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Bradley hooks a spot on national tour

April 5, 2007 12:35 am

GARY SCHEMBS' little sister, Chris- tiana, didn't know much about fishing as she watched him catch his first fish near Fredericksburg when he was 7 years old.

It wasn't a big fish, but 5-year-old "Christie" figured fishing must be something special if the big brother she looked up to could be so freaked out, whooping and hollering.

Schembs didn't know it then, but he had hooked a fishing buddy and landed a role as his baby sister's main mentor in the ways of all things angling.

"Gary told me he thought I had a natural connection to fishing," Christie recalled. "Our first tournament together as partners was a 1998 'His & Hers' event on the Rappahannock River that we won. When we fished together, we really worked in sync."

She also fished a few tournaments paired with Caroline County angler Allan Chenault, one of the region's most successful bass tournament competitors. Chenault taught her how to flip baits into thick lily pads to haul out hefty bass. He recalls seeing a competitive spirit in her, a "drive that made her want to catch fish and work all day to do it, if need be."

There was no catch-and-release when she reeled in Mike Bradley, whom she used to fish against locally in the Small Water Bass Club. They had spoken only in passing at events, but ended up fishing together in 2004 where, fatefully, the boat got stuck in the mud of a cove for three hours until the rising tide let them escape. A post-fishing steak dinner later led to a 2005 wedding. A leaping bass ice sculpture was the reception's centerpiece.

Now a 34-year-old systems engineer ("computer geek," she calls it) for GEICO in Stafford, Bealeton resident Christiana Bradley is emerging as a serious competitor in the Women's Bassmaster Tour, a professional national circuit that kicked off last year.

Last weekend, Bradley finished 14th in a field of 94 anglers at Arkansas' Lake Dardanelle. She weighed a limit of five fish Thursday, but managed only four keeper bass on each of the last two days to finish with a total weight of 31 pounds, 5 ounces.

Sheri Glasgow of Muskogee, Okla., took first place with 46 pounds, 1-ounce.

Bradley's chance for a top-10 finish likely snapped Saturday when what would have been her fifth fish broke the line right at the boat.

"I was fishing in submerged, heavy timber, which probably led to a nick in my line. This last keeper fish would've probably gone over 4 pounds, which would've moved me up a few spots," she explained.

The new tournament series for female anglers demands commitment and investment. It doesn't feature payouts nearly as hefty as the men's long-established pro events, which can offer winning prizes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and significant cash awards for those finishing well off the top of the leader board.

Women's tour events usually offer first-place awards such as a new boat with all the trimmings. Glasgow took home a fully rigged Triton/Mercury boat valued at $50,000.

Beyond earning points toward qualifying for the big season championship finale, other top finishers barely win enough cash to cover expenses--especially if you're a Virginia angler towing a boat to Texas and spending a week or more preparing for and fishing in a tournament.

Bradley says her costs average about $3,000 per event. Participation during the tour's first year was an event-to-event affair. Each tournament's finish determined whether or not she thought she could swing it for the next competition.

This year, GEICO sponsorship is making it much easier for her to focus on fishing and winning.

"Some of the top management likes to fish, understands the world of pro bass fishing, and worked for me to gain this sponsorship," she said. In a sport with sponsorships as diverse as many of those seen in NASCAR, Bradley said she is the first angler fishing under the GEICO banner.

Her yellow fishing jersey sports the gecko mascot, and her new Triton boat with a 250-horsepower motor is "wrapped" in a GEICO marketing motif. As her stock rises in tournament competition and women's events gets more television play, she hopes her sponsors realize value in their investment.

The top 25 anglers at year-end qualify for the championship event, at a location to be determined. Bradley sits 10th overall in the points standings. Next up during the first week in May is Alabama's Lake Guntersville, where 14-pound largemouth bass are possible and weigh-ins can include some hefty stringers.

Chenault says Bradley has developed into a remarkable angler and that the competition would do well not to underestimate her tenacity.

An anecdote from a 2005 local tourney underscores her drive. Bradley tells how she again got stuck at low tide in the mud, but this time, instead of her prospective husband aboard, she had a 5-pound, 5-ounce bass in the livewell and weigh-in began in 30 minutes.

"My brother [a competitor] came by about five minutes later," she said. " I could have just waited a while for the tide to move up, but I had to weigh that fish."

As Gary forsook his own last 30 minutes of fishing while holding nearby in deeper water in case she ran into difficulty, Christie jumped into the water, sinking into mud to her thighs. Step by laborious step, she proceeded to push the boat 100 yards to deeper water.

"I was the only female in that singles tournament--covered in mud from head to toe with mud all over the deck of the boat, but I made it back in time with the biggest fish of the tournament," she said.

"Gary is awesome. He supports me so much and he's so proud of me. He has taught me and believed in me. He's an awesome angler --he's the one who should be fishing with the pros."