to read the article - Bienville Plantation

6B
SunDAY, april 10, 2016
SPORTS
LAKE CITY REPORTER
Bass fishing
with Ron Ryals
T
here are fishing
trips you look absolutely look forward
to . They’re so exciting that
you write a giant circle with
permanent marker on your
calendar. Sometimes it’s an
exotic location (we book
the Bahamas almost a year
out), sometimes the bite’s
on fire and sometimes it’s
the who you’ll be fishing
with. I’m a huge fan of Ron
Ryals. I’ve written about
my admiration for Ron in
the past. He’s been dealt a
tough hand, but he never
complains. Never. In fact,
all he does is smile. The
world needs more Ron
Ryals. In 1983, when Ron was
just five-years-old, he went
into surgery for a heart
condition. Complications
from that surgery left him
paralyzed from the waist
down. What did Ron do?
He did what any other
outdoors lover does — he
started fishing and hunting
around Live Oak with his
dad while in a wheelchair.
Scuba diving after lobster – leaving the wheelchair dock side. Chasing
after his dreams – with
a smile wider than Lake
Okeechobee.
When asked if he was
ever held back growing
up, Ron says, “Not that I
can think of, I did most
anything I wanted to
do. When I was young,
spending the time with
my dad hunting and fishing, I think it helped me,
because I didn’t let the
injury get in the way of
anything I wanted to do. I
am lucky that it happened
when I was young, and
never knew any different.”
During the early 90’s,
Ron and his dad began
competing in different
bass tournaments with
great success. Eventually,
he became completely
independent, started fishing solo and 17 years ago
began guiding.
I’ve hung out with Ron,
met with him at shows,
heck we’ve even played
cards together (don’t let
the smile fool you, he’s
a stone cold bluffing
machine at Hold ‘Em),
but we had never fished
together. That was all going to
change. Ron is a guide
at Bienville Plantation.
What do you know about
Bienville Plantation? I knew
very little. I knew Ron was
OUTDOORS 360
Rob Chapman
[email protected]
a guide there, along with
Ray Hill, Jut Parks and a
handful of other die-hard
bass guys I know. I also
knew a lot of professionals
and celebrities fish and
hunt there from time to
time (which tells me the
fishing is really good). I
had no idea what all actually happens at their facilities.
I had fished there once
over a decade ago but
it was a dark thirty a.m.
to dark thirty p.m trip. I
didn’t get a chance to see
anything other than the
back of Ray Hills head
while he was working the
trolling motor. Now, I was
going to fish with Ron and
Jimmy Johnson, who runs
the guides and more at
Bienville. As a bonus, my
young friend Kase Britton
was going to join us for
some filming with some
new toys (camera and
drone).
We met Ron at the pro
shop near day break and I
was able to see him fully in
his element. He dropped
the boat back, jumped out
of his truck, and tossed
his wheelchair to the side.
Literally. He just chucked it
to the ground like he was
never going to use it again,
and I asked “do you want
me to grab that?” He simply said, “Nope. Don’t need
it.” Well, I was speechless
(and that rarely happens).
He was right. He didn’t
need it. What I saw over the next
6 hours left me a speechless again...
To be continued.
n Rob Chapman IV is a tournament-winning angler and outdoorsman from Lake City. He’s
an award-winning marine artist,
a graduate of Florida Gateway
College and of Jacksonville
University. He is currently the
Coordinator of Marketing, Web,
& Graphics Production at FGC,
and is active both in the outdoors and designing for outdoors companies throughout
the world. He’d love to hear
from you! Send your reports,
photos, and articles to [email protected].
Every sport.
Every play.
Every day.
Lake City
Reporter
COURTESY PHOTOS
Ron Ryals (left) and Rob Chapman with some caught
fish.
Ty Jackson with an opening weekend gobbler with a
10.5” beard
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