Carla Whitstine, Jonell Whitstine and Sammie Jo Denyes'

As The 2007 season of the Women's Bassmaster Tour draws closer and the butterflies began to take over and our palms began to sweat at the thought of fishing some of the best lakes in the country and the excitement is building over the first ever WBT Classic event, I find myself saying goodbye to a part of that excitement as the new season will be a new experience for me personally.

Since I began tournament fishing in 1998 I have had one of the greatest advantages on the water; my parents JoNell and Buddy Whitstine and my sister Carla Whitstine were always there with me. My parents taught me how to fish at an early age and fueled that love into tournament fishing. I wonder often if I would have continued or even be where I am today had they of not been there with me every step of the way.

My mom Jonell, a Pro Angler with the former Bass’n Gals trail and  WBFA and now the Women's Bassmaster Tour announced to me, B.A.S.S and her sponsors her retirement effective at the end of the 2006 season. Initially,  my heart sank to my feet and the feeling of “Can I do this without he?” took over. To me, my mother has always been my lifeline. By the time I arrive at a tournament,  she is telling me where to get my licenses, where the best place is to stay, where to run and where to avoid running., what the fish are doing and the best places to eat. She is my mentor. My dad has always been there to give us strength and guidance and of course when there are mechanical problems the first to jump in and help. So my initial thought was; "What am I going to do?" As the news sank in and I played it over and over in my head, it became evident what I had to do; get out there and take what she has taught me and make her proud.

 Upon absorbing that information and gaining strength from it, my sister Carla called and told me she too was retiring from the tour. Her work as a police officer and the Swat Team kept her busy and time off was something hard to obtain. Then the emptiness sank in again. My family will not be with me on tour and I will be doing this alone. Having spent my entire fishing career on the road with family made me doubt my own abilities as an angler. I finally realized that I may not have my mom, dad and sister there, but I am still fishing with family. I have known a lot of the anglers on tour for 8 or 9 years, met some great people and made some friends that are family to me. I will still be fishing with my family; my extended family.

My husband Jerry who is with me at each event and works relentlessly to make sure everything is ready for me to hit the water, supports me completely. So this year on tour I will not be fishing for just myself, but I will be representing for my mom and sister.

My mom has went into retirement tournament tour fishing, but will be fishing some local events on Toledo Bend where she not only lives but guides  for Bass and Crappie. So I find myself with butterflies and sweaty palms and a sense of empowerment as I go into the new season on the WBT tour and I know if I look over my shoulder I will see my sister trying to out fish me, my mom's hand guiding me, my dad cheering me on and 200 of my teammates I call family smiling at me saying “Good luck Sammie!” 

Carla, I am going to miss the competition you and I had ... Dad, I will miss the comfort of having you there and miss your humor that always made me smile..........Mom, I am going to miss you every step of the way..........................I love you.

Sammie Jo