BACKLASH
Q & A
ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL IDZERDA
RON LAPPIN Gilbertsville, Ky.
By Sean Ostruszka how long have you been with flw?
More than 20 years. i fished with( former tournament director) dan Grimes a lot and worked for Mike James as a ranger rep prior to joining FLW.
many people don’ t know you were also a guide on Kentucky lake, too.
Yeah, i started guiding … let’ s see … i got married in’ 74, so i started guiding in late 1974, and i did that until even a little after i started working here.
You know the Fishing Hot Spots maps? My name is actually on the bottom of the Kentucky Lake map. i took those guys out when they were mapping the lake and showed them spots and things they didn’ t know in the first 12 miles of the lake. That was probably back in the late’ 80s.
And you’ re quite the cook i hear. i enjoy cooking almost as much as fishing. My dad, richard, was in the catering business, and i was in the restaurant and catering business back when i was guiding. it’ s now Gatti’ s Pizza in draffenville, Ky., but i used to own that restaurant when it was Gateway Steakhouse. i still love cooking for big crowds. i have a giant grill on wheels that i trailer to church events or tournaments. is it true that you used to have long hair? i did. i played music for years, and when i had hair i had real curly hair. i had it down to the middle of my back when it was wet. When it was dry i had really big hair. i had trouble fitting through a regular doorway. i don’ t have any pictures, but my wife and daughter do. When Grimes hired me i used to take a red St. Louis plastic baseball batting helmet and cut a hole in the back and pull my hair through. i was a real hippy of old.
what kind of music did you play? rhythm and blues. Blue-eyed soul. Back then everything was r & B of some form or another, in the’ 60s and early’ 70s. i sang in a choir in high school and junior high. in junior high we had more boys than girls, so i sang the girl’ s parts most of the time. i used to sing soprano, and then my voice changed.
how much work goes into being a tournament director?
The things that go into it that anglers don’ t see are plentiful. You have to secure a date and a site. We have a giant board( to plan tournament schedules), and it usually goes through seven or eight versions and takes two months to nail down. Then you have to apply for all the permits and work with the sponsors. And the most important thing is that a tournament director holds the lives of every angler in his hands with his decisions. i’ ve always said if any angler had to set up just one tournament, they’ d never complain again.
You’ ve seen a lot in 20 years with flw. have any favorite memories?
Several. There are so many opportunities now with the high school and college programs to meet some fine young people. The future of everything – a church, business, anything – is based on young people. in my opinion it’ s the biggest step for the future of the sport. Anyone who has a job in this industry in 10 years will be because of that.
what’ s your lasting memory of flw after all these years?
People can believe what they want, but this company has changed the sport for the better as much as anyone. So many people owe their careers to what FLW has done. And beyond that, it’ s encouraged every one of us to be the best we can be. i’ ve been blessed to work here.
88 flwfishing. Com i november-deCember 2017