Rhea Review Feature Story: As I set my suitcase down, I spied a brass plaque beside the bed which read, “George W. Bush Slept Here March 5, 1993.” That’s when I realized, “Richard, you’re not in Kansas anymore.” Actually I was in Pintlala, Alabama, just south of Montgomery. I was a guest at the Ray Scott Trophy Bass Retreat , invited along with three other outdoor writers enroute to the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association annual conference in Eufaula.
We would soon be fishing President’s Lake, an intensively-managed body of water that Outdoor Life magazine once said was “arguably the best little bass lake on the planet.”
“For people who know and understand bass fishing, they know there’s only one Ray Scott private lake. So for many people this is hallowed ground,” said Jim Kientz, Executive Director of the retreat.
Kientz and his staff spend their days insuring the place looks and feels like a picture postcard at every turn. But few days go by that he and staff biologist Jim Liner, don’t find some time to cast a line themselves.
“I’m very fortunate to have a job that most people would die to be a part of,” said Kientz. “So yes, it’s absolutely a dream job.”
He also gets to spend most days with a legend. Ray Scott is often called “the godfather of bass fishing.” He created the Bass Angler Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) in 1967 and built an empire from there. According to Field & Stream Magazine, Scott “walks with the outdoor gods — individuals like Teddy Roosevelt, Rachel Carson and Aldo Leopold. He is among the ‘Twenty Who Have Made A Difference’ in the American outdoors over the past century.”
At 82 years old, Ray Scott is still a looming presence. I had met the man before, in passing, at other outdoor conferences. But when he walked onto the back porch that evening, drink in hand and wearing his signature white cowboy hat, he was just another one of the guys. Continue reading – http://rheareview.com/ray-scotts-slice-of-bass-fishing-heaven/