On August 17, 2007
Pam Martin Wells was inducted into the Legends of the
Outdoors Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN, and I couldn’t
have been prouder. (Our careers in women’s professional
fishing have run parallel.)
There she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the
greatest hunting and fishing legends of our times, the
kind we pinch ourselves over, to make sure we’re not
dreaming – like Hank Parker, George Cochran, Shaw
Grigsby, and Larry Nixon to name a few of the anglers.
“Legends of the Outdoors” is a national hall of fame that
recognizes men and women who have made outstanding contributions
to the outdoor sports of fishing and hunting.
“I
can’t believe I’m here,” Pam said with chill bumps on her arms
and a trembling voice. The shy lady pro angler from Georgia was
nervous about the acceptance speech she was to give, which was
needless, for when her time came, she stepped up to the podium
and delivered one of the most heartfelt, passionate speeches of
the night. And she thanked everyone – from God, to spouse,
family, all her sponsors, previous women’s tours, WBFA and
Bass’n Gal, current Women’s Bassmaster Association, the Legends
program, etc. before receiving a standing ovation from the crowd
of 300.
Rewind this scenario twenty years back in time, and this is
where I can tell you Pam’s story from the beginning. I was
sitting in my boat on the shore of Lake Seminole, Georgia,
stowing my rods, reels and tackle after a Bass’n Gal
tournament. I happened to look up and see a wiry little gal who
was upset about something. I introduced myself and soon we began
talking - she eventually began to tell me what had her so upset.
“I
could have won this tournament but they wouldn’t let me
fish it” she said, (kicking the dirt if memory serves me
correctly.) “Some stupid rule about off limits.”
Seemed Pam had been unaware of the approaching women’s national
event and had been fishing nearly everyday on Lake Seminole, her
home lake. Tournament rules prohibited any of the contenders
from fishing tournament waters for two weeks before an event –
and just as you and I must breathe air to live, Pam had to fish
Lake Seminole.
“The
next time there’s a tournament here, I will fish it – and
win” she insisted.
And
win she nearly did – a year later when the Bass’n Gal tour
returned to her lake. Placing second, she narrowly missed
winning by a mere 03/100ths of a pound – equal only to a few
drops of water at most. But Pam gained respect from everyone day
– especially me, as I sat in disbelief over what a difference a
year could make in a person. The gal could fish! Since that
time, she has gone on to win 13 national titles, 3 elite Angler
of the Year titles, plus the Women’s Bassmaster Tour
Championship last February. To date, she is the leading,
all-time money winner in women’s professional fishing.
Pam
was fortunate to have one of the greatest mentors of all times,
another “Legend of the Outdoors Hall of Fame Inductee, Jack
Wingate. Known for owning “Wingate’s Lunker Lodge,” he is a
living history book on the Lake Seminole area having walked the
river bottoms as a child with his father – long, long before the
lake was filled. Over the years, he mentored Pam and was one of
her greatest fans – just as he was that August night in
Nashville. Wingate was given the honors of introducing her and
did so with pride and his trademark sense of humor.
“Pam,
how old were you when you when you got your very first speeding
ticket on a dirt bike?” he grinned over his right shoulder to
ask her.
“Six
years old,” she sheepishly replied.
“And
how many tickets did you get the first year?” he asked.
She
admitted, “Six, I think.”
The
audience roared but quickly realized the point Wingate was
making – that Pam Martin Wells had “gumption,” i.e. “guts,
nerve, etc. from the time she was just a child. Having such
nerve is surely what propelled later in life to take chances –
against hundreds of women she didn’t even know. Nerve to drive
her boat through threatening, rough waters, to fish in rain,
sleet, snow and temperatures over 100 degrees - every kind of
weather Mother Nature offered. She was fearless – and it
showed.
Steven Wells, Pam’s husband and “wind-beneath-her-wings” as the
as the song implies, deserves credit, too. Anyone who ever
watched him on shore while she was competing knows he is
sometimes better entertainment than Sunday night television. He
fidgets, paces and prays, watches the clock, hopes she’s doing
well, then fidgets, paces and prays all over again. Strange,
because if you ask, he will tell you he is certain that she is
doing just fine, finding and catching her limits. And he means
it. He is incredibly sure of her abilities but – the way I see
it, maybe he fidgets and paces just to “fit in” with the other
guys.
When
Pam weighs in, it is Steven in the crowd with her super
supportive parents, taking pictures, movies, shouting the
loudest when she takes the lead, and hugging her the hardest.
He’s even got a little winner’s dance for tournaments she wins.
Steven is one of the most supportive husbands on tour.
Pam
Martin Wells, I met her before she ever became a pro angler,
watched her vow to beat everyone. I saw the “eye of the tiger”
in Pam – something only true winners possess. And over the past
20 years, I unknowingly watched a friend become a sports legend
in America’s favorite past time….. fishing.
Pam
Wells, a living legend of the outdoors. Well deserved, Pam. Well
deserved.
YAKIMA BAIT COMPANY
