PHOTO BY JOEL SHANGLE
Bill Dance admires the 8.4-pound monster caught by Camdyn Cranfill on Chickmauga Lake , one of the Bill Dance Signature Lakes .
FISHING TOWNS : TENNESSEE
Bill Dance Signature Lakes program boosts Volunteer State fishing opportunities , awareness
How a $ 15 million initiative with ‘ America ’ s favorite bass fisherman ’ will benefit anglers , local communities
By Joel Shangle
he pride in Bill Dance ’ s voice as he chats about his beloved home state is unmistakable .
It ’ s a sunny fall day on the banks of Lake Chickamauga in Dayton , Tennessee , and the Volunteer State ’ s most iconic fisherman – and some would say , most iconic citizen – is holding court . Perched comfortably on a dock at Bluewater Marina , where the first-ever Bill Dance Giant Bass Open is being held , “ Uncle Billy ” ( as he ’ s known to friends and family ) has the attention of everybody within earshot . And Uncle Billy is rolling like the Pride of the Southland Band . On the docket : The Bill Dance Signature Lakes , Dance ’ s namesake collaboration with three State of Tennessee agencies to introduce new anglers from around the country to the fishing abundance of a state that he ’ s fished from one end to the next for a majority of his 83 years .
“ A lot of people don ’ t know this , but the state of Tennessee has 350 species of fish in our state – more than any other state in the United States ,” Dance says . “ We hold three world records : the world record walleye , the world record smallmouth and the world record crappie . We have trout , muskies , stripers , smallmouth , largemouth , crappie , bluegill , catfish . If anybody ever wants to fish for any of the most popular species of fish , we ’ ve got ‘ em in every part of the state , and we ’ ve got a lot of ‘ em – north , south , east , west . And a lot of those fish go to bed hungry every night .”
52 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | DECEMBER-JANUARY 2024