Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 284 West Palm Beach Fishing Club member news McDow Hangs up Bait Knife After more than 40 years of cutting, prepping and rig- ging natural baits for offshore fisher- men from around the world, Capt. Willie McDow is calling it quits. “My back just won’t do it anymore. I can’t stand up all day long and cut bait,” lamented McDow, who began his bait career working for Melvin & Betty Marshall at Marshall’s Trolling Baits in Riviera Beach in 1970. Willie worked side by side with Ber- nard ‘Buck’ Callaway who became a life-long friend. “We were deboning and brining a lot of mullet back then. During the fall mullet run we were putting up between 250 and 350 dozen every other day. I can remember some Saturday’s when I rigged 1,000 ballyhoo,” recalled McDow. In 1975 Willie went to work for Charlie ‘Spilt- tail’ Hayden who perfected cutting split-tail mullet for trolling. “He was really the first person to do that with mullet. That was the big thing back then. There were no artificials, everyone trolled mullet. He was even contracted by John Rybovich to supply fresh mullet for each boat in the Masters. That’s how the baits became known as Palm Beach Trollers,” said McDow. In 1993 McDow opened up his own shop, Willie’s Troll- ing Baits & Custom Tackle, in Lake Park. His shop was a frequent stop for many top captains and crews who were readying their boats for a season of fishing. At one point, Willie was trailering box freezers up the eastern seaboard, supplying shops with tournament quality baits along the way. He eventually ventured into hunting supplies and changed the name of his store to Willie’s Fish & Game. Willie closed his shop located on U.S. 1 in Lake Park in February. He remains in the retail business, specializing in archery equipment and hunting supplies, at his new location in Lake Park off Old Dixie Highway. He is the largest Bow Tech dealer in South Florida and the new facility features an archery lane. McDow is a former WPBFC board member and has actively participated in numerous club events and tourna- ments. “Through the years, Willie has always been will- ing to share his bait rigging know how with members at club meetings and special seminars. In the late 1980’s he played a very supportive role in helping the Fishing Club launch its annual Kids Fishing Day program; we owe him a lot of gratitude,” said WPBFC President Tom Twyford. Willie McDow makes the move from baits to bows Willie Howard Leaves Post Willie Howard Longtime WPBFC member Willie How- ard of West Palm Beach took advan- tage of a buy-out package from The Palm Beach Post last November and left the newspaper reporting business. While he worked many other beats during his 26-year tenure, Howard was the Post’s primary outdoor writer for a dozen of those years. Willie did an exceptional job reporting on all aspects of the outdoors covering every- thing from bird watching to blue marlin fishing. Willie is now doing some freelance writing and public relations work. Recently he started writing a monthly On the Water column for The Coastal Star newspaper based in Ocean Ridge. WPBFC member Chris Cardella of Delray Beach and the FAU Bass Fishing Club is the focus of Willie’s first column (March issue). “I also plan to start running a few charters on my 23-foot Mako,” added Howard. The WPBFC gratefully acknowledges the support Willie provided for so many years in his capacity at the Palm Beach Post. Congratulations on a very successful reporting career.… now you’ll have more time to volunteer at the clubhouse!