Five Questions for Jimmy Houston

Jan 27th, 2014 by OutdoorsFIRST

Modified Jan 27th, 2014 at 12:00 AM

Jimmy Houston. That name is synonymous with bass fishing and fishing in general. The Chevy pro has been on television for 30 years or so and fishing competitive tournaments even longer than that. BassFIRST caught up to the legendary angler while he was performing routine paperwork in his Oklahoma office and dared him to take on and answer the World Famous, and quite possibly most dangerous task in all of the fishing world, Five Questions for BassFIRST.


	Houston at the 2013 Forrest Wood Cup (Joel Shangle)

DL – Would you rather be in Minnesota or Florida in February?

JH – Well, I’m not too talented at ice fishing. I have a couple of simple rules. Head south in the winter and head north in the summer. I love being in Minnesota in June to go after some spawning smallies. Not in the middle of the winter. I am leaving in a couple of days to head to Lake Okeechobee in Florida. It’s supposed to be in the 80’s when I am there. That will feel nice. So Florida in February for sure.

DL – Ice hockey or baseball?

JH – Baseball, big time. I am a Dodger fan, have been since I was a little kid. We have the baseball package with Direct TV so we can watch the Dodger games. When I was young they played in Brooklyn not Los Angeles. They had a second baseman named Charlie Neal. He was small and could hit homeruns. I was small and played second base.

I remembered him saying he could hit homeruns because he had strong wrists. I started working out to develop strong wrists to hit home runs. I never could hit homeruns, but all the wrist training has helped me tremendously with my fishing career. I still exercise with weights to keep them strong. Funny how things turn out.

DL – Hot dogs or steak?

JH – I’d say I am more of a steak guy. Although I do eat hot dogs. A good steak with a little garlic on it. A ribeye or a filet.

Right now I am on my winter low carb diet. I do it each year and lose 25 pounds or so. Right now I’ve lost 15. I’m eating meat, cheese and salads. Funny you ask about hot dogs. Right now one of the shopping channels is talking with me, Bill Dance and Roland Martin, the Three Legends, to endorse their Hollywood Hot Dogs. They sent me a box. They are good, but I still prefer a steak.

I could really go for a loaded baked potato. They’re starting to look like Christina Aguilera to me. I can’t tell you what a Krispy Kreme looks like to me right now.

DL- What is the most important lesson you learned from your dad?

JH – He taught me so much. I think about him every day. A couple stick out. One is, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. Another important lesson is to not complain. He always said half the people you complain to don’t care and the other half are happy you have a problem.

DL – How would you like to be remembered?

JH – For my Christian faith. Also, for the fun I’ve had fishing. My main goal in tournament fishing was to have fun fishing. Winning tournaments and awards and cashing checks are terrific, but if you’re not having fun, you should be doing something else. Always have fun. The most important for me though is my walk with God and the love of my family.

Five Questions for Jimmy Houston

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