Five Questions for Larry Nixon
Category: article
Dec 17th, 2012 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Dec 17th, 2012 at 12:00 AM
Larry Legend a.k.a. Larry Nixon has been swinging the pro stick since 1977. Nixon is a former Bassmaster Classic winner and multiple event winner on both the Bassmaster trails and the FLW.
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| Larry Nixon (Photo FLW Outdoors) |
Currently, Nixon is a Chevy pro fishing the FLW Tour. After fishing as a pro for 36 years, he still is potent enough to win a tour event during the 2012 season. Don’t expect a slowdown anytime soon from Larry.
Since Nixon is such a legend in the sport, BassFIRST.com tracked him down, while he was cleaning duck breasts, to answer Five Questions.
DL – What was your most important fishing tournament?
LN – We have to go back to the beginning. It was my first year of competition on the B.A.S.S. circuit in 1977. I was a total rookie. I had no money, no sponsors and I wasn’t fishing out of a good boat. By the end of the year, I was $4,000 in the hole, but I qualified for the Bassmaster Classic, which was held on Lake Toho in Florida.
That year was the first year they paid for finishing second. I finished second to Rick Clunn and earned $10,000. I was in such bad shape prior to making that money I wouldn’t have been able to make it through the winter and I would’ve given up tournament fishing and gone back to guiding.
Thanks to that finish, Rick Clunn helped to get me a deal with Glastron Boats. Glastron paid my entry fees for the next year and from then on, I was doing pretty good.
DL – What is the least productive popular lure for you?
LN – The swimbait! I’ve caught enough fish with it to know it works. It’s a one fish, big fish type bait. You have to sling it all day to be productive. If you hit it right, the stringer will be all big fish, but you can also fall flat on your face with it. That is not in my fishing vocabulary.
DL – What is your favorite sport?
LN – Deer hunting. It’s the silence, peace, quiet, the solitude, just being able to see Mother Nature in all of her glory. I don’t even need to shoot a deer to have a great hunt.
DL – What was your best fishing industry business decision?
LN – That is a tough one. I’m not sure I’ve ever made one big business deal. I’ve been stuck straddling the fence many times. This happens when your sponsors end up creating a product that directly competes with one of your existing sponsors products. You eventually get fired from somebody. This cycle usually happens every 6, 8, 12 years or so.
I guess my best move in this business was when I left B.A.S.S. to come to the FLW. It has certainly been the right move for me. No political nightmares like it was back when ESPN owned B.A.S.S. It just worked out right thanks to my sponsor alignments as well.
DL – What is your favorite time of the year?
LN – If it were based on my favorite sport, it would be from November 1 through January 31. I get three months of no fishing tournaments and just deer and duck hunting.
My real favorite time of the year though is from February 15 through May. The spring is my favorite. I can go fishing for crappie, walleye, bass whatever I want to fish for, besides the tournaments too. When I’m fishing for fun, I bring home a mess of crappie or walleye, and clean them up and have a fish fry. That’s my favorite time of the year for sure.