I Sold an NFL Quarterback the Worst Fishing Combo

​There was a time not so long ago I worked as a Department Lead at Bass Pro. It was my first job out of college, working for $15 an hour, and I knew almost nothing about fishing. In my interview for the job, I said I had done catfishing because I knew all you needed was literal garbage and a big hook in the water to catch something. It is still, to this day, in my opinion, the easiest type of fishing. ​

I didn't work at Bass Pro long. I had a girl three hours away I had to get to, but in the three months I was there, I figured out that I am damn good at sales. Do you know how employees at many retail stores are constantly bombarding you with their sales pitch to sign up for their store's credit card? Yeah. I was one of those guys. 

Within a month of my working at Bass Pro, of all the people working there (not counting the employees whose sole purpose was to get people to sign up for the credit cards), I had the most people sign up for the Bass Pro Credit Card. I also nearly led the store in selling the most Gear Guards, which is basically insurance on your fishing rods. I knew I had talent, but it wasn't until this interaction that I knew I was that guy in sales.

So, I'm about a month into this job and still learning all the different types of rods and reels. I knew what was good and what wasn't so good. I had the basics down. I'm stocking the shelves, and this tall guy and his wife come to me asking for assistance picking out a rod and reel. 

I began asking the guy questions about where he was about to go fishing and what he was going after, and his answers were very broad. He wanted to do some lake fishing and some sea fishing. Very obviously, someone who hadn't done a whole lot of fishing. 

I never tried to sell a beginner something that was way over-priced, but he had mentioned that money was not an issue and he just wanted something good put together. Before I could show him his options, he walked away for a little bit with his wife to check out something in one of the other isles or to go to the bathroom. I don't remember why he walked away for a second, but he did. 

After watching him walk away, I felt like I knew the guy's face. He was tall and very obviously an athlete. Not a Charlotte Hornet. I knew the whole roster at that time. Maybe a college football player? I pondered with one of my associates who he was, and they told me that professional athletes always come in and out of the store. So I pulled out my phone, started looking at the Carolina Panthers roster, and finally figured out who it was. It was Will Grier, the former West Virginia Quarterback.

When he returned, I asked him, "Are you Will Grier?" He chuckled at me and said, "I knew you'd figure it out eventually. I could tell I looked familiar to you."

Looking back, I feel awful about it because I paired a Penn Battle III 3000, a saltwater reel, with a Johnny Morris Medium Action Carbonlite Rod, a freshwater rod. It was the ugliest combo, but he might be able to catch some bass on it. 

So Will, if you're reading this, I owe you a massive apology for probably making you look stupid on the lake. But, I'm confident you CAN catch bass with that combo. Also, Boomer Sooner.