By Bruce Stanton

History is not necessarily kind to Jimmy Carter’s presidency.

There was a hostage crisis with Iran in the mid-1970s and the militant change in government there. There was the highest gas prices America had ever known. And gas shortages with long lines at the pumps. Not a lot of positives.

History was much kinder to Carter in his life after his presidency. He was a well-documented humanitarian, impacting the lives of thousands with new homes. He constantly used his platform to be a positive influence.

As fishermen, we should appreciate Carter for being a life-long fisherman. He took to rivers and streams seeking solace during his presidency as a fly-fisherman. Fishing is something he regarded as a lifestyle and something he did often.

What did fishing mean to him?

“Many of the most highly publicized events of my presidency are not nearly as memorable or significant in my life as fishing with my daddy,” Carter said.

As the son of a fisherman, that quote really hits me. My dad, Don Stanton, is no longer alive, but I do think about him often. Especially after fishing trips.

I can remember 30 years ago, in 1996, calling my dad and letting him know that I was leaving the newspaper business to work at PRADCO as a public relations director. Dad was a life-long pole climber for Bell South, South Central Bell and AT&T. He and all of his buddies thought I’d found the brass ring.

Everything I am as a fisherman is because of my dad and his influence on me. He took me fishing, mom says, when I couldn’t even walk or hold a rod. We lived in Alcoa, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains and between the Tennessee River and Little Tennessee River. In fact, dad used to take me fishing below Chilhowee Dam long before Tellico Lake existed. We used to catch brown trout in the tailrace.

We didn’t have a boat, but in the ‘70s you could rent boats from marinas on Fort Loudon and Douglas lakes. And we did that. Dad had a 9.9 Johnson motor and would place it on the wooden boats we would rent. We’d throw H&H Spinnerbaits in black and yellow and black ribbon tail worms we’d buy at Wynn’s Sporting Goods. We’d spend days and days together. Some days we’d wreck ‘em. Some days we’d put up a goose egg. But it gave me a love and passion for fishing that’s never let go of me.

My last fishing trip with Dad was on Little River near Coulter’s Bridge in Blount County in 2019 (about 20 miles from downtown Knoxville). As we walked down the path to the river, Dad said, “I love this place.” He caught a few creek chubs and a little smallmouth on a Rebel Crawfish. It marked the end of nearly 50 years of fishing with him.

I still think of Dad every time I go fishing. I fish with my three sons often and fish alone often and always send pictures to my mom. While she didn’t fish much, she always encouraged me and my brothers to go as children and drove us to the Duck Pond or Little River many times while growing up.

Now that I’m the oldest man in the family, I find myself encouraging my three sons and two daughters-in-law to go fishing. I guided my daughter-in-law Halee on a rainbow trout trip in Oklahoma over the New Year and watched her catch five rainbows (my son Gray didn’t catch any, though he said he had one on!).

Fishing is important to us because it gives us time in God’s creation. It allows us to spend time with people we love. It allows us to work on a craft that we love. It allows us to see sunrises and sunsets that many people never realize exist. And it gives us time with Dad.

My dad was a union man, so he voted for Jimmy Carter. When Jimmy Carter was invited to speak along with George W. Bush at the grand opening of the Wonders of Wildlife Museum in 2017, I received an invitation from Johnny Morris and was able to be in the crowd. My dad thought that was pretty cool.

As a volunteer board member for the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, it’s even cooler that I get to work with the board and the Wonders of Wildlife Museum staff to improve and expand our hall. I think Dad would have liked that.