“I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.”                             Langston Hughes

March 2006 – Pickwick Lake – Florence, Alabama: Twenty-eight-year-old Clay Dyer made his pro fishing debut in an FLW Bass Tournament on Pickwick Lake. To the surprise of the bass fishing world, the rookie beat the FLW tour champion and the Bass Masters Classic champion, the two most lucrative and prestigious titles in all of bass fishing, to win the two-day tournament.

Clay’s feat not only rocked the bass fishing world but also awed and inspired the fans who came to the daily weigh-ins. They watched in stunned amazement as the Hamilton, Alabama, angler with no arms or legs weighed in his catch and held up his trophy. Clay received his first national check and knew he could fish at the big-league level of the sport.

He was born with phocomelia, a rare congenital disability that causes babies to be born with severely shortened or missing arms and legs. Clay has no legs, no left arm, and a right arm that ends at his elbow.

In 1978, Clarence and Bev Dyer were shocked when they first saw their newborn baby. Because of their faith they encouraged him to believe he could be and do anything he wanted regardless of his situation. They also instructed him that he was meant to be that way because God didn’t make mistakes. There were no excuses in the Dyer home.

When Clay was 5, he caught his first fish, a big catfish, in his grandfather’s pond. The fish wasn’t the only thing hooked on that summer afternoon. Clay taught himself to fish and was at it every chance he got.

Despite his limitations, Clay participated in baseball, basketball, and football in high school. Although he enjoyed organized sports, it was difficult for him. His attention turned to bass fishing, and he dreamed of being a professional. At 15, he stopped fishing for fun and he and his buddies began competing in local bass tournaments around Hamilton. His parents agreed to sign a waiver for him to fish in Alabama Bass Angler Sportsman Society tournaments across the state as a minor.

Clay won 20 tournaments as a minor. At age 20, he began fishing on the Forest L. Wood Ever Start tournament trail for emerging professionals. He fished in state and regional tournaments to improve his skills.

Tying a knot with no hands was the most challenging part of becoming a bass fisherman. After months of trying various methods, Clay taught himself to tie his lures with his teeth and tongue, using his partial right arm to assist. He learned to cast a lure with the rod butt held snugly between his jaw and collarbone like a violinist, swinging his upper body to complete the cast. While holding the reel underneath his chin, Clay cranks the reel with his small right arm and removes the hook from the fish with a pair of plyers in his mouth.

He drives his own truck and fishes from a 22-foot Ranger bass boat with a 250-horsepower Mercury outboard motor. He uses standard equipment for fishing the bass championship trail and refuses to use modified equipment other than his truck to allow him to drive.

Fishing on the professional tournament trail around the country can cost $100,000 for fuel, tow vehicles, lodging, food, tournament entry fees, and maintenance costs. Clay earned key sponsorships from Strike King Lures, Mercury Outboards, Ranger boats, Power-Pole Navionics, and Abu Garcia reels to offset his costs.  

Clay Dyer is a pro bass fishing legend and inspiration. People come to tournaments to watch his unique style of fishing. Today, 46-year-old Clay has been fishing the BASS professional circuit for almost 20 years. If he’s not fishing a tournament on the weekends, he is fulfilling a speaking engagement.

Clay uses his disability as a platform for sharing his faith and his life story. He fishes fewer tournaments because of a growing nation-wide demand for him to speak to churches, schools, businesses, and non-profit organizations.

“God didn’t give me arms and legs,” says Clay, “but he gave me a mind to figure out different ways to do things, a competitive spirit, and a heart of determination. We were never promised that life would be easy; we were promised that God would help us. I am so blessed. I would not change my situation if I could.”