His recollections are vague, but Bill McDonald claims his attraction to fishing started at age 4 either at Dietz Lake in southern Indiana or the pond behind his grandparents’ home in the small Tennessee town of Lafayette.
Immediately, the Greenwood resident was — pardon the pun — hooked.
“It’s just being outside. Nature, seeing what God has made and being able to go out and enjoy that,” said McDonald, 58, a married father of two children and grandfather of four. “Growing up, we made summer vacations wherever ‘Field and Stream’ and ‘Outdoor Life’ wrote about.
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“Dad liked to fish and hunt, so I can blame him.”
Or, rather, credit him for what has turned into a nice career. McDonald has fished competitively since the mid-1980s. He spent 30 years balancing his passion with construction work, but he has spent the past six years making a living off money made through fishing events and sponsorships.
McDonald is one of 170 professional anglers competing in the upcoming Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) Tour. The schedule consists of seven bass fishing events around the country, starting Jan. 10-13 at Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas, 70 miles north of Beaumont in the state’s southeastern corner.
McDonald pays a $5,000 entry fee for each of the seven events. He spends approximately $50,000 annually on entry fees, lodging gas for his truck and boat and other expenses to live his dream of going lure to lure against some of the country’s top anglers. McDonald drives about 35,000 to 40,000 miles per year.
Prize money for the FLW tournaments gets up to $100,000 for first place. Each of the top 65 finishers goes home with a paycheck, ranging from $30,000 for second to $9,000 for those from 56th to 65th place.
The winner of the FLW Cup at the end of the seven events receives $300,000. The runner-up gets $60,000, with prize money going to the top 52 competitors in the standings.
McDonald’s most lucrative year was in 2012, when he banked $57,038 in only four tournaments. That included his second-place finish at an event held on the Detroit River.
McDonald’s career earnings are $304,901, according to the Fishing League Worldwide website. He’s recorded 18 top-10 finishes in 182 events fished, including four victories.
McDonald and his wife, Candy, usually stay at a destination 10 days at a time. In an attempt to save money, the couple shares a rental house with another FLW fisherman, Greg Bohannan, 47, and his wife, Holly. The Bohannans live in Bentonville, Arkansas. They prepare their own meals rather than dine out.
The couples usually arrive in the host city on a Friday. McDonald is part of a meet-the-pros night on Saturday and practices the following three days. Wednesday is an off day, and events take place Thursday through Sunday.
“We fish alike, and we have a lot of the same characteristics. It works out good,” McDonald said of Bohannan.
Bohannan points to similar family values and a mutual love of deer hunting as drawing the two men and their families together 15 years ago.
“Bill is a very strong family man and a strong Christian,” Bohannan said. “To have a teammate on the road, you have to be able to trust each other 100 percent. We pull for each other and try to help each other out.
“Bill has been around the fishing industry a long time. He gives me a lot of guidance about sponsors and other things.”
McDonald is savvy when it comes to business. He enjoys making public appearances on behalf of his sponsors and pushes their products every chance he gets through the power of his website (billmcdonaldfishing.com) and Instagram account (@bmacfishing).
Also, clips on YouTube show McDonald sharing fishing tips.
“It’s a living. It’s a business. You want to compete and you want to win,” McDonald said. It’s challenging and unlike NASCAR, per se, where you have 38 cars or whatever. We have 170. You’re competing against 169 of the best people in the country who do this as a living.”
McDonald’s first taste of the FLW Tour was in 2004. He competed the next two years before taking a break and got back into it six years ago.
The 2019 FLW Tour roster is headlined by a contingent of bass-fishing heavyweights, including three-time Angler of the Year (AOY) and 2003 FLW Cup champion David Dudley of Lynchburg, Virginia.
Competitors are judged by the combined weight of five of the fish caught each day for four days. Everyone fishes the first two days, but only the top 30 are left by the third day and the top 10 the final day.
All fish are caught and released. Competitors use artificial bait.
“Trying to figure out where those fish are this time of year is going to be the key,” McDonald said of the upcoming Texas event. “A good bag down there is going to be in the 20-pound range every day. Somebody could weigh a 30- or 40-pound bag as well. It’s a phenomenal fishery.
“In Texas, it’s a deep reservoir. Lots of standing timber, lots of grass. You look at seasonal patterns and migrational routes of the fish. That’s what we’re trying to figure out all the time.”
McDonald feels his three decades working construction benefit him as a full-time competitive fisherman. He knows how to dress appropriately regardless of the weather conditions.
“Everybody thinks it’s all fun and easy. Most people fish recreationally. They pick the good days to go,” McDonald said. “But it’s the hardest job I’ve ever had and the most trying job I’ve ever had. Our average day starts at 4 in the morning. If we’re lucky, we’re in bed by 10 or 11 o’clock at night. We don’t get to pick warm-weather days, so it’s a grueling deal.
“But it’s my passion. I love it. You’re a truck driver, a mechanic, a bookkeeper and your own agent. You wear a lot of hats to be able to do this.”
Asked recently what he was going to do once he retires from competitive fishing, McDonald didn’t hesitate.
His response: Go fishing.
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FLW tour schedule
Jan. 10-13: Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Brookeland, Texas
February 7-10: Lake Toho, Kissimmee, Florida
March 7-10: Lake Seminole, Bainbridge, Georgia
March 28-31: Grand Lake, Grove, Oklahoma
April 11-14: Cherokee Lake, Jefferson City, Tennessee
May 2-5: Lake Chickamauga, Dayton, Tennessee
June 27-30: Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, New York
Aug. 10-12: FLW Cup – Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs, Arkansas
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