Clay Dyer – Living Life and Bass Fishing Beyond the Limits
Being a Role Model
 Editor’s Note: Clay Dyer of Hamilton, Alabama, is an outstanding, unique and highly-successful individual and bass fisherman. Dyer has found a way to take what 90% of us would consider a disadvantage and turn it into a tremendous advantage. “I stand out at every fishing tournament in which I compete,” Dyer mentions. “I’m usually the only fisherman there with no hands, only a partial arm and no legs. I’ve discovered that to be successful in th is industry, it helps to be unique. I don’t have to wear sponsor shirts, have my boat and truck wrapped or have my name printed on all my equipment. Most of the time, when I go to a tournament, the fishermen and the spectators will know who I am, and the products I fish and why when they see me or before they leave.” This week, we’ll take a look at the life of Clay Dyer – one of the most-amazing and unique anglers in the world of bass fishing.
Question: Clay, which of the other Strike King Pros is your role model?
Dyer: All of them, but Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Greg Hackney of Gonzales, Louisiana, really have helped me a lot. In my opinion, VanDam is one of the most-versatile fishermen on the pro tour. I’m amazed at his ability to adjust to changing fishing conditions as fast as he does and at the size and the quality of bass he catches. Both Hackney and VanDam have awesome personalities and treat me like their brother. VanDam has me under his wing and really tried to help me with my career as well as many other Strike King pros. Hackney is an excellent shallow-water fisherman, and I’ve learned many of my shallow-water techniques from him. I fish with David Dudley of Lynchburg, Virginia, on the FLW circuit, and he’s also been a tremendous help to me.
Question: What positions do you coach for the Hamilton High School football team?
Dyer: I’m the assistant coach for the varsity and the junior-high teams, but I primarily work with the varsity team. I help coach the quarterbacks, the running backs and the receivers. One of my friends, who also helps me in bass tournaments, coaches the defensive backs and the offensive line for the Hamilton High School football team. So, during the off-season and the winter months, I help him coach. Years ago, when I played football, I was a quarterback and a fullback. So, I coach mostly the quarterbacks, the fullbacks and the receivers. On Friday nights, I usually help the head coach by studying the defenses of the opposing teams and looking for a way our football team can attack their weaknesses.
Question: How does a guy with only one partial arm, no hands and no legs coach receivers on a football team?
Dyer: It’s very easy for me. Sometimes the team members get mad because when they throw the football to me, I catch it between my jaw and my partial arm and then look at them and say, “You’ve got two hands and 10 fingers. If I can catch a football with no fingers and no hands, you have absolutely no excuse for dropping it.” Generally, they just want to get behind the huddle and hide – when that happens. But the football players respond to me very well. They’ve learned that if I could successfully play football with my physical limitations, then they have no excuses not to be great. Our young people give the maximum amount of effort in every game and practice, and I’m proud to be a part of the team.
Question: What happens when you catch a football being thrown by a young quarterback?
Dyer: Well, my face takes a pretty-good pounding, but I just smile every time I make a catch.
Question: I guess running downfield and catching a football no harder than driving a high-performance bass boat at 70 mph across the lake, running a trolling motor or casting a rod.
Dyer: No, there’s not much I can’t do. I’ve just learned to adapt to any situation.
To learn more about Clay Dyer, visit http://www.smgoutdoors.com/claydyer.html, or call (214) 632-4416.
Tomorrow: Some of Clay Dyer’s Favorite Lures |
