Maybe this\u00a0headline caught your attention.\u00a0The B.A.S.S. community lost a great friend on Feb.\u00a016,\u00a02026.\u00a0W.E. (Billy) Graham passed away at the age of 99.\u00a0Billy was a Lay Minister and yes, he was proud to have the same name and calling as the Great Evangelist Billy Graham.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our fishing Billy Graham was a friend to so many anglers\u00a0through\u00a0the years.\u00a0I first met him in the early 90s at a B.A.S.S. event.\u00a0B.A.S.S. Tournament Director Dewey Kendrick told me he wanted to introduce me to Billy Graham and absolutely that caught my attention. Billy became great friends with the entire B.A.S.S. tournament staff.\u00a0Often\u00a0he would\u00a0hang out\u00a0with us.\u00a0And on days a co-angler dropped out, Billy was there ready to occupy a seat in a pro’s boat for the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an angler, Billy was one of the\u00a0very best\u00a0\u201cbank beaters\u201d I have known.\u00a0I say that because at every event, B.A.S.S.\u00a0established\u00a0an\u00a0off-limits\u00a0area around the weigh-in site for various reasons.\u00a0Those off limits became Billy\u2019s playground during tournament week.\u00a0One morning at Lake Texoma, Billy hit the trifecta catching a largemouth, a nice smallmouth and a spotted bass in about an\u00a0hour’s time.\u00a0He was so excited.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Billy\u2019s true calling though was walking every step with Jesus.\u00a0In\u00a0life\u00a0we meet different folks along the way, and I imagine most of us\u00a0meet people\u00a0who make a real difference in our lives.\u00a0Billy was one of those people.\u00a0As Charlie Ingram\u00a0posted,\u00a0our world was better because of our Billy Graham.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I talked to Michael Hall,\u00a0Billy\u2019s closest friend,\u00a0after his\u00a0passing.\u00a0Michael was a great angler from Virginia\u00a0while\u00a0Billy\u00a0resided\u00a0in Maryland.\u00a0Billy often\u00a0accompanied\u00a0Michael to B.A.S.S. events.\u00a0And there were times\u00a0where\u00a0Billy simply packed up his\u00a0minivan\u00a0and traveled on his own.\u00a0Michael shared with me\u00a0he visited Billy in the hospital in his final days.\u00a0He said Billy\u2019s mind was sharp, and he reminisced about all the\u00a0folks and\u00a0good times he had at our events.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We all remember where we were in September\u00a02001.\u00a0B.A.S.S. was getting ready for the New York Invitational\u00a0in Clayton, N.Y., when the terrorist attacks happened.\u00a0I remember\u00a0so well we met with the anglers to\u00a0announce\u00a0the cancellation of the tournament,\u00a0and\u00a0Billy closed the\u00a0meeting with a touching prayer.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Billy was a World War II veteran and loved his country.\u00a0He loved the sport of bass fishing as well.\u00a0When he was home in Maryland,\u00a0Billy and his\u00a0buddy\u00a0Ralph regularly\u00a0visited their little local lake in a\u00a0two-man\u00a0boat.\u00a0He could not wait to give me a fishing report at our next event.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While we will certainly miss\u00a0him,\u00a0we know Billy Graham has crossed over to the other side and is resting\u00a0with\u00a0Jesus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rest in peace, old\u00a0friend!\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maybe this\u00a0headline caught your attention.\u00a0The B.A.S.S. community lost a great friend on Feb.\u00a016,\u00a02026.\u00a0W.E. (Billy) Graham passed away at the age of 99.\u00a0Billy was a Lay Minister and yes, he was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":1411869,"template":"","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":52375,"post_id":53641}}]},"bassmaster_plugin_short_title":"","bassmaster_plugin_photo_attribution":[],"bassmaster_plugin_caption_attribution":[],"bassmaster_article_column":true,"bassmaster_article_columnists":[53640],"bassmaster_dfp":[],"bassmaster_ad_refresh_interval_bool":false,"bassmaster_ad_refresh_interval_length":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"sponsors":[],"people":[],"tournaments":[],"tournament-series":[],"byline":[52375],"class_list":["post-1411866","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n