Alabama sportsman's bed, breakfast, bass drawing visitors from all areas

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Ray Scott helped make bass fishing big business. Now, he's created a business out of his personal playground.

The founder of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society and well-known fishing impresario has launched his own BB&B: bed, breakfast and bass.

Ray Scott's Trophy Bass Retreat opened in January, offering use of the three lakes on his suburban Montgomery property that have hosted presidential fishing excursions, as well as stays in the guesthouse where former President George H.W. Bush bunked down on several visits.

Of course, the fish are big and so are the prices.

A group of six from Birmingham happily plunked down $550 apiece recently to fish from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with a couple of meals and use of Scott's boats thrown in.

Sporting a huge fish and a big grin, Chris Thompson figured he got plenty of bass for his buck.

"This is worth everything out here," Thompson said, posing for pictures with his 10-pound, 12-ounce bass. It's catch and release, so he had to toss it back in The Presidents Lake. (For a price, Scott has a taxidermist who will make a replica based on weight and size).

If visitors want to stay in the two-bedroom guesthouse used by the first President Bush, it's $1,950 per person for three nights and two days. A day and a half of fishing and a one-night stay is $860 each.

The reward: Typically plenty of good-sized bass in a tranquil, tree-lined setting just south of Montgomery that's about five miles from but seemingly on a different planet than Interstate 85. You have to travel 1.5 miles on a one-lane road just to reach his sprawling house.

Scott makes no apologies for the high prices. The trips are not for the casual angler.

Scott built Red Eagle Lake, which is stocked with only females to avoid overpopulation, and the 55-acre Presidents Lake, which "Outdoor Life" named the second-best place to fish in the world behind Japan's Lake Biwa in May. The magazine called it "arguably the best little bass pond on the planet."

There's also Tabernacle Lake, which he drained and rebuilt to make it more fishing-friendly.

"We're just real proud of it," said Scott, who has published several outdoor and fishing magazines. "It's not cheap. It's not designed to be a bargain. I didn't try to build something around a cheap price. It was quality and meant to be memorable.

"It is the best I could make it. I have not spared a nickel trying to make it naturally good. It's an all-natural setting."