Blowing a Call Didn’t Bother This Tech Quarterback
(In honor of the recent passing of Phil Robertson, I found this article I wrote about him 45 years ago on February 7, 1980 when I was outdoors editor for the Shreveport Journal.)
Joe Aillet should have realized earlier that he was fighting a losing battle. Phil Robertson, his promising quarterback, had other things on his mind and football was not number one on his list. This fact is best illustrated by the account of an incident still circulating around the hallowed halls at Louisiana Tech.
Coach Aillet called his troops over to the corner of the practice field one autumn afternoon and was giving them an old fashioned chewing out when he observed that quarterback Robertson was apparently not paying attention.
In fact Robertson was standing helmet across his heart, staring intently toward the heavens. Although the coach may have thought Robertson was appealing for divine intervention, this was not the case.
A huge flock of geese was winging its way southward over the practice field and for the moment at least, Phil Robertson was up there with them, caught in the same unexplainable restlessness that moves the geese toward the marsh.
“If Phil Robertson had taken his football as seriously as he did duck hunting, there is no doubt he could have been All All-American,” said a sports writer recently in discussing Robertson’s career at Tech during the 1960’s
Bear Bryant, the long-time head coach at Alabama, is reported to have offered to trade his quarterback for either Robertson of his back-up, a blond haired sophomore named Terry Bradshaw.
While Bradshaw’s four Super Bowl rings attest to the fact that he is the best in the business at what he does he would undoubtedly still be riding the bench behind Robertson in duck calling – where Phil is making a name for himself.
Phil is the originator, designer and producer of a duck call that is catching on all over the country. Fifteen years of developing and testing have paid off for Robertson as he has come up with a duck call that he refers to as a “precision instrument structured to produce the exact tonality of a mallard hen.”
His call employs the use of curved double reeds that produce the rasp and hoarseness of a mallard hen. A comment by Al Bolen, a hunting companion, led to the naming of Robertson’s call. After watching Phil entice several flocks of ducks into the decoys, Bolen remarked, ‘You’re not calling them, you’re COMMANDING them!”
Robertson markets his call under the name of Duck Commander.
A recent issue of American Shotgunner magazine reported the results of tests run on duck calls. About Robertson’s Commander, the editors wrote, “This is a newly designed and patented double reed – a call that really sounds like a duck.”
Anyone interested in contacting Robertson for more info about his calls or where they can be purchased might write Duck Commander Co, Rt 3, Box 192X, West Monroe, LA 71291.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Robertson still holds the record at Tech for the most interceptions thrown during a single season. The reason, of course, is obvious. The ducks and geese were migrating and it’s awfully hard to keep an eye on your receivers and watch geese too. When the choice was Robertson’s, he’d rather watch a wigeon than a wide receiver any day.
FISHING REPORT
CANEY LAKE –. Bass have moved up around the grass and Texas rigged plastic worms are taking some fish on secondary points using crank baits. Some schooling activity is being noted with fish hitting shad imitations. Crappie are around the deep tops and jigs and shiners are taking some. Bream both chinquapins and bluegills are on the beds and hitting crickets and worms. For information contact Caney Lake Landing at 259-6649, Hooks Marina at 249-2347, Terzia Tackle at 278-4498 or the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
BUSSEY BRAKE – Bass have been good with some nice fish caught on soft plastics and spinners. Crappie are on the flats suspended 4 feet in 12 foot water and are fair on shiners or jigs. The bream are bedding around the edges of the brush. For latest information, contact the Honey Hole at 323-8707.
OUACHITA RIVER – High water. Some bass caught in river lakes. Others are slow. For latest information, contact the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE D’ARBONNE – Bass are scattered with some along banks early on topwater lures and some on the secondary points on crank baits, spinners and Rapalas. Crappie are suspended 8 feet in 14 foot water and taking jigs and shiners. Bream are bedding shallow and hitting worms and crickets and catfish are good fishing off the banks. For latest information, call Anderson Sport Center at 368-9669 or Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE CLAIBORNE – Crappie fishing has been good on suspended fish on jigs and shiners. Bass are around the banks and hitting topwaters early while later hitting hit jigs, spinners and soft plastics. Bream are on the beds and worms and crickets are working on them. Stripers are beginning to school and hitting shad imitations. For latest information, call Kel’s Cove at 927-2264 or Terzia Tackle at 278-4498.
LAKE POVERTY POINT – Catfish and bream are best bets this week. Bass are fair. Crappie fishing is slow. For information, contact the marina at 318/878-0101.
LAKE YUCATAN – The water is high but on a slow fall. Still too high for fishing. For info call Surplus City Landing at 318/467-2259.