My earliest memories of fishing are with my mom, catching bream and bluegill from the shore of our lakeside home in Sanford, Fla. That would be more than 60 years ago … but those images are still fresh in my mind.
It was the most rudimentary form of angling. We used bread dough pressed onto small J-hooks, attached to a length of line on a cane pole. With a raw cork bobber to place the bait at the proper depth, we slung our rigs into the shallows and plucked panfish until we ran out of bait.
It was the start of what would become my lifelong pursuit … all thanks to my mother, Elizabeth Daniels Schultz.
Mom from the beginning
The eldest child of my grandparents, Chester and Freda Daniels, Mom learned to fish through experiences with my Granddad and her two younger brothers — Edward and Warren. Between the three of them, I’m sure there was plenty of coaching. And, of course, living in Florida offered year-round opportunity.
She was exposed to many forms of fresh and saltwater angling throughout her youth, but those adventures were put on hold when she graduated high school and entered nursing school. Soon after, duty called.
This was during World War II, for which Mom decided to enlist — as did both of her brothers. She chose to serve in the Army Nurse Corp and was assigned to a hospital overseas, where she cared for the wounded. When the war ended, she returned home with the 82nd Airborne aboard the Queen Mary.
Back in the States, she was stationed at an air base in Orlando, where she met my dad — a Master Sargent in the U.S. Air Force. When Dad was reassigned to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, our family moved with him. Later, he was assigned to Gunter Air Force Base in Alabama.
Eventually, both my parents retired from the military and we returned to Florida, where Mom became a civil servant — nursing both veteran and enlisted personnel, including the occasional dignitary like U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen (R – Illinois).
An important figure in American politics, Dirksen helped write and pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and he served as House Minority Leader in Congress for 10 years, until his death in 1969. Serving as his personal nurse is one of my mom’s proudest memories.
Now living across the lake from my grandparents, we spent countless days catching panfish and bass. Granddad was an avid angler with plenty of tackle and several boats, which we used for trips to Lake Monroe and the St. Johns River, to troll spinners and spoons during the shad run, and to the Gulf of Mexico to bottom fish for whatever would bite.
Later, when I was entering high school, we moved to South Miami — on a canal that connected to Biscayne Bay. Although Mom’s angling days were waning, she and Dad made sure I had a boat and plenty of access to water. That’s where I developed a passion for inshore saltwater fishing.
Sharing with Mom
In the late 1990s, I won the Celebrity Pro Division of the BayBone Invitational Saltwater Tournament in the Florida Keys. Mom accompanied me and my young family on that trip. She was my guest for the awards banquet held at the Ocean Reef Club in North Key Largo.
An event created to raise money for research on Cystic Fibrosis, numerous celebrities, professional anglers and guides were there in support of the cause. Among them was General Norman Schwarzkopf — “Stormin’ Norman” as he was known, for his bravery and leadership during the Gulf War.
I asked the general to pose for a few photos with Mom. When he learned she was a war veteran, he told me to send a print to his office in Tampa, so that he could inscribe something for her. That photo is shared here.
Mom the centenarian
This week, Mom will celebrate her 100th birthday. And she will share that milestone with her four children, six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and innumerable former patients, friends and coworkers.
Besides being the family matriarch, Mom is an avid B.A.S.S. fan.
At every tour stop, she follows the action live through Bassmaster.com and FOX Sports … hoping I’m among the leaders. She also watches the videos, commercials and podcasts I appear in, and reads all of my columns and the articles I’m featured in by other writers. And though my career choice gave her doubts in the beginning, she has since developed a deep sense of pride and satisfaction … knowing I was able to craft a career out of a passion for fishing.
And for that, I have her to thank.
So, when I cross the stage during this week’s Lake Chickamauga event, please join me as I recognize this special lady’s 100th birthday. She’s accomplished so much in her life, and is—at least in my experience—the most giving person on the planet.
Happy birthday, Mom!
