Week 44 – Skeet Reese
Mr. Homebody 10/31/2005

Photo: Bassmaster.com
Skeet Reese recently went to a pumpkin patch with his family, but 'it wasn't very relaxing.'

Skeet Reese is arguably one of most recognizable competitors in the pro fishing business. His yellow tournament shirt and now equally yellow hair make him highly visible, but his ability to consistently finish high at Bassmaster Tour events is what really keeps him in the public eye. His regular roles on ESPN's Bass Tech and other productions help, too.

So what does he do when it's downtime or the off-season? He fished a tournament, traveled across country to film television commercials and finally got some time to be home with his family and unwind.

Clear Disappointment

Reese considers big-bass factory Clear Lake in California to be one of his home bodies of water. His recent 12th-place finish in the Bassmaster Western Open there left him less than satisfied.

"It was good to get out and fish a tournament again," he said. "A couple of weeks ago, I fished the Open on Clear Lake and had an okay finish. A lot of people would be happy with a 12th-place finish, but I wasn't.

"By my standards, if I don't finish 5th place or higher on Clear Lake, I'm not satisfied," he added. "But all in all, it was good being in competition again."

Florida Fun

After the Clear Lake Open was finished, Reese headed across to the opposite coast of the U.S. and landed in the sunshine state to film a Berkley commercial with Mike Iaconelli.

"I filmed an absolutely cool commercial for Berkley with Ike," he said. "Let me just say it was highly entertaining. Some viewers may not like it, but I think most people will really enjoy the commercial.

"I think this commercial is really going to get people talking," he added. "It will certainly get noticed."

(Note: Word has leaked out from the shoot that there may be a little bare skin in the Skeet and Ike commercial.)

Great Pumpkin

While on his home hiatus, Reese took a little time to go on a pumpkin hunt with his family.

"Since I've been home, I've been hanging with my wife and daughter," he said. "We're just relaxing and enjoying time together.

"We decided to go to a local pumpkin patch. I thought it was going to be a local spot that just sells pumpkins, but man, was I wrong. It was a really chaotic deal. There had to be 10,000 people there. It was more like a theme park than a farm. There were slides, trains and all sorts of activities. It wasn't very relaxing."

Notable

> Reese is wrapped up. Like all anglers who will participate in the Bassmaster Elite Series, he has to get his boat wrapped before the start of competition. "I'm fortunate," he said. "I secured a Lucky Craft boat and truck wrap before all of the boat wrap business even started. I'm fortunate to be in this position."

> There's a new Champion in town. "My boat is going to be a new Champion Elite 210, which will have Mercury power of some sort," he said. "Whether it's a Verado or an OptiMax XS, I don't know right now, but Mercury will be there."