Four years ago, Johnny Morris asked me to swing by his property in northwest Missouri and take a look at his lakes and ponds. I did, wrote a report of recommendations and sent it to him. A few days later, he called and told me when he was ready, he would call me. Three weeks ago, he called. We set a date and I made the trek, about 8 hours north/northeast of here. Debbie was able to go, and because a shoulder injury stopped Taylor's football week, he came along, too.
This property is Johnny's private hunting and fishing retreat, about 90 miles north of his home base.
Taylor stood on the sidelines Thursday night and as soon as the game ended, we climbed in the manly Dodge and set our sights for Missouri. After a short night in a motel in Muskogee, we made our way up to Big Cabin, then eastward to Joplin, then north.
I've been fortunate to be around Johnny Morris on several occasions and he is one of the most unassuming, kind and friendly people you will ever meet. He is humble and deeply passionate about hunting and fishing. I got to spend some incredible one on one time with him as we made our way around his ranch, looking at lakes. He has a big vision, one that will be an honor to help him bring about. Geez, there's probably 50-60 ponds and lakes on his ranch, a reclaimed strip mine property. The diversity of water will be a fun challenge. He has everything from long, deep strip mine pits to older, shallow bodies of water. He has large lakes to small ponds.
There were several highlights this weekend. Saturday morning, Johnny and I spent about three hours in his truck, driving all over the ranch, looking and talking about the different lakes and the fish which reside there. He stopped on the top of a hill, pushed a few numbers on his truck cell phone and asked his switchboard to connect him to Roland Martin. For about 15 minutes, he talked with Roland about their upcoming trip to the Louisiana coast in search of giant redfish. I was in heaven. Saturday afternoon, Taylor, Debbie and I fished in a scenic lake known for its bass. Taylor and Debbie learned to throw a baitcasting rig and only backlashed a handful of times. Debbie was pitching a spinnerbait and Taylor was learning to work a buzzbait. All of a sudden, there was an eruption about twenty feet from the boat. Taylor's rod bent double and he fought a two pound bass to the boat. All of us were catching a few fish, but the buzzbait ended up being the bait of the day. As the sun began to slowly find its way toward the horizon, the topwater fish turned on. Debbie and I were having so much fun watching Taylor, we just laid our gear down. Taylor doesn't get to tag along much and he doesn't have much time to fish. Watching him catch fish was a treat. He caught twenty bass, about fifteen of them in the last hour before dark.
We had a fish fry Saturday night...and Sunday for a late breakfast.
Early Sunday morning, Johnny and I headed to his largest lake for some one on one time. It was another fascinating time. We probably caught 100 bass, total. But, the conversation was pretty cool, too. Two guys, fishing, talking about fish and wildlife and water. About midway through the morning, Johnny's ranch manager, wildlife biologist Josh Braun, joined us. We all caught fish, but the BassPro outfished us three or four to one.
He told the stories about how the company was formed, his political philosophies, how Tracker Boats came about and his dreams about the kinds and sizes of fish he likes to catch in these lakes.
It will be fun. Out of respect for Johnny Morris and his privacy, I'll keep the news, photos and stories to a minimum.
Here's a few photos of the weekend.



We were launching three boats Saturday afternoon. Debbie and Taylor were waiting on me, Johnny was awaiting his son and his buddy to fish with him.



Johnny caught many, many fish, including several pretty nice bass, this one a solid four pounder.



Evidence that I really was there. Johnny was a gracious host and even posed with one of the many, many fish he caught. It was a great day.



BassPro's videographer, Andy Swift, took up the fillet knife. Yes, Virginia, people do eat bass. We ate bass, lots of bass, twice. Andy helps shoot and edit the BassPro TV shows. He's pretty mean with a knife, too.



John Paul Morris, Johnny's almost 21 year old son, goes to school at Ole Miss. He loves to hunt and fish, too. I'll tell you, he is an impressive young man, very inquisitive and thoughtful, just like his dad (and probably his mom...I've not met her, yet.) He cooks a pretty mean fish, also.



Johnny has a blast in the relaxed environment. He made us feel at home and we all pitched in to cook. His Uncle Buck's fish batter is smooth and tasty. We got to hear the true story about Uncle Buck...his mother's brother. Fascinating stories about fascinating people.



Debbie and Johnny ham it up for the camera. Another amazing trip for the fish guy.

Fish on!







Last edited by Bob Lusk; 10/18/08 08:42 AM.

Teach a man to grow fish...
He can teach to catch fish...