top fifty 111 times. He has twice won the coveted Angler of the Year, once in 1997 and again five years later. Beyond his career on the Bassmaster trail, Davy holds the prestigious title of 1998 FLW Tour Champion. And he’s earned the respect on his fellow anglers.
I recently spoke to ESPN’s Mark Zona about Davy Hite. He reiterated the importance of Davy’s capacity to accept risk. “The most important thing you need to understand about Davy Hite is that he is a home run hitter. He is not there to play it safe and have a respectable finish. He is not there to inch up in the points. Davy comes to the ramp every morning of a competition with one finish in mind – first place.” It is this quality of Davy’s fishing style that other competitive anglers admire. “There are a ton of great anglers out there,” Zona says. “But Davy Hite is absolutely dangerous.”
Two time Classic Champion Kevin Vandam from Kalamazoo, MI also speaks with high regard of the South Carolinian. During a recent telephone interview, Vandam acknowledged how versatile Davy was on the water. “This guy can put fish in the boat anywhere from Maine down to the Carolinas.” Davy credits his versatility to growing up fishing in South Carolina. “You’ve got so many different conditions here. You’ve got the clear, open water of Murray. You’ve got the timber on Santee Cooper. You’ve got the docks down on Hartwell. Fishing here makes you better in all circumstances.”
Vandam also spoke about Davy’s competitive style. “Davy does not show up to have a nice day on the water,” he says. “The man shows up to take first place.”
Davy Hite is a highly-competitive and highly-successful bass fisherman. But there is much more to life than chasing largemouth bass. And there is much more to Davy Hite than just fishing.
“I admire what Davy accomplishes on the water,” Vandam says. “But what I admire most is how he treats his family. Our job takes us away from home a lot throughout the year, so it’s not always easy. But the way Davy raises his boys Parker and Peyton and the way he treats his wife – that’s pretty amazing.”
Zona agrees. “Davy is a focused competitor. When he is on the water, he is dangerous. But the true mark of a man is how he treats his family. That is Davy’s first priority.”
Professional bass fishing is a remarkable sport. Anglers spend years, in fact lifetimes, learning the patterns of a small predator, and perfecting the art of altering their fishing approach when those patterns change. There are a lot of technological advantages on the market these days, but it still comes down to an angler with a rod and reel trying to outwit a fish on his turf.
But the more people I interviewed in preparation for this story, it became clear that what is truly remarkable about South Carolina’s most accomplished professional bass fisherman has little to do with fishing.
I interviewed Mark Zona by phone one afternoon from Greenville. We had a lengthy conversation about Davy and the sport in general. I hung up the phone and began to mentally blend Zona’s contributions into the story. But then he called me back. “Listen, this is really important,” Zona told me. “Hite is an incredibly talented fisherman. But the real story here is another side of Davy. I can remember Davy at a tournament years ago. In the middle of the tournament, with a lot of money on the line, Davy left the lake, packed up his gear and traveled back to South Carolina to watch his son play in a football game. At the time I could not believe it. I just could not understand why he would do that if he wanted to be a champion. But now that I am a dad – it makes perfect sense.”
Photographs are the property of ESPN Communications and have been used by permission.
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Regional Director
Kelly Long |
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1901 Main St
Suite 1475
Columbia, SC 29201
Map It!
P: 803-771-6112
F: 803-771-6455
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About the Regional Director
Kelly Long has served at various capacities for Jim DeMint for nearly 10 years in his South Carolina offices. He grew up in Spartanburg and graduated from the USC Upstate. Kelly currently resides in Lexington with his wife and two children. |
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United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
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