WHEN STRIPERS TURN INTO COUNTRY MUSIC

For a couple years, Cathy Needleman and I had planned  to go fishing for striped bass (better known as stripers.)  Research revealed that Guide Bob Angelos was known for putting anglers on trophy stripers.   Bob guides out of Mount Juliet, Tennessee, so Cathy organized a trip for us to go fishing in Tennessee.

We departed LAX early Monday morning April 7^th for our 3 plus hour flight to Nashville.  On arrival, we grabbed our rental car, drove to Mount Juliet and checked into our rooms at the Home2 Suites by Hilton.  We had a light dinner in a local pub then called it a night.

At 6:30 the next morning, we met our guide at Caney Fork River, a place Bob said he’s caught stripers up to 60 pounds.  Bob launched his boat, and we boarded.  Weather was in the low 30’s and we were bundled up like the Michelin man. The river was muddy and moving fast.  It was filled with large logs and sticks from the recent tornados and thunderstorms that crossed the area the previous week.  After traveling upriver for 15 minutes, Bob suddenly turned the boat around and said it was too dangerous to continue.  He was concerned that if we lost power, we might capsize due to the river conditions so we were changing plans.  When he pulled the boat out of the water, I realized he had a bait tank full of 7-to-10-inch rainbow trout that we were going to use as bait for the stripers.  Interesting bait.

We ended up at Bob’s house to change boats and gear.  We were now headed to J Percy Priest Lake to fish for hybrid stripers (a cross between white bass and striped bass). 

While at Bob’s house, we were introduced to his three Westies (beautiful and loving dogs) and given a tour of his recording studio.  His studio contained two baby grand pianos and over 20 guitars plus recording and mixing equipment.  It turns out Bob’s other job is as a music producer, musician and country music song writer. 

After playing with the Westies, we followed Bob to J Percy Priest lake.  The weather was still cold, only warming up to the upper 30’s.  We started by trolling octopus rigs with planer boards.  Fish weren’t biting.  Bob drove the boat back to the boat ramp, pulled the boat out of the water and sent us to get lunch while he went to buy some live bait - shiners. 

When we met Bob back at the lake, he was filling the bait tank and adjusting the water with chemicals to preserve the bait.  Once the tank was filled, he poured a bucket of 3-inch shiners into the tank.  We launched again and began trolling the shiners on three rods at different depths. 

 

As we trolled our baits, Bob kept us entertained with stories of his fishing and country music experiences.  He has fished many places, but mostly in Illinois and Tennessee. Bob’s fishing experiences were all fresh water.  He wasn’t a fan of fly fishermen though.  He referred to them as “Trout Fairies”.  This is when Bob made it clear he was a Redneck and proud of it.  Bob also informed us he thought anyone from California was too liberal so he never let us forget we were in Redneck Trump territory. 

Bob’s stories about the Country music industry were interesting and educational.  Bob has played guitar for singers at the Grand Ole Opry over 1000 times and once at the White House for Susie Bogguss when Clinton was in office.  Bob also produced the song Susie Bogguss sang at the White House.

At one point, Bob played a song for us he wrote with his dad.  It was a sad song beautifully written and performed.  I wish I could obtain a copy of the song but sadly it’s not available.

There were many other songs Bob played for us while we trolled which was a wonderful experience.  Meanwhile, the fish mostly ignored our baits.

Bob switched back to the octopus rig and we each managed to catch a 3-pound hybrid striper.  We called it a day around 6:30 p.m.

We cleaned up, went to dinner at The Goat restaurant then we went to bed. 

Next morning we packed up and checked out of our room as we had to head to Nashville at the end of the day.  We met Bob at 6:30 and we were back on the lake trolling by 7 am.  It was sunny but the air temperature was only 31 degrees, and the water temperature was 60 degrees so steam was rising from the lake.  It was a beautiful morning but bone chilling cold.

 

Day two of fishing was a repeat of Day one but without any bites.  We called it a day around 5 p.m. so we could make our 7 p.m. dinner reservations.

 

We arrived at The Heritage Hotel, cleaned up and went to dinner at Drusie and Darr, the hotel restaurant.  We had the Chef’s Tasting Menu.  The chef was advertised as having two restaurants with two Michelin Stars each.  Unfortunately, this restaurant was not up to that level (in my opinion).  The first and second courses, Egg Toast with Caviar and Ahi Tuna Tartar were great.  Course three, Mushroom Risotto, was good but would have been better paired with something.  The next two courses disappointed me.  The black sea bass was over cooked and dry and the Prime Tenderloin was tough and hard to chew. The dessert was great though – warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean ice cream.  

The rest of the trip was dedicated to exploring Nashville.  We took the Redneck Comedy Bus Tour where we learned about the popular sites in and around Nashville while two comedians kept us laughing.  We were taught the appropriate redneck language such as “Y’all, Hell Ya, etc.” 

 

We spent some time in Nudie’s Honkey Tonk bar listening to a band we enjoyed and walking Broadway, the six blocks of bars owned by country music stars where various bands played all day long. These bands played solely for tips.  

The most exciting part of the trip turned out to be a tour of the Grand Ole Opry House which is celebrating its 100-year anniversary. 

Cathy’s husband, Steve, bought each of us a pass for a Back Stage Tour of the Grand Ole Opry.  I can’t thank Steve enough for his generosity.  This experience will stay with me for months to come.  Our tour began at the Artist’s Entrance proceeding to a tour of the 18 themed dressing rooms, champagne and hors d’oeuvres in our own dressing room.   Don Schlitz, a country singer, songwriter played for us and provided photo opportunities with him.  We saw the iconic wooden circle where artists stand to perform on stage and visited the Circle Room Lounge (where Don performed again) then sat on-stage behind the performers during the first half of the show.

Perhaps the following photos will help to share our experience but the only way to truly appreciate the Opry House is to tour it yourself.

 

Program

Cathy and I boarded our plane the next day, pleasantly exhausted after our fabulous experiences in Nashville.  I feel extremely fortunate to have Cathy as a friend to share such beautiful experiences together.

PS  If you want to see more and hear some of the music, copy this to your browser:

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPqqRdA2tNhvCje_-KjkvK4mypfAiO6Q0cL_pomJY3yTzKyu9Hl4_DIEXlVgcgaSQ