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Noted Outdoors Writer Tucker Dies In Crash

Published: Jul 18, 2007

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was not the only good writer to live in Cross Creek. My friend and colleague, Tim Tucker, lived there until Monday, when he was killed in an auto crash on Interstate 75 near Gainesville.

Tim was one of maybe a dozen outdoors writers in the country who was good enough, fast enough and disciplined enough to make a good living as a free-lancer, and he did so for some 20 years. He was an insider's insider in the pro bass tournament industry, and he knew every one of the big guys on a first-name basis. In fact, he wrote books with several of the biggest, including Bill Dance, Roland Martin and Doug Hannon.

He was a central part of Bassmaster magazine, its go-to guy when a big story was to be written, a successful Web magazine owner, a public speaker and educator.

He was also a character.

When Big Tim rolled into the room, you knew the barbs were about to fly, and he was a master of funny, deflating comments that would bring any ego back to reality, including his own.

He once told me, "I don't turn my computer on for less than $500. But sometimes I don't get to turn it on for weeks at a time." That was not true, though. He usually had a waiting list of magazine editors eager to buy his work. There was hardly a bass publication in the country that had not run Tucker's work - except for those few that could not afford his rates.

He was a huge guy, who got so big that walking was tough for him late in life; he used a battery-powered cart to motor around the Bassmaster Classic in recent years. He got plenty of grief from the pros for being in such shape, but he seemed to enjoy being the object of jokes as much as he did making others the recipient of his acid wit.

In addition to his regular features for Bassmaster, Tucker wrote thousands of articles during his career for publications ranging from Field & Stream and Outdoor Life magazines to The Gainesville Sun. His work won more than 100 awards for writing and photography.

He was a close friend of many magazine editors, including Colin Moore, former executive editor of Outdoor Life who now manages a number of outdoors magazines in Birmingham, Ala.

"Tim and I started writing for newspapers at about the same time," Moore said. "When we entered writing awards contests, I quickly discovered that between Tim and a certain young writer from Tampa, I didn't have a chance unless I entered categories that I figured those two wouldn't enter.

"Tim became Bassmaster's most accomplished writer, but I'm proud to say that his work graced the pages of some of the magazines that I worked for during the past couple of decades. Beside his family and friends, readers of various magazines will miss him and the informative and entertaining articles for which he was known. He always called me 'Pal.' Maybe he called everybody 'Pal,' but I always felt that he meant it, and I deeply regret that I'll never hear him say it again."

A fund for Tucker's family is being set up through Bassmaster; details will be posted at bassmaster.com in the next few days, according to Bassmaster editor Dave Precht.

TARPON TALK: Captain James Wisner of Tampa, one of the Tampa Bay area's top tarpon anglers, was one of the first to figure out the migration pattern of the fish in our area. According to Wisner, the fish disappear from the beaches shortly after the last new or full moon in June or early July, when they head out to the continental shelf to spawn. These fish then come back into the bays to feed on or around the first strong moon tides in late July.

"I'd expect a lot of big fish in the Manatee River and in the bay over the next few weeks," Wisner said. "The bite on the beach is done, but there will be lots of fish on the inside."

Fishing in the black water areas of Tampa Bay usually remains good well into October. Most anglers fish them where they see them rolling, with live threadfins among the favorite baits.