Steve Knight

When Allen Findley bought a day’s fishing for him and his son, Dalton, with fishing great Jimmy Houston, it is hard to say whether the youngster knew what he was getting into.

Findley bought the trip during a charity auction conducted by Christian Hunters and Anglers, and although his 9-year-old son knew who Houston was, he might have been a little fuzzy on some of the angler’s fishing quirks.

Jimmy Houston’s initial claim to fame was fishing BASS tournaments, where he won two events and had career earnings of $351,000 in an era when that was big money. He became a household name among fishermen with a television show that most remember because of his constant laughter and the kissing of each bass he caught before turning it loose.

Away from the limelight, the native Oklahoman lives on a 2,000-acre ranch near Davis, Okla., with his wife, Chris, a noted angler in her own right. A deeply religious man, Houston has written a couple of books that blend tips on fishing with the Christian message he often delivers around the country.

With a chance for his son to fish on a private lake at Houston’s ranch on the line, Allen Findley was the last bidder standing.

The two traveled to southern Oklahoma in June, where they were met at the front door of the ranch house by the Houstons. From there it was on to the 125-acre lake for a morning of fishing, lessons and jokes.

“Jimmy recommended starting off with Yellow Magic top water baits that morning. We, or should I say Dalton and Jimmy, immediately started catching fish on those,” Allen Findley recalled.

As he filmed his son and Houston, Findley was excited both by the fish they were catching and the bond they quickly formed.

“I began to have a hard time determining who was 9 years old and who was not. From the laugh of Jimmy Houston’s to his, and we knew it was coming, insistence on Dalton kissing every fish he caught,” the father said.

However, while the fishing was fun, young Dalton had a slightly different view of the fish smooching.

“It was nasty,” said the Hazel Owens Elementary fourth-grader.

And as for those jokes that keep even Houston laughing at himself, the young angler offered a critique that probably even had Houston doubling over.

“Yeah, he was a little bit funny, kind of,” Dalton admitted.

After the top water bite slowed, Houston gave Dalton his first lesson on jig fishing. It was the part of the trip he liked most, in part, because he learned something new, but also because of the number of fish the two caught.

“We just thought the action was good on the top waters. I think it must have doubled when we went to jigs and out in the deeper water,” Allen Findley said.

Like Houston, both of the Findleys are avid hunters, so after lunch Houston gave them a tour of the ranch that he manages for white-tailed deer, turkey and a herd of elk.

After the tour they were back on the water fishing jigs again and landed bass up to 6 pounds, each of which was smooched.

“My son and I had the time of our lives that day,” Allen Findley said. “Jimmy is to be commended on his generosity, hospitality and just plain down to earth good nature, not to mention his love of charities and especially, his love of children.”

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Contact Outdoor Editor Steve Knight at 903-596-6277 or by e-mail at outdoor@tylerpaper.com

FISHING WITH THE PRO: Jimmy Houston shows one of the bass he and Dalton Findley caught this summer fishing on Houston’s lake in Oklahoma.
((Courtesy Photo/Allen Findley))