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The “KiNG” of Fishing By Beth Underwood
F
ishing is often an activity passed down from one family member to another—it’s fairly commonplace for fathers and their kids, brothers and sisters, or entire generations of family to head to Dale Hollow Lake for a day of angling. So it was for J.B. King, whose father taught him to fish years ago. At that point, offering his services as a fishing guide wasn’t on his radar. But as his skills improved, passing the skill along to others became a viable pursuit. “I thought I may want to try it,” King said. “so I talked to Tommie Copeland, who owned Star Point Marina at the time and asked if she ever needed help.” As it turned out, she did. That was 28 years ago. In his first year as a fishing guide, he spent about 13 days on the water. From there, the service took on a life of its own. Today, King’s guided fishing service is still going strong, finding him on the water more than a hundred days out of the year. Unlike some guides who fish for a variety of species, King, who raises cattle and farms his land in Pickett County, has found a niche for himself as a small-and large-mouth bass fishing guide. Over the years, he’s attracted quite a following with customers from near and far — as far away as Washington State California, and New Mexico. “I’ve had some of the Cincinnati Reds boys and Music City people, and people from every walk of life.” Regardless of who’s in the boat with him, his favorite part of being a fishing guide is helping others catch fish. “I had a lady last year who got in the boat and said, ‘JB, I’ve never caught a bass’ and I said, ‘we’ll see what we can do about that,’” he said. “And the first spot we fished, she caught a bass.” One man and his son, now a young man at Texas A&M, started coming to fish with King when the son was about 10 or 11-years-old, King said, noting that they still fish with him to this day. Certainly there’s a lot to be said for the skills of the guide, but King also credits Dale Hollow Lake “If people want to catch fish, they need to come here,” he said. One of the benefits of fishing Dale Hollow, he said, is the ability to fish all year long, he said, adding that he offers both night and day fishing trips. If he has one word of advice for prospective fishers? “Book early,” he said. “By January, they’re already calling.” When you’re ready to do some bass fishing, give him a call at 931-864-3963, or email csking@twinlakes.net
