Bass angler with no limbs reels in big ones in Alabama

ME WITH THE HEART AND THE MIND AND THE SOUL AND THE HEART AND SOUL TO NEVER GIVE UP TO TO NEVER QUIT, TO NOT STOP. AND SO THIS MIGHT JUST BE THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL STORY IN ALL OF SPORTS. AN ALABAMA MAN WITHOUT LIMBS, FISHING AND COMPETING ON THE PRO CIRCUIT. YEAH, ONLY ON WVTM 13, RICK CARLEE FOUND HIMSELF IN AWE WHEN HE GRABBED A FISHING POLE AND SOAKED IN SOME OF CLAY DYER’S INSPIRATION. THE 250 HORSEPOWER ENGINE ROARS THROUGH LAKE GUNTERSVILLE IT’S DRIVEN BY A MAN OF DRIVE DETERMINATION AND FAITH, A MAN WHO WILL NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE IN. GOD HAS BLESSED ME WITH THE HEART AND THE MIND AND THE SOUL AND THE HEART AND THE SOUL. TO NEVER GIVE UP TO. TO NEVER QUIT. TO NOT STOP. AND THE MIND’S, YOU KNOW, TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO OVERCOME WHATEVER ADVERSITY WE FACE. ADVERSITY, PRO ANGLER CLAY DYER HAS FACED IT ALL HIS LIFE. I THINK ABOUT THE TRIALS THAT GOD HAS LET HIM OVERCOME, WHERE A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD LIE DOWN IN. I’D SAY, I WON’T DO THIS. I’M NOT GOING TO TRY. CLAY DYER HAS ALWAYS TRIED, ALWAYS SUCCEEDED. BORN WITH NO LEGS, NO LEFT ARM, ONLY A PORTION OF HIS RIGHT. THE HAMILTON, ALABAMA NATIVE LEARNED TO LIVE AND THRIVE DESPITE THE BULLIES. I HAD THE SELF ESTEEM AND CONFIDENCE TO BE THAT. WELL. SO WHAT IF YOU DON’T LIKE ME? SOMEBODY ELSE DOES. YOU KNOW, TO SEE HOW CLAY DYER NAVIGATED HIS CHILDHOOD IS AMAZING TO LEARN HOW HE TOOK UP THE SPORT OF BASS FISHING AND SUCCEEDED IS DOWNRIGHT HEAD SCRATCHING. NOBODY COULD REALLY TEACH ME BECAUSE NOBODY WAS LIKE ME. YOU KNOW, BEING WITH THE WITH THE BASS IS EXTREMELY. TO SEE CLAY IN ACTION IS INSPIRING. HE DRIVES HIS OWN TRUCK, DRIVES HIS OWN BOAT, TIES KNOTS WITH HIS TONGUE, CASTS WITH HIS CHIN. AND WHEN THE BIG BASS HIT COME, HE GREW. THE FIGHT IS ON. JUST COULDN’T STAND IN THOSE MOMENTS. THE WORM. COULD YOU, GIRL? IF HE HAS TO GO GET HIS GRABBERS, IF HE HAS TO USE HIS TEETH, IF HE HAS TO USE THAT HANDSOME JAWLINE, WHATEVER, WHATEVER IT IS, HE WILL FIND A WAY. IT WAS 13 YEARS AGO WHEN CLAY FOUND A WAY, FOUND A WAY TO MEET HIS FUTURE WIFE, KIM, WHO SPOTTED CLAY AT A BASS TOURNAMENT WAY IN. BUT THIS VOICE IS PRAISING GOD. HE’S ON NATIONAL BASS STAGE AND HE’S GIVING GOD ALL THE GLORY BEFORE CLAY AND KIM KNEW IT, THEY WERE HOOKED. HE GETS DOWN ON ONE KNEE, SO I SAY THAT HE’S DOWN IN A DIFFERENT POSITION AND HE’S GOT THAT DIAMOND RIGHT THERE. SO I WAS PRETTY ECSTATIC. I GRABBED IT. HE SAID, YOU DIDN’T GIVE ME TIME FOR MY SPEECH. SO CLAY AND KIM MADE FOR A PERFECT CATCH. AND TODAY THEIR MINISTRY SEES THE COUPLE SPEAKING AT CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS AND GATHERINGS SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT HAVING POSITIVITY AND FAITH, SHARING THEIR STORY WITH ADULTS AND CHILDREN ALIKE. BECAUSE I LOVE BEING ABLE TO TAKE THE TIME TO EXPLAIN TO THEM THAT, HEY, YOU KNOW, GOD CREATED ME. YOU KNOW, A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. BUT HE CREATED ALL OF US UNIQUE. CLAY DYER STORY IS AS UNIQUE AS THEY COME. A HUSBAND, FATHER, GRANDFATHER AND PRO ANGLER ON THE BASS OPEN SERIES. THIS INSPIRATION IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE. I DON’T CARE FOR THE MIDDLE OF THE LAKE AND ME AND MY PEARLS OR IF IF WE’RE AT HOME IN OUR RECLINERS. HEY, HE INSPIRES ME THROUGH FAITH. THROUGH WHAT HE DOES. YEAH. HE’S A MAN WITH A MISSION. HEY, NO, DON’T LAY DOWN AND GIVE UP, MAN. YOU KNOW, KEEP GOING AND PUT ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER AND, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, IT’S JUST. DON’T GIVE UP. HE’S A MAN WHO WILL FOREVER STAY THE COURSE. FAITH OVER FEAR WHILE OFFERING THE WORLD THE AMAZING STORY OF CLAY DYER. RI

‘Never give up and never give in’: Bass angler with no limbs reels in the big ones

Updated: 6:34 PM EDT Aug 6, 2023

He scoots into the seat of his bass boat.“Beautiful morning, isn’t it?” says Clay Dyer.The professional bass angler is all smiles as he speeds toward a favorite fishing spot on Lake Guntersville. What is about to transpire is one of the most amazing sights in sports.Hamilton’s Clay Dyer was born without legs, without a left arm, and only a portion of his right. Yet, Clay drives his own truck, drives his bass boat, and competes with able-bodied anglers on the BASS Open Series.“My motto is, ‘If I can, you can,’” said Clay as I grabbed a fishing pole of my own.“God has blessed me with a beautiful mind and a beautiful heart, and that’s how I keep going,” Clay said, as he casts the fishing line with his rod handle squeezed between his shoulder and his chin. “People ask me all the time how I do it. My advice to everyone is to never give up and never give in.”I watch Clay tie lures onto his fishing line with his tongue. I see Clay reel in a 3-pound largemouth bass and remove the hook from the fish with his mouth.“You are beautiful,” Clay said to the fish while giving it a kiss. He jerks his head to the left as the fish heads back into the water.I don’t have too much luck fishing on this hot summer day, but Clay knows where to find the fish. He chats about his other mission as he slowly moves the plastic worm up and down in the water.“The ministry I have with my wife Kim is what our lives are all about,” says Clay. “We travel the country to tell our story- to help young people and give them hope.” As he faces the most difficult of challenges, he conquers the most amazing feats.“I consider myself to be one of the most blessed people in the world,” says Clay as he flashes me a smile.There is more fishing to do.Watch the video player above to see Rick Karle fish with Clay Dyer.

He scoots into the seat of his bass boat.

“Beautiful morning, isn’t it?” says Clay Dyer.

The professional bass angler is all smiles as he speeds toward a favorite fishing spot on Lake Guntersville. What is about to transpire is one of the most amazing sights in sports.

Hamilton’s Clay Dyer was born without legs, without a left arm, and only a portion of his right. Yet, Clay drives his own truck, drives his bass boat, and competes with able-bodied anglers on the BASS Open Series.

“My motto is, ‘If I can, you can,’” said Clay as I grabbed a fishing pole of my own.

“God has blessed me with a beautiful mind and a beautiful heart, and that’s how I keep going,” Clay said, as he casts the fishing line with his rod handle squeezed between his shoulder and his chin. “People ask me all the time how I do it. My advice to everyone is to never give up and never give in.”

I watch Clay tie lures onto his fishing line with his tongue. I see Clay reel in a 3-pound largemouth bass and remove the hook from the fish with his mouth.

“You are beautiful,” Clay said to the fish while giving it a kiss. He jerks his head to the left as the fish heads back into the water.

I don’t have too much luck fishing on this hot summer day, but Clay knows where to find the fish. He chats about his other mission as he slowly moves the plastic worm up and down in the water.

“The ministry I have with my wife Kim is what our lives are all about,” says Clay. “We travel the country to tell our story- to help young people and give them hope.”

As he faces the most difficult of challenges, he conquers the most amazing feats.

“I consider myself to be one of the most blessed people in the world,” says Clay as he flashes me a smile.

There is more fishing to do.

Watch the video player above to see Rick Karle fish with Clay Dyer.