Bobbie and Butch Gayle
A Ten Pound Bass. A distinction. B.A.S.S., I.G.F.A. and various other highly recognized clubs or organizations have special recognition for this feat. A dream . . . anyone that fishes for bass has that dream. Yet, 99% of all bass fishing enthusiasts have never reached that milestone nor will they.
Yet, WorldRecordBass is happy and proud to induct the newest member(s) of our Hall Of Fame and just for starters, this husband and wife team since 1999 has acounted for over fifty-nine (59) ten pound plus largemouth bass. Welcome Butch and Bobbie Gayle from Plains, Texas.
It all started way back in 1968 when these lovebirds got married and lived in the very flat plains of west Texas. Their "honeymoon" consisted of their first fishing trip taken together and they’ve never looked back. More fishing included Buffalo Lake along with many tanks that the area affords. Then came Butch’s first bass club called the "No Water Bass Club" where he won a few tournaments and the family grew as well with a new son and daughter.
Butch and Bobbie continued to fish through the years, mainly for trout. After the kids grew and moved on, a new lake was built in west Texas called O.H. Ivie, which sparked interest for both Butch and Bobbie. They started fishing Ivie and discovered they had more fun fishing together than just about anything else. Butch took time to work with Bobbie and instruct her in catching "bass" while Bobbie was "in awe" of Butch because he could throw a lure in a bush and out comes a big bass! (That’s called "true love" Bobbie!)
The first time Bobbie threw a plastic worm in a bush and came out with a 2 pounder she was hooked. They would fish often and study the lake together. Butch would explain why fish would be in certain places and why they wouldn't be somewhere else. They started fishing carolina style with plastic worms and catching big fish. 5,6,7 pounders became the regular fare. They won tournaments and the size of fish kept getting bigger and bigger.
Then on March 8, 1998, Bobbie banged a 12.79 pounder on a spinner bait. It was the lake record which held for about a year. In 2000, they started fishing with live bait for lunkers. Bobbie caught a 13.05 pounder and turned it in to the ShareLunker program. It was the first one turned in that year and it was the 299th ShareLunker ever turned in. Then Butch caught a 14.58 pounder. Butch’s happened to be the second one turned in that year and was the State Of Texas long awaited # 300 ShareLunker.
News spread like a west Texas grassfire and many media publications started to take notice, including The Dallas Morning News and Bassin’ Magazine.
To date, Butch's 14.58 pound fish is still the record at O.H. Ivie. Between the two of them they have caught over 59 largemouth bass that weighed over the magical ten pounds. In February 2002, Bobbie caught her career best and SECOND entry into the ShareLunker program, the first female in the history of the program to do so (see article). That fish weighed 13.69 pounds. Bobbie’s goal is to get the O.H. Ivie lake record back from Butch. Butch’s goal: To out do his personal best again and root for Bobbie to do the same.
Bobbie and Butch are exemplary in their relationship, their personal foundation and their commitment to our wonderful sport. Kind of like how the old adage goes . . . "the family that fishes together stays together!"
Look for Bobbie’s presence in and around the WorldRecordBass web-site with an occasional drop-in by Butch. Bobbie will be a regular on the message board, both her and Butch will be posting up their own Fishin’ Buddies Web-site and they will also have their own Trophy Interviews up as well.
Congratulations Bobbie and Butch as we all wish you continued success!
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