Yeah Dmax they film quite a bit in the strip pit lakes on the old Bostic Plantation in Florida. The lakes are FULL of 4-7# fish that are very predictable and the weather is co-operative so it makes for profitable and sure film production. One of his personal favorite lakes to fish is Pickwick, especially for smallmouth. But he just doesn't get to do it as much anymore and for sure the prime time to catch a 30# sack of brownies is during the early spring and the weather and conditions simply make it to un-predictable to reliably plan on filming there. I've heard from several who have fished it with him that he knows more places and objects in that lake than most people who live and guide on it.
I agree that I would like to see him get back out on the resevoirs but I also understand how expensive and time consuming that can be as well. Production schedules must be made a year or more in advance and look at the variables that can happen the day before filming is set to begin (weather, water levels etc). I've heard it said by more than one pro with a show that for appx 15 minutes of actual useable footage, it takes 1 full day to get that much film "in the can". That means that on average it takes at least 2 nice, productive days fished for each 30 minute show.
Dance was an EXCELLENT pro fisherman. In the early 70s he statistically outran the competition (and that included Roland Martin) I believe I saw a statistic once that said he won 75% of the pro tournaments he entered over a 2-3 year period. Can you imagine what would happen today if someone could win that many of the majors in a few consecutive seasons? Such an angler would be expected to get out of the boat and walk on water.
Dance gave up tournament fishing to pursue the TV show, sponsor appearances and to devote more time at home with his family. Pretty admirable, but I still would like to have seen what would have happened had he stayed on the B.A.S.S. tour for another decade or so. As much as I like and respect Roland Martin I think Dance would've rewritten the record books and Mr. Martin's historical record would've been a shorter list!
I was talking on the phone with Bill Jr. a couple of years ago (he was having us order some hunting equipment for himself and his crew) and I asked him about his dad. I asked him if his dad liked to hunt. He said that Dance was kind of a fair weather hunter. He might or might not get up for a hunt and about the only thing he really half way enjoyed then was an occasional dove hunt. LOL Jr. told me that his dad had overslept many times for hunts yet too this day he STILL gets excited and wakes up early, rearing to go when fishing is on the agenda. I guess he truly is a born fisherman, first, foremost and nearly exclusively. In fact several years ago Mr. Dance bought a sizable tract of land east of Memphis that has some great hunting on it. But Jr. told me that his dad simply did it for others in the family and company to hunt on, I want to say the he said that his dad had actually never hunted on it.
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RA
