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Roy Bilby, of Richmondville, NY, caught this nice smallmouth Monday while fishing on Schoharie Creek.
(Special to NYup.com)
Roy Bilby is a dedicated student of bass fishing and he takes good notes - real good notes.
On Monday, Bilby, 57, of Richmondville, N.Y. caught and released his 26,482nd bass -- it was a smallmouth -- while fishing with a buddy on Schoharie Creek.
Roy Bilby has taken meticulous notes of every one of this fishing outings for the past 30 years.
Afterward he noted in his fishing log the size and number of fish he caught, the amount of time he fished, the weather conditions, the barometric pressure before and after he went out, the phase of the moon, the air temperature, the surface temperature of the water, the water clarity - and a half page of notes noting the highlights of the trip.
He added that he carries a tape recorder and speaks into it so he can remember everything that happened.
"In 1986, I started keeping a running tally of all the bass caught and released. It started as a quest to improve and I have done it religiously since that time," he said. "I've made some 3,000 entries in my log books. Last year on Aug. 6 I hit the 25,000 mark."
The Schoharie County resident is the supervising carpenter and locksmith for SUNY Cobleskill. Married and father of two adult children. He said he owns five fishing boats of various sizes and has more than 160 fishing rods.
"Some look at me and say I have a serious problem. I tell them t I have a serious advantage," he said.
Bilby said his wife, Rebecca, doesn't share his passion for fishing, but supports "everything I do - and I do the same for her. I have the most understanding wife on the face of God's earth and I am eternally grateful."
He said his dad first took him fishing when he was two.
"At about 12-13 years of age I really got into it," Bilby said. "When I was 16, I caught my first largemouth bass. I decided right then it was my favorite fish. That began a life-long passion that won't quit."
Bilby is a dedicated, long-time member of the Mohawk Valley Bass Anglers Club, a New York Nation group, and said he fishes about 100 times a year around his home in Richmondville and in tournaments around the state.
"I tell people I've hit the little, big time. I have six, small sponsors," he said. "My best finish in a tournament was a BASS Pro/Am on Lake Champlain when I finished 7th out of 111 anglers and came up with a $1,500 check, which back then was two weeks of work pay for me."
He recently figured out his total career finishes in tournaments. "Out of 164 tournaments, large and small, I won 13 times and had 52 top five finishes," he said.
For the past 12 years, he added, his tournament fishing partner has been Ryan Coulter, who he met when Coulter was a student at SUNY Cobleskill and soon noticed he was "standout fisherman."
"Today he makes his living as an aquatic biologist for the DEC. He lives in New Paltz," Bilby said.
Does he ever get skunked?
"Like any fisherman, I hate to get skunked. When I go fishing I always give myself a time limit. There has to be boundaries and that adds to the challenge," he said. "I pride myself in the fact that about six years ago, I made 230 consecutive outings over nearly three years and caught a fish each time - sometimes getting out in adverse conditions.
"When the streak was over, though, I had mixed emotions. I have to admit I was bummed, but relieved. I put a lot of pressure on myself to keep that streak going. I haven't come close to that since."
Does he ever eat the fish he catches?
"I keep some walleye, some perch, some crappie and some bluegills. Never bass," he said. "It would be like eating one of my kids. Couldn't do it. I haven't put a knife to a bass in 30 years," he said.
He said his biggest largemouth bass to date weighed 6.8 pounds; his biggest smallmouth, 4.6 pounds. He said he caught the latter on an ultra-light rod.
His favorite fishing story?
"Oh, there are a lot of them. However, once I was fishing with a buddy and we both cast simultaneously in the same spot. We got a reaction and we both jerked. We ended up landing the fish - and it had both of our lures in its mouth," he said.