ACC pro staffer ‘teaches’ Bill Dance

By Greg McCain

Fishing pressure comes in various forms. Sometimes it affects the fish. At other times, it affects the fisherman.

In particular, guides and tournament anglers experience the varying degrees of pressure that emerge as a result of the need to catch fish. But when the name Bill Dance pops up on a phone, the very idea that the fishing legend might be calling to schedule a trip creates the ultimate form of pressure.

Such was the case with Arkansas crappie guide and ACC Crappie Stix pro staff member Randy Reese back in the summer. Traveling to watch a movie with his family, Randy saw the name flash on his phone screen.

“Bill Dance … Wow!” said Randy, who is from Valley Springs, AR. “I’m just going to watch Twister, and he called. I’m trying not to be all giddy-giddy.”

While the call was not totally unexpected – Randy had been texting with Dance since earlier in the year – the moment produced the realization that a trip was likely to take place. Randy answered the call, and he and Bill began to make definitive plans for a fall outing on Bull Shoals Lake in northern Arkansas to film video for Dance’s long-running TV show.

While Randy was outwardly reserved, he was anxious and nervous on the inside to be planning a trip with one of the iconic figures in the fishing industry, one whose face belongs on the Mount Rushmore of fishing. The trip took place in mid-October, and the result was a productive day on the water and a video that will likely air early next year.  Bill Dance Outdoors runs on The Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, and World Fishing Network.

“Bill Dance has been a name that I could remember since I’ve had memories,” Randy said. “He was that guy who was on TV. He was a staple to the fishing world even when I was a young kid. I was probably five years old at the latest when I started watching Bill Dance on TV.”

While Randy has been fishing for years, the connection with Bill is very much a short-term affair. Camping with his family at Table Rock Lake in Missouri in June, Randy received a text from a client, Gary Head. The basic premise of the text: Gary wanted to introduce Randy to Bill Dance, who was intrigued by Randy’s social media posts about crappie catches on Bull Shoals.

“I was halfway asleep about 7:30 one morning, and my first thought was that Gary was trying to pull a fast one on me,” Randy said. “I’m just a country boy blessed with being able to do this for a living. I thought, ‘He’s just funning with me. He’s just funning with me. I looked at the number he sent me, plugged it in Google, and it said Memphis, TN.”

A few minutes later, Bill chimed in with a text of his own.

“Buddy, you can’t replicate Bill Dance even in a text message,” Randy said. “That guy’s got his own unique way of talking. I knew immediately it was Bill Dance. There was no doubt about it.”

Even that Bill was texting and calling seemed “a bit surreal” for Randy. Just six years ago, he was just a bass fisherman who dabbled with crappie fishing in the spring. His purchase of LiveScope shortly after its introduction in 2018, however, put him on the fast track to a new career.

Through on-the-water experience, he became a self-taught expert with the forward-facing sonar technology that revolutionized the fishing world. Randy eventually got his captain’s license, and in June 2023, he quit his day job to guide full-time.

A little over a year later, Bill Dance was on the phone.

A variety of factors compounded the stress of planning a trip with Bill. Bull Shoals is a deep, ultra clear-water lake. This year’s drought added to the extreme water conditions, dropping lake levels by over seven feet and rendering some of Randy’s best spots useless.

As the trip approached, mechanical issues that had to be resolved at the last minute and the first major cold front of the fall only added to the pressure.

“Leading up, fishing has been about as tough as I’ve ever seen it on Bull Shoals,” Randy said. “I’m taking people out, and we’re catching a few fish here and there. It’s a grind.

“I tell Bill, ‘Here’s what’s going on. It should be getting better, but’ …”

Randy estimates that he and his clients have put 400-500 two-lb. black crappie in the boat this year, topped by a 3.06 and a 3.26 back in the spring. While the quality was still good leading up to the trip, the numbers were not there.

“I’ve tried to build up (crappie fishing on Bull Shoals) and realize I may have stuck my foot in my mouth,” Randy said.

Pre-fishing with a friend the day before the scheduled trip with Bill, Randy saw hope for success. He checked seven deep brushpiles and caught a crappie on the only seven casts he made.

“The next morning, I had a nervous attack on the way to the lake,” Randy said. “What if these fish won’t cooperate? It’s 46 or 47 degrees. The wind is blowing.

“Then I just had this calmness. I said to myself, ‘No, this may be my only opportunity to fish with a guy that I’ve known and watched fish. And pretty much every person in the country knows who he is. We’re going to have a good time’.“

The meeting at the boat ramp was like two old friends who had not seen each other for years. After face-to-face introductions, “He grabbed my hand and pulled me in and hugged my neck,” Randy said. “He’s as genuine as genuine can be.”

Some of the pressure dissipated when Bill caught a keeper crappie on one of his first casts. A few minutes later, he caught an even bigger black crappie. Then Randy got in on the act with a 15” fish.

“My goal at that point is to put him on fish, let him do what he does,” Randy said. “He’s an endless supply of information.

“All these stories. The voice that you’ve heard all your life. And all of a sudden, he’s sitting right there beside you fishing. But it’s almost like the cameras just faded away.”

Even with the early success, Randy was not totally satisfied with the morning’s work. They had 8-10 catches on film, enough for a show but not enough to affirm the overall quality of Bull Shoals.

A unique occurence  – “the wind stopped blowing, something that just does not happen on this lake” – allowed Randy and Bill to pursue crappie that “I had stumbled on while guiding. Normally I do not focus on fish along deep bluff walls until December or January, and you can only catch them when the wind is not blowing.”

The opportunity allowed them to double their catches in short order, and the filming was complete. All the fish were caught on a technique that Randy has perfected over his four years of guiding, using minnows deep under a slip cork (more on that technique in a later blog post).

Bill posted on social media that he had “learned several new lessons” about targeting deep-water crappie, an incredible acknowledgement for someone who has experienced just about everything in fishing.

“He said that he didn’t know you could target big crappie like that,” Randy said. “He just ate it up. He fell in love with it.

“For someone like Bill Dance to say that ‘I taught him something’ says that we can still learn something every day on the water.”

For someone who has fished for years, Randy got to experience a successful day in the boat with a fishing legend. Despite the pressure, Bill left Randy with one thought that surpassed the fishing success.

“He’s as genuine as you see on TV,” Randy said.

For more info about fishing Bull Shoals Lake with Randy, call him at 870.577.2045 or follow his  posts on Facebook at Crappie 101 Guide Service, LLC.