Did you ever expect fishing to become what it's become with you as the ambassador, the spokesman, the face of it all?

Absolutely not.

You know, when I was little, I remember catching the first bass – on a jitterbug, fishing with my grandfather just north of Lynchburg.

And I made a cast and I saw this fish.

My grandfather was a doctor and taught me a lot about fish anatomy and different tricks and trades of how fish move and move in the water and Anyway, I saw this bass hit this jitterbug I had, and I just absolutely couldn't believe it.

The bait hit the water, and there were two swimming along, one about two and a half and one about a pound and a half.

And when the bait hit the water, they stopped.

I have to ask you, after all these thousands of episodes that you have done over all these years, what is your reaction to how big the bloopers have gotten? Because it's crazy big.

Would you have ever guessed that you'd see this kind of money and attention for this? Never.

I knew that the sport of bass fishing was extremely popular and it was growing because I could see manufacturers listening more to the to the fishermen what they wanted and what they liked as far as rod lengths, rod actions, high-speed reels, lures that run shallow, lures that run deep, certain colors.

And I don't know, just to see where it's gone, every three or four years I'd look back and I'd say, my goodness, this is growing so fast and I was happy as a rabbit in a lettuce patch to be part of it.

And, um, but I never, to answer your question, no, I never dreamed that, uh, there'd be events, uh, like what's going to take place, uh, over at old Hickory Lake.

Uh, that's one of our, that's one of our signature lakes.

Um, um, And this is something I'm really involved with right now.

Our governor, Governor Lee, gave us $25 million.

I have to ask you, after all these thousands of episodes that you have done over all these years, what is your reaction to how big the bloopers have gotten? Because it's crazy big.

It's a classic American date.

Yeah.

And so I said, "I really don't want to do this, but I will." Well, we drive up there and we took his car, and he had a Bel Air Chevy, '57 Chevy.

A pretty car.

It was a hot car back then.

It was running hot.

So we pulled in to Joe Robinson's Gulf Oil station.

[laughs]