Liz Sanders
“Tell me about the tour you were on, how long and how did you do..
“I have fished with several ladies' tours. I started in 1995. The first one was the Women's Bass Fishing Association out of Alabama. I fished this tour for several years and placed many times in the top 10 and won a big tournament in OK on Grand Lake of the Cherokees. Fun times…
“…the next tour I fished was the WBT with BASS. I fished this tour the entire time of its existence. I placed in the top 6 several times which allowed me to fish the last day….
…My biggest memory was fishing Lake Dardanelle in AR. I got in the top 6, which was all that was allowed for the last day, and on the final day caught 1 fish. It was a 3 pounder and I hoped it was enough to help move me up in the standings. We had to stop fishing early as the AR Highway Patrol escorted us to Little Rock to the ATT arena. Now that was exciting! The BASS folks in charge had us waiting in the back of the stage to organize us and help us get on stage. The men were also weighing in there a little later in the day, so the arena was full of people. When I looked around, I was the only one left back stage and wondered, dang do I have a chance to win this one. I was so excited. I had heard the lady leading the tournament did not catch any fish that day so I was hopeful. As it turned out, I finished in 3rd. I sure wanted that Triton boat.”
“Are you glad you did it and why, what did you get out of it.”
“YES, I am so very thankful I was able to fish both of these ladies' tours. I believe that fishing a tournament trail with many different people teaches you many skills and techniques, if you let it. You can always learn something from other anglers. It allows you to fish new bodies of water and travel to a lot of new places. I have been able to fish the southern parts of the USA, from North Carolina to Texas with these 2 tours.”
“What do you miss, what do you not miss”
“After we all came in for the day, we hung out together and shared stories. Oh my goodness, we laughed and made some wonderful memories. We hated to see it end and all of us go our separate ways until we met again, at the next tournament.
I have lost many friends I fished with over the years. But I am so glad I got to meet them and made some good memories.
I don't miss the sleepy, hard times of driving home after an exhausting week of fishing, and walking in to work on that Monday morning and people asking you, "Oh hey, how was your vacation, relaxing I hope- do anything fun?" I just smile and respond, "yeah it was great."
I don't miss fighting snakes to keep them out of the boat, or trying to get power cords from the room to the boat, or trying to park the rig so I will be able to get out at 4:00AM.”
How important is fishing, of any kind, to you.
“Fishing meant the world to me.”
“For 15 years or so I fished 5 weeks a year on a tournament trail. I took 5 weeks of vacation and dedicated it to fishing. Now, mind you, a week of pre-fishing and the tournament is not a play in the park. You pre-fish from sun up to sundown and the tournament days are brutal. Tournament days you fish regardless of the weather. There is no time out. It has been ice cold and freezing and blazing hot. But we ladies always manager to weather the storm.”
“What are you doing now”
I am a retired Embryologist. After 30 years of getting up and walking in the hospital at 6:00 AM in Jackson, MS, I retired. I always said when I retired, I wanted to move to TN and 3 months after retirement I have moved and settled down in Crossville, TN. I absolutely LOVE it here. It is half way between Nashville and Knoxville so I have anything you can imagine or desire right around me.
I live on a beautiful golf course in Fairfield Glade and hope to take golf lessons soon. I sit on my back deck and reminisce about my fishing day and so thankful I was able to do it for so long. “