Bronx Letter Carrier Tells Tall Fish Tales

          When 20 year Bronx GPO Parcel Post Letter Carrier Ron Parker isn’t delivering mail and interacting with customers on his route, he is participating in some of the most competitive bass fishing tournaments in the north east. Parker, a member of the Southern Connecticut Bass Anglers Club, is currently in 3rd place in the club rankings and in 2^nd place in The Bass Federation of Connecticut (TBF of Ct.) “B” division tournament. (The divisions are typically categorized according to entry fees.)

BX GPO Letter Carrier Ron Parker with
large-mouth bass he caught at tournament 

          “Fishing is my passion,” said Parker who owns a 17 ½ foot Pro-Craft boat with a 140 HP outboard motor. “I go out and practice fishing all the time at Candlewood Lake in Connecticut, where we hold the tournaments. It’s a beautiful serene place with pristine water. And the camaraderie among the club members is great. We all pull for each other.” 
          They may all support each other, but the competition to win the coveted title of “Mr. Bass” along with cash prizes and a plaque is fierce.

          There are 10 events that comprise the TBC of CT. tournament, which begins in April and ends in November. At every event, the angler who catches–– and keeps alive–– the largest five fish (by weight) at the end of the day wins that event. The fisherman whose “catches” add up to the most total weight by the end of tournament, wins the coveted TBF title. The average weight of the fish range from 1 to 5 pounds, and in case you were wondering, yes, the fish are always released back into the lake after each event.  

          Last year Parker finished in 2^nd place in the club and took 3^rd place over-all in TBF of Ct. “B” division rankings. This year he is expecting to do even better. “It takes some luck, but also intuition and knowledge,” explained Parker. “The fish have different habits at different times of the day and even the seasons. You also have to know which baits and lures work best for the situation you’re in.”

           Parker, who has been fishing since he was eight years old in Charlotte North Carolina, started getting serious about fishing and joined his first tournament in 1993. He purchased his first bass boat in 1998 and has been reeling them in ever since. “My wife is my great inspiration,” said Parker. “She fishes and practices with me, and in fact we won a co-ed fishing tournament together in 2010.”

          Parker proclaims he is the only tournament bass angler in the Bronx and is grateful to be working for the Postal Service. “I love my job, I love being outdoors and talking to my customers, and the Post Office helps me to pay for my passion,” he said.

Ron Parker and his bass boat  

          With a few more events left in this year’s tournament, Parker is gearing up to catch the big one that will put him over the top and provide him with plenty of tall fish tales to tell his co-workers.

“Everybody here at the Post Office knows how passionate I am about fishing,” he said. “I’ve taken some of my co-workers out with me. They love it. They all want to go out on my boat.”