If you were to compile a list of the "tough guys" in sports, you would have to include the name of Vernon Kemp
(left), a native Floridian bass angler.
Playing through pain is nothing new to this man. Two years ago, at the age of 47, his medical record already included nine fractured vertebrae, one cracked sternum, two broken ribs, two cracked hips, one broken bone in his foot, and one fracture in his left eye socket...a lengthy record, for sure, considering that he's never been in a car wreck.
If anything, Vernon Kemp's body IS the car wreck. Besides enduring all these injuries, he's also dealing with an ever-shrinking body. Once measuring 6-foot-1, he now stands at only 5-foot-10.
Kemp's whole life revolves around bass fishing. He, his wife, and their teenage daughter live in Umatilla, FL, a town of about 2,500 people, conveniently located between the St. Johns River and the Harris Chain of Lakes. Kemp works in a print shop and long has been the "stick" to beat in bass tournaments on these local waters.
His all-time best fish is a 12-pound 10-ounce largemouth bass he caught in 2016. It topped the 12-6 he caught several years earlier. Kemp's Bassmaster Opens record includes a 38th place on the Harris Chain in 2017, 30th at North Carolina's Lake Norman in 2018, and 14th on the Harris Chain again in 2019. He has treasured all the experiences of this step-up in competition.
"It's my passion," said Kemp. "It's what I love to do. Preparing for these tournaments is totally different from a local jackpot. These guys are all ruthless. It's not only the best local anglers but every aspiring stick, plus some pros that have already made it."
The question really isn't whether Kemp's one of, if not the toughest man in bass fishing. He has answered that. The question is: How long can he continue to do it?
He knows what's wrong. That information came to him from a visit to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. After spending a week there, he was told by the lead physician that he has a bad case of osteoporosis.
That diagnosis, however, didn't slow him down. As he explained to the Mayo team of doctors, he was leaving there and going to New York to fish a bass tournament.
Their response was, "You've got to be kidding me!"
Kemp does have a realistic view of his future. That's why he's so resolute about competing while he still can.
"You can't change the situation," said Kemp. "You've got to have faith that the Lord has put you here for a reason. I'm pretty much done (fishing bass tournaments). Now they want me to sit on a couch and collect a check. I don't like it one damn bit. I have to be willing to accept it...just not right now."
Bass-fishing passion still is speaking louder than the pain for Vernon Kemp.
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