This year is off to an unbelievable start for Clay. In February, BassFan signed on to be Clay’s primary sponsor for 2006 and Strike King extended and expanded their relationship with Clay. On March 1st, Clay made his FLW Tour debut on his home lake (Pickwick). He finished ahead of reigning BassMaster Classic Champion Luke Claussen and reigning FLW Tour Champion George Cochran. Way to go Clay! A special thanks goes out to Lowrance Electronics, Strike King, and Bass Fan for making it possible for Clay to take his fishing to the next level.
Clay has received remarkable media coverage so far this year. He has appeared on Fox Sports Net (FLW Tour Coverage) and CNN’s Headline News. He has also been featured on ESPN’s BassCenter and Fox Sports Net’s FLW Tour Coverage. In addition to the television coverage, Clay has been featured in USA Today, Sports Spectrum Magazine, the Baptist Standard, and numerous newspaper articles.
May’s Recap
May was a busy month for Clay. He started the month preparing for the FLW Tour stop on Kentucky Lake. He left that weekend for a speaking engagement at Trinity Heights Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. Clay returned from Shreveport to Kentucky Lake to fish in the FLW Tour event there. Clay had a few technical difficulties on the first day of the event which limited his fishing time. While Clay caught numerous fish, he couldn’t locate the quality fish he needed to be competitive and finished a disappointing 189. Immediately following his Kentucky Lake Tournament, Clay traveled to Clewiston, Florida to speak to the Fishers of Men Group there. After a couple of days off, Clay traveled to the Pine Grove Baptist Church in Lugoff, South Carolina for a wild game dinner speaking engagement. Clay left the next morning to travel to Ft. Hood, Texas where he spoke at Fishin’ for Freedom II. Clay was joined on the program by Tracy Lawrence among others. The next day, Clay joined two soldiers who have now been deployed to Iraq, to fish on Lake Belton. While there, Clay also had the opportunity to visit with the Sergeant Major of the Army. Immediately following the tournament, Clay flew to Ormond Beach, Florida where he spoke at a church service the next morning. Clay stayed over until Monday so he could also speak to a community outreach event. Whew! What a month. Thanks to all of you who assisted Clay in making this hectic schedule work.
June’s Outlook
Clay will begin the month by speaking to the Faith Baptist Church in Moulton, Alabama on June 4. He will then leave for Henderson, North Carolina to practice for the FLW Stren Series event there. Clay will take a break in his practice to make a speaking engagement in Myrtle Beach on June 11th. Clay will then return to Henderson to compete in the Stren Series event there. Immediately upon the conclusion of the Stren Series event, Clay will travel to Plattsburgh, New York to practice for the FLW Tour event there. Clay will compete in that event on June 21-24. As you can see, June is shaping up to be another month full of travel, fishing, speaking, and new experiences.
Question and Answer with Clay
Q: I am a pretty good spring fisherman, but I struggle once the fish leave the shallows. Can you give me any suggestions for how I can catch fish in the summer?
A: Once the spring season is over, try fishing under boat docks on deep channel banks with soft plastics or jig/crawfish imitations. Another option is to go to deeper points with brush piles or rock and try finesse plastics or deep diving crankbaits. Good luck and I hope this helps you put more fish in the boat!
Q: How do you drive a boat?
A: I start by positioning my body in the driver seat, putting my life vest on and attaching my emergency stop lanyard (kill switch) to my life vest, I then crank my Evinrude, push the throttle down to my desired position and simply apply strong pressure with my arm and partial finger to the steering wheel to steer the boat.
Q: You always seem to have such a positive attitude. Does anything get you down? If so, how do you deal with it?
A: If anything gets me down it’s trying to figure out how to catch fish under tough conditions. In that case I just have faith and continue to believe I will figure the fish out and keep on working until I do…
Q: Do you have a girlfriend?
A: Yes, I’ve received a wonderful blessing to be in a relationship with a truly supportive and amazingly remarkable lady!
If you have a question for Clay, please email it to qnawithclay@smgoutdoors.com and we will make sure it gets submitted to Clay. Needless to say, he will not be able to answer every question. He will, however, attempt to answer 3 or 4 representative questions each month.
Clay’s Inspiration from May
Clay was blessed with the opportunity to participate in an event called "Fishin for Freedom" in May, in Fort Hood, Texas. During this event he had the opportunity to fish with two soldiers from the U.S. Armed Forces and also share his testimony with the people in attendance. He would like to take this opportunity to express his appreciation for the sacrifices the men and women are enduring to enable him to safely pursue and live his life-long dream of being a Professional Fisherman. As Clay probably stated best in his own words, "Every time I think about their sacrifices which enables me to live my dream, it greatly inspires me to do my best because I know our soldiers are giving their all…."
Clay’s Challenge for June
Please continue to pray for Clay’s safe travels and that he would continue to be a positive inspiration and role model for all with whom he comes into contact.
Thanks again for your support of Clay and your assistance in helping him to live his dream. Until next month….
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