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| Photo provided by Charlie Bruggemann |
Go to Google images, enter
"fishing clocks" as your search phrase,
and the results you get run the gamut of
people's imagination. One clock you won't find pictured there, though, is a one-handed
clock, which tells best fishing times.
This clock--actually
just a prototype, because it never was marketed--belongs to TV bass-fishing-show
host, Bill Dance, who is pictured above, along with the clock. The man who invented it, though, lives right here in Hampton
Roads--Virginia Beach, to be exact. His name is Ray Scott--and, no, he's not
the man who founded the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society--not even kin, as far as
I know.
This Ray Scott
(pictured left) is
Charlie Bruggemann's good friend. He's also an avid fisherman. And last but
certainly not least, he's a docent at the Virginia Beach Military Aviation
Museum, where until last year, he flew the planes, instead of just telling
visitors about them.
(Read about his long
aviation career in the article reprinted with permission at the end of this
one. It first appeared in Volume 5, Issue 4, of the Museum's membership
newsletter, Prop Noise
.)
Ray estimates it was about
20 years ago when he got the idea for this clock. After spending a couple of years and about
$10,000 of his own money researching the idea, developing a prototype, and
writing a set of operating instructions, he contacted the late-Dr. Loren G.
Hill, a longtime fishery academic and avid bass angler. Dr. Hill, at the time, was
director of the Zoology Department and Biological Research Center at the
University of Oklahoma. He's best known as inventor of the Color-C-Lector, a
device that helped anglers choose lure colors based on water and light
conditions.
Ray and Dr. Hill signed
a disclosure statement, and Dr. Hill then went looking for financial support.
At that point, however, problems arose, and without a marketing source, Ray had
no choice but to abandon his venture. That's when Bill Dance ended up with the
prototype in the earlier picture--Dr. Hill gave it to him after Ray pulled the
plug on his invention. Ray still has one of the clocks himself, as do a few
other folks who bought a limited number he assembled and made available at some
trade shows he attended, but there, unfortunately, are no more to be had these
days.
Ray's
best-fishing-times clock, or "Strike Alert," as he named it, operated
on the same principle as a tide clock, which, according to Wikipedia, keeps
track of the Moon's apparent motion around the Earth. Along many coastlines,
the Moon contributes the major part (67 percent) of the combined lunar and
solar tides. The exact interval between the tides is influenced by the position
of the Moon and Sun, relative to the Earth, as well as the specific location on
Earth where the tide is being measured.
Owing to the Moon's
orbital progress, it takes a particular point on the Earth, (on average) 24
hours, 50 minutes, to rotate under the Moon, so the time between high lunar
tides fluctuates between 12 and 13 hours. A tide clock is divided into two
six-hour-long tidal periods that show the average length of time between high
and low tide in a semi-diurnal tide region, such as most areas of the Atlantic Ocean.
Therefore, compared with the actual time between the high lunar tides, tide
clocks gain approximately 15 minutes per month and must be reset periodically.
I honestly don't
understand much of that Wikipedia explanation of a tide clock, but I assure you
that the 80-year-old Ray does. He's as sharp as a tack, looks fit, has a really
firm handshake, and says the only reason he retired from flying a year or so
ago is because he noticed a couple of things that gave him a clue it was time
to "keep his feet on the ground."
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| Photo by Charlie Bruggemann |
Earlier, I described
Ray as an "avid fisherman"--and that's no joke." He's very
humble about his abilities, though--"I'm not a very good fisherman,"
he said. But when I
asked him what his biggest bass to date is, he perked up
and quickly announced: "7-2." Then I inquired where he caught it, and
his response was, "Chickahominy River." After a brief pause, he added
with a smile, "I even had my name up in crayon at
the local tackle store
for two days afterward."
I like Ray's style, and
I told him so as we went our separate ways at the conclusion of yesterday's interview.
Now enjoy the sidebar that follows,
describing his long and satisfying aviation career.
Ray Scott the Aviator
By Jacey Byrne
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| A young Ray Scott flying an early-model Mustang |
In 1947, when Ray Scott was 16, he spent a lot of time at a local
airport. As veteran pilots were returning home, he got to know some of them and
was given several airplane rides. It was then, while watching World
War II
veterans utilizing their G.I. Bill for flight training, that he decided to
do
the same thing.
In 1953, Ray was drafted into the Army. After basic training , he
served as an instructor and then was sent to Korea and served as wire chief for
the 7th Infantry Division.
 |
| Ray Scott in the museum's P-51 Mustang |
Following his discharge from the service, and with assistance from the
G.I. Bill, his dream came true as he attended flight school. After completion
of that training, he built flight time while serving as an instructor and
towing banners. He also started a glider school with a friend, and it's still
in operation today--50 years later.
Scott flew as a corporate pilot during the next 24 years, primarily in
turbo-props, and acquired 750 hours in a Be 18 (Army C-45, Navy SNB), which
introduced him to Warbird aircraft.
The corporate job he had required him to take regular FAA flight
checks, and he knew most of the FAA people in the Richmond office. Those same FAA
pilots who had given him flight checks recommended him when there was an
opening for an aviation-safety inspector in the Richmond office. Although this
is a difficult and coveted position, Ray passed through the process
quickly--and with flying colors.
 |
Ray Scott in the museum's Curtiss P40.
Photo by Charlie Bruggemann |
After his retirement, he received a call from Ken Laird, asking if he
would be interested in flying his Tora Tora Tora Val in airshows, which started
him in another aviation direction... Warbirds. During an airshow at Oceana, he
met someone at the Military Aviation Museum and was offered a flight in the
SNJ.
Later, Ray sent a letter to the museum, expressing his desire to become
involved as an airshow coordinator with the Fighter Factory, where the aircraft
are maintained for the museum. He spent the next 8 years flying many of the
Warbirds you see there today and serving as the airshow coordinator, which Ray
describes as "the most enjoyable part of his aviation career." After
56 years of flying and more than 13,000 hours, he says he wouldn't change much
and is thankful for his time with the Warbirds. He enjoys the Spitfire because
of its historical factor and the Yak because of the excitement of its power and
acceleration.
Ray now is an active museum docent and loves to talk about all the
aircraft they have, especially the P-51 Mustang, which, he says, "is the
most pleasurable to fly." He can't pick a favorite, though--he loves them
all!
