Hmm...We Aren't All Liars After All

We've all surely heard the old TV commercial with the following slogan: "When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen." Well, as I found out yesterday, while doing some online research, writer and blogger Pete Robbins suggests that Virginia pro angler John Crews (left) deserves the same kind of respect when he speaks. In the piece that I read, Robbins referred to Crews as "the last honest man in bass fishing."

And to think, here I was, believing, as I've read and heard far too many times, that "all fishermen are liars." OK, so maybe I'm kiddin' just a bit here, but let's face it, there are very few of us anglers who haven't, at one time or another, listened to...or perhaps told...one whopper of a story about the big 'un that got away.

In the piece that I read, Robbins took note of the fact that, over the course of thousands of interviews he's had with pro bass anglers, he cannot begin to count the times that the interviewee asked him to refer to a product as "unnamed reel" or "prototype lizard," because the angler in question wasn't getting paid by the company that actually produced it. Robbins also noted there probably have been an equal number of times when the angler said, "Look, I was actually using X, but I'd appreciate it if you'd say I was using Y."

Said Robbins, "This is a vexing and complicated situation for a not-quite-journalist, but it is the realm in which we currently live. That's why I pay attention whenever a pro bucks that trend."

One who did is Virginia's John Crews, who at the time of his interview, had amassed an Elite Series win and 10 Classic appearances. And in case you didn't already know it, he also founded and owns Missile Baits, a tackle company that produces a broad line of soft plastics, among other things.

"Based on my experience-based prejudices," said Robbins, "I assumed he never would knowingly promote or commend any other brand of soft plastics. But I was wrong."

Robbins then explained that friends and buyers from big-box stores repeatedly have asked Crews to produce a Senko look-alike, and each time his answer has been the same: "If I want to fish with a Senko, I'll just buy a Senko. I'm not going to design something that already exists. I'm trying to design something that doesn't exist or a better way of doing something. When I go to flip, you can rest assured I'll be using a D Bomb, a D Stroyer, or a Missile Craw, but if I want a horizontal fall, nothing beats a Senko."

As Robbins then said, "My big bosses at Yamamoto, who provide me with this space, should be glad to hear that. But you, as a consumer, should perk up your ears, too. It says you should be fishing a Senko and not a knock-off, because that's what successful pros do when their livelihood is on the line. It also tells you that if John Crews produced something, it's not just because a peg at the tackle store is available, or because he thinks he can make a quick buck. Rather, it's because it's something he needs to earn his living. Sometimes, complimenting someone else's product reflects positively on you and your product. When Crews says something in the future, you can be certain I'll listen even more attentively."