One of the most striking aspects of competitive bass fishing is how family-oriented the sport really is. In last month’s Wal-Mart FLW Tour competition in Biloxi, Miss., Roland and Scott Martin each advanced to day-three action in the pro field – the first time a father-son tandem had ever cracked the top-10 list together.
Another family with bass fishing in their blood has made its presence known on both the FLW and the EverStart circuits in the co-angler field. They are remarkable not just because nearly the whole family fishes the tournaments, but because they do it well and they do it with a Bronx flair.
Abby and Judy Israel and their son Eric are in the middle of their fourth season competing in Operation Bass tournaments. For them, what began as a few family vacations to go shiner fishing for bass has turned into a full-blown family affair on the world’s richest bass fishing circuit.
About four years ago in Clewiston, Fla., a friend asked Abby Israel if he wanted to ride as an observer in the back of his boat during a bass fishing tournament. Abby, who brought along a book to pass the time, enjoyed the thrill of the fishing competition – an FLW event – so much that he arrived at a life-changing decision. He, his wife and his son decided to hit the competitive fishing tour, specifically the EverStart Batteries Series and the Wal-Mart FLW Tour.
“We changed from Bloomingdales to Wal-Mart,” Abby explains. “And we love it. We totally love it.”
Abby Israel and his family are the owners of a successful security systems company based in Manhattan called Best Alarm. Originally from Brooklyn and the Bronx, respectively, Abby and Judy migrated to Connecticut, then eventually settled in Clewiston where they had fished for bass on many vacations. Inevitably, these avid anglers fell into the local bass fishing scene around Lake Okeechobee, which led them to Operation Bass tournaments.
“We used shiners for bass fishing for so many years, then we started fishing like real fishermen,” says Judy, referring to Operation Bass’ artificial-lure-only rule.
Judy admits she was unschooled in the ways of competitive bass fishing when she entered her first EverStart tournament as a co-angler.
“The other anglers were out there rigging and jigging, and we didn’t know what they were doing,” she says. “The first day, I was so nervous I couldn’t even set the hook.”
“We went from not knowing anything to now, where we’re leaving our mark on the tour,” says Abby.
Indeed, four years into their competitive bass fishing careers, the Israels have made an impression on both the FLW and EverStart circuits. Abby has placed in the top 10 at an EverStart tournament once, and Judy, well, she’s lighting up the circuit.
On Jan. 29, 1999, on Lake Okeechobee, Judy became the first woman to advance to the top 10 in an FLW event. The feat would have been remarkable enough by itself, except that Eric also made the co-angler top 10 in the same tournament. Judy and Eric were the first mother-son combination ever to make a top 10 together.
In the March EverStart tournament on Lake Santee Cooper, S.C., Judy made a bonafide push for her first win. A crowd favorite, she led the co-angler field going into the final day of competition. She weighed in 8 pounds, 13 ounces of bass on the final day to put her in a respectable fourth place. It was her third top-10 finish on the EverStart Batteries Series.
Together, the Israels have six top-10 finishes among them. They anticipate the day one of them gets a win, which may not be too far off if Judy keeps up her stellar pace.
“She kicks butt,” says EverStart Tournament Director Jerry Stakely, “which is amazing because she’s from the Bronx.”
“We root for each other all the time, but we’re very competitive,” says Judy with a smile.
So who is the best angler in the bunch? Judy modestly avoids the question, but Eric tells it like he sees it.
“Judy’s the most knowledgeable fisherperson, but I have better physical tools,” he says. “If we were combined, we’d be the best fisherpeople ever.”
Abby, the consummate New Yorker, provides a unique perspective on his fishing abilities, “Put two street signs on that lake and I’d never get lost.”
The 31-year-old Eric says he goes fishing about 18 times a year, including tournaments – a relatively low number for a tournament angler. In charge of running the family business back in New York, he takes advantage of the close connections he has on the tour. Abby and Judy travel to all the events and pre-fish the tournament waters together. Then, Eric flies to the site at tournament time and tries to fish his parents’ hot spots using their technique tips.
“Yeah, I send Mom and Dad to scout and then I come down and take all their spoils,” Eric says playfully.
Stepping away from the high life of Madison Avenue and into the world of the Operation Bass fishing circuit – where the travel demands are rigorous and the destinations can be a little off the beaten path – has provided quite a contrasting lifestyle for Abby and Judy. And, more than just landing big bass and finishing in the money, they appreciate everything they’ve experienced on the tournament trail.
“We’ve traveled and seen parts of the country we would never have seen before,” Abby says. “I mean, we went straight from the M1 (Millennium tournament at Cypress Gardens, Fla., last November) to a wedding at the Waldorf back home.”
For Judy, it’s about uniting with the other anglers on the trail and, in her case, forming bonds with the other women who follow it, anglers and wives alike.
“The greatest thing about it is seeing America,” she says. “I can go into any Wal-Mart store anywhere and just chat with the people there and be friends with them forever.”
But for this first family of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour and the EverStart Batteries Series, the tournament trail allows them, maybe most importantly, to spend time together as a family in their adult years.
“It’s fun,” says Eric. “We like it, especially because it keeps us together.”