TEAM DYER NEWSLETTER
Luke 2:14
December, 2006
Message from Clay
I have always really appreciated and enjoyed the holiday season. I find it particularly appropriate that the season begins with a celebration of Thanksgiving for all of the many blessings we have received and concludes with Christmas, which for me is a celebration of new beginnings. This past year with your prayers, support and assistance has far surpassed all of my expectations and next year looks like it will be even better. I will fish both the FLW Tour and the FLW Series I may also fish in some BASS Open events. Additionally, I am going to have the opportunity to share a message of hope and encouragement from coast to coast and into Canada as well. I am also looking forward to some new opportunities that I am going to have to interact with you who are assisting me more than you may know in living my dream. I wouldn’t trade where I am for anything. I have learned that one key to enjoying life is to always keep it in the proper perspective. Remember, if I can you can.
November’s Recap
Clay started November by attending the FLW Stren Series Championship in Decatur, Alabama. On November 15 – 19 Clay was in Portland, Oregon. This trip was intended to be the Northwest’s introduction to Clay Dyer. Apparently, Clay’s popularity beat him there! On Thursday morning the cashier at the drive-through coffee shop recognized Clay from his ESPN appearance and voiced his support for Clay and his accomplishments. Later that day Clay made a special appearance on BassFan radio and talked about his sponsors and the upcoming tour season. (The radio interview is available on www.BassFan.com. Scroll down to the BassFan radio link and then click on the feature on Clay.) That evening Clay provided a motivational speech to the YPO organization in Portland, Oregon. On Friday morning Scot Laney of BassFan was kind enough to show Clay around Portland and take him to the beach for some sight seeing. On the way to the beach Clay and Scot stopped for lunch at a popular but remote abandoned logger’s camp that has been converted to what is now a popular restaurant. In further proof of Clay’s increasing popularity, an anonymous customer purchased their lunch leaving a message of support and appreciation for Clay and his message. The following day started with a most entertaining goose hunting trip with Scot Laney of Bassfan.com. While Clay has somewhat mastered the art of deer hunting, trying to swing a shotgun with no arms proved to be quite challenging. On Sunday morning Clay spoke at the Murray Hills Christian Church near Portland, Oregon. Following the Portland trip, Clay headed home to spend Thanksgiving with his family.
December’s Outlook
Clay will travel to Flippen, Arkansas, for a tour of the Ranger Boat Factory. Ranger Boats has become one of Clay’s sponsors, and Clay will be fishing out of their boat for the 2007 tour season. Following this trip Clay will travel to Moundville, Alabama, where he will speak at the Community Baptist Church. Clay will spend the rest of the month with family, friends, and fun fishing before the tournament season starts again in January. Clay is anticipating being on the road in excess of 250 days in 2007. Accordingly, this time of relaxation with family and friends will be very important to him.
Question and Answer with Clay
Q. Do you use scent or color dyes on your lures? If so, how do you apply them?
A. Yes, I do use scents and colored fishing dyes. I try to match my lures to what I
feel the fish will feed on. For minnows or bluegills I use chartreuse dye on the tails
of my plastics to try to mimic the bright green tails that the forage fish have a majority
of the time. Also if I think they are feeding predominately on crawfish, then I will use
crawfish scent and different dyes to color my plastics or the trailers on my jigs to closely imitate the colors on the crawfish. For example, I will use colors such as orange, blue, brown or red.
For applying these colors I use colored markers made by Spike-It. I place the marker in my teeth and pull off the top. I then place the marker between my arm and lips to apply the color where I want it on the lure. For the scents I do the same thing. I can tell you when you get them that close, they definitely smell like dead fish food! Unless I’m using garlic scent, I love that smell!
Q. How do you eat?
A. I’m a southern guy and I love to eat! So when you have no fingers and you are hungry
enough, you find a way to get the food to your mouth. If I am eating a sandwich, I balance
it on my arm and raise it to my mouth. If I am eating something that requires a utensil, I place the fork or spoon between my nose and arm, get the food on the utensil, and use the appendage on my hand to push the fork or spoon to the edge of the plate. I then bend over and raise it to my mouth.
Q. What was your favorite Christmas and why?
A. Christmas is such a wonderful time, every Christmas has been very special.
Christmas of 2005 stands out, as my little nephew was one and a half years old,
and I had a lot of fun watching him taking part in his first big Christmas.
Merry Christmas to everyone and thank you so much for being a supporter and fan! I wish all of you a safe and Happy Holiday Season.
If you have a question for Clay, please email it to qnawithclay@smgoutdoors.com and we will make sure it gets submitted to Clay. Needless to say, he will not be able to answer every question. He will, however, attempt to answer three or four representative questions each month.
Everyone who submits a question will be entered into a drawing to be held on December 31, 2006, for which the grand prize will be a day of fishing with Clay. The winner will be announced in the January 2007 TeamDyer Newsletter.
REMINDER THIS IS THE LAST MONTH TO SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION TO CLAY AND TO BE ENTERED INTO THE DECEMBER 31 DRAWING FOR A DAY OF FISHING WITH CLAY.
Clay’s Inspiration for December
We are in another great Holiday season, and we have so much to be thankful for. I want to take a few minutes and share with you something that really touched and inspired me during this month.
I know you all have heard before how much my family means to me and how much love and support
they provide to me in accomplishing my dreams and goals. My grandfather is 83 years young.
He has taught me so many life lessons, and we have spent a great deal of time together building memories. My grandfather suffered a stroke about a year and a half ago, and he had a pretty tough recovery period. During recovery, he always kept a positive attitude and diligent work ethic toward his therapy. Just the other day he said he knew how much it would mean to me if I were able to finish the tour in a higher position on the national level than I had been able to do in the past. Watching him go through his recovery therapy with all the associated pain was incredible. In spite of everything he was experiencing, he was hoping to be able to watch me perform better in 2007. I have so much to be thankful for, and I am ready to go out and give it my all and try to make it an awesome year for all of us!
Clay’s Challenges for December
Please continue to pray for Clay’s safe travels and that he would continue to be a positive inspiration and role model for all with whom he comes into contact.
TeamDyer
Team Dyer continues to grow at a rapid rate and we appreciate your support and encouragement. For those of you who do not know, TeamDyer now has it’s own website. You can visit the TeamDyer site at
www.teamdyer.com. For those of you who are interested, TeamDyer merchandise will be coming soon.
C.A.S.T. for Kids
The C.A.S.T. for Kids Foundation was formed in 1991 to join volunteers who love to fish with disabled and disadvantaged children for a day of fishing in the outdoors. C.A.S.T. for kids furthers its mission by increasing awareness of disabled and disadvantaged children in our communities and teaching appreciation for natural resources.
If you are interested in learning how to put together a CAST for Kids event in your area, or participating in one of the above events, for the Eastern Region, please contact Art Pasley at
art@castforkids.org. For the Western Region, please contact Jim Owens at jim@castforkids.org.
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If you know of anyone who would like to receive Clay’s Newsletter, please feel free to forward him or her this Newsletter. If you have received this Newsletter and are not a member of "Team Dyer," but you would like to be, please go to claydyerfishing.com and click on the "Team Dyer" link and enter your email address. The website will automatically mail you a link to the Newsletter, but in order to be subscribed to receive the Newsletter you must click on that link provided in the email.
I would like to recognize the following sponsors who have been supportive and who have made it possible for me to "live my dream."
CLAY’S PRINCIPAL SPONSOR
CLAY’S PRIMARY SPONSORS
CLAY’S SECONDARY SPONSORS
Evinrude
Ranger Boats
Minn Kota
Pflueger Rods & Reels
Cajun Fishing Line
Daiichi and X-Point Hooks
Team Dual Pro Batteries & Chargers
Plano Tacklelogic Tackle Systems
All Star Graphite Rods
Shakespeare Supreme Super Tough Line
