AOY Club: Jimmy Houston
Category: Tournament
Oct 20th, 2014 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Oct 20th, 2014 at 12:00 AM
Everybody who lives in the good ol’ USA and who has cable or satellite TV knows Chevy pro Jimmy Houston. He’s the TV fishing show host of 30-plus years who has blonde bangs, a Cheshire cat smile and an infectious giggle. Plus, he loves to kiss fish.
By the way, did you know, Houston won the Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) title? Twice! Houston’s first AOY title was in 1976. The second came a decade later in 1986.
A tough crowd, but Houston made it to the top.
“My first AOY win was on purpose,” said Houston. “My second was kind of an accident. Back then Roland Martin was so tough to beat. He was almost always in the Top 10 of the tournaments he fished, winning a bunch. I knew I could compete at his level, but I never fished full-time.
“Then, in 1975, I decided to fish the full season with B.A.S.S. The last event of the year was on Lake Texoma. I ended up finishing third that year. Roland won AOY. I told Ray Scott, the founder and owner of B.A.S.S. at the time, I was going to win the AOY in 1976. He asked me if I thought I was good enough to beat Roland. I told him I was. Back then I thought I was. I learned differently over the years.”
1976. In sickness and bad health.
“Winning the AOY title in 1976 was an obsession for me,” said Houston. “I’m kind of ashamed to admit it, but winning became my life focus that season. The obsession controlled my life. I was no longer fun at events. It couldn’t have been very fun to be around me whether fishing or just hanging out.
“If I wasn’t doing well by about 8:30 every morning at a tournament I’d start to get sick. I mean I was literally getting sick over this. It is embarrassing, but I was making myself ill being so obsessed.
“I knew I didn’t have the same skills as Roland Martin, so I had to be even more dedicated to winning the AOY title than anybody, if I was going to win.
“I was third heading into the last event on Bull Shoals. I did well enough to take the AOY title. I was happy with the win, but after going through that, I never cared to go after the title again or did I ever start a season trying to win the AOY again.”
1986. Chris Houston guided Jimmy toward the title.
“In 1986 I was having a really good season,” said Houston. My wife, Chris, looked at the numbers with two tournaments left. She mentioned that I had a really good chance to win AOY again. I wasn’t sure I wanted to put in the extra work.
“Well, needless to say, Chris talked me into pre-fishing before the cutoff, I never did that, just fished the practice days right before the tournaments. She said since I had a chance to win, it would be stupid if I didn’t give a little extra effort. Of course, she was right.
“Anyway, the last even was on Lake Chickamauga. I moved into third place at the event on the final cut day. That was enough to win the AOY, but I didn’t win the event.”
Houston’s event loss may have saved a legend.
“A fun side note from me winning the 1986 AOY title was what was saved by my loss,” said Houston. “I was locking down to Lake Nickajack and had the right fish to win the event. Well, on the last day of the event the tournament rules stated I couldn’t lock down. I was so upset and mad about not winning that event. Zell Rowland was the eventual winner.
“Funny thing, Zell won it using a Rebel Pop-R. Rebel was going to discontinue the product line. One of the most iconic and productive topwater lures of all-time. Because he won using the Pop-R, Rebel kept making it and actually came out with his signature series.
“If I would’ve won the event, the Pop-R would’ve been discontinued. That would’ve been a shame. I still would rather have won the tournament. Hehehe.”