WBT Pro Angler, Linda Redford Discusses Her Mentors

MO Pro Linda Redford's father and both grandfathers were fishing guides and mentors

by Linda Redford

As long as I can remember, I have been fishing. It started when my father, Bernard "Pete" Peterson hauled me around on his back while wading in Long Creek, which is now a major tributary of Table Rock Lake in the Ozark Hills of Missouri. I was 3 years old and he would carry me on his back while he waded the creek and fished. Dad had his old Marine Corp bag over his shoulder filled with hooks, sinkers, wooden top waters, a can of grasshoppers, and a couple of candy bars.

Tied on a belt loop was a minnow bucket full of minnows, crawdads, and hellgrammites (the larva of the Dobson fly). We would catch goggle-eye (rock bass), catfish, and bass and put them on a stringer tied to another belt loop. Things really got exciting when an occasional snake would swim up and hang onto one of the stringered fish.

My father and both of my grandfathers were fishing guides on the White River chain. So fishing was a tradition in my family. They fished even when they weren't guiding and I often tagged along. If they were guiding, that meant I had to stay home. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters so I didn’t have anyone to play with. Mom would usually have some peas for me to hull, green beans to break or some sort of other garden related job for me. Of course, I would have rather been fishing with dad and grandpa.

Somehow, there was always time for me to take my old rod and reel (named "Zizzer" due to the noise it made when I cast it) out in the back yard and practice casting. I would set a Folgers's coffee can in the yard and tie a big sinker on the line and practice trying to cast the sinker into the coffee can.

I was really practicing for a contest. Each year the local Sportsman's Association had a fish fry and casting contest at the old Kimberling homestead next to the Kimberling Bridge on the White River. A large tractor tire was filled with sand and a distance was measure and a line drawn where you would stand to cast.

There were entry categories for men, women, and boys. I was the only girl that wanted to enter, so I had to enter in the women's category. I was so excited, because I knew if I could cast the sinker into a coffee can every time, that big old tractor tire would not be a problem. Sure enough, finally it was my turn and my cast landed right in the middle of the tire. An 8-year-old girl had beaten all the women in the contest. I was presented with a big brown/tan tackle box filled with all the lures I had always wanted.

My father guided for the legendary Bill Rogers from the Kimberling Bridge on the White River. Dad was one of the first guides on Table Rock Lake after the White River was dammed, working out of Baxter and Highway 13 boat docks. I always loved to play on the docks and fish for those large carp that stayed under them.

When we went fishing in those days we almost always used live bait. One day my father guided some people from Kansas City and they brought a big sack of plastic worms and gave them to him. It was about the time the Creme purple worm came out.

We went fishing shortly after that and he said, "Today, I'm going to show you how to use a plastic worm". I said, "No fish in it's right mind would bite this old rubber worm, just give me a crawdad."

I didn't want to try the rubber worm, but he insisted and showed me how to rig and fish it. Before the day was over, I had caught several fish, including a 6-pound largemouth bass and a 6-pound walleye. I decided, "Yeah, these fish are dumber than I thought if they'll bite a rubber worm." Fishing a plastic worm was a whole lot easier than chasing grasshoppers or getting pinched by crawdads.

Those days are only memories now and fishing has changed. I have taken what Dad taught me and expanded on it. Now I'm the fishing guide and a professional fisherman on the Women's Bassmaster Tour (WBT.)

When Dad started guiding, all that was needed was a home made Jon boat and a paddle. Later came the 16-foot Richline aluminum boats with 25 to 40 horsepower motors and hand held electric tolling motors. Today I guide and fish out of a 520 Ranger Comanche loaded with all the latest equipment including a 225 hp Mercury Opti Max and a foot controlled Motorguide trolling motor.

Back then if you were lucky enough to have a Jon boat and some knowledge of fishing you were a guide. Today to be a guide on Table Rock Lake a U.S Coast Guard permit is required. Schooling is necessary to be able to pass a 3 phase written test given by a U.S. Coast Guard official from Saint Louis, Missouri. A medical examination is required including a vision, hearing, and drug testing. Licenses are renewed every 5 years with periodic drug testing.

I enjoy guiding people who have never been fishing before, especially the one's who have never caught a fish. There is something special about catching that first fish; people always remember it. I guide many of the same people several times a year. During the holidays, I get many Christmas cards from them, telling me how much they enjoyed their fishing trips and how they are looking forward to returning. .

The really neat thing about my guiding on Table Rock Lake is that after all these years, I still meet people on the lake that Dad guided 40 years ago. They say, “You're Pete’s daughter, that little black headed girl with the pony tail who was always on the boat dock."

"Oh yeah, that's me" I'll say. They reply, "It's great to see you are still here fishing all his favorite fishing holes." They always ask about Dad and want me to tell him hello. When I do, he remembers them and always has a memorable story about them to tell me."

Guiding is more than simply taking people to fish. It is letting them experience first-hand, the beauty of the outdoors and helping them create memories that will last a lifetime. Each day we have is a blessed gift from God just waiting to unfold the adventure of a lifetime. Why don't you grab a fishing partner and make some memories? You'll be glad you did.