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Angler's Profiles
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This is a series of continuing articles introducing RISAA members to the rest of the club. 
This month's profile features LINTON "Buddy" Wilder |
“Well, I started out fishing when I was just a kid in Tampa. At that
time it was probably just as far to the salt water as I am here in Rhode
Island, but we had easier access to fresh, so that’s mostly what I did.
Oh yeah, we had lots of fun with that – even when we were swimming with alligators.”
There aren’t many people who could let that last remark drop into a casual
conversation, but Buddy Wilder managed to slip that by with ease. “If
you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone,” Wilder says. On an unusually warm, sunny afternoon, I pulled up to Linton “Buddy” Wilder’s home in West Warwick. I was greeted by a chunky black and white dog who didn’t seem quite sure whether he should bark or wag his tail. He mostly chose the latter, partially because he knew his master had just risen from his chair on the deck and was waving me in. “Don’t worry about Shadow, he’s okay,” he called, laughing at the dog’s feeble attempt to play doberman. “He followed my son home from school one day, and he’s been here ever since. Thinks the food’s pretty good, I guess, ‘cause he’s fat enough!” And Buddy laughs again. Wilder welcomes me in an easygoing manner. The smile beams through a sunburned face which speaks of hours spent outdoors in recent days. TICKETS, PLEASE
If you’ve ever tossed a fin on the raffle table at one of RISAA’s seminars or other functions, the chances are the smiling face that took your money belonged to Buddy. As chairman of the Fund Raising Committee, it’s Buddy’s job to take care of tickets for the raffles, as well as purchasing and keeping track of the tackle that makes up the prizes. It’s a job that requires meticulous attention. “I take inventory after every meeting,” Linton says. “We raffle off about two hundred dollars in prizes each time.” In case of errors, Buddy brings along extra inventory. “We like to make sure people are happy,” he says, and adds with a chuckle, “of course there are always a few who gripe about not winning.” What advice would he give the humbugs? “Buy more tickets!” Wilder made the decision to become active in RISAA years ago. “I came on board probably three months after the group was organized,” he says. “I came to a meeting and I really liked what I saw, lots of activity. I didn’t want to be stuck in a club where all the members do is drink together. I mean, here at RISAA, we’re doing everything - legislative stuff, helping kids, so much more. I liked the fact that I was able to become a part of it.” Wilder has been a consistant participant in RISAA’s annual Take-a-City-Kid-Fishing Day, as well. “The kids who go out love it, and so do I. I really get a thrill out of taking out kids who maybe have never had the opportunity to catch fish. It’s a great thing for the club to do.” PERSONAL BEST
This season has brought Buddy a number of great experiences on the water. He speaks highly 
of his trip aboard Mitch Chagnon’s Sakarak, which he won at
one of this year’s meetings. And, it was a recent trip aboard Fred
Bowman’s Bottom Line that brought Wilder his personal best in
the striper department. Bowman brought Wilder to a spot about five miles off the northeast corner of Block Island. With Wilder were his two sons, 26-year-old Linton (better known as “Chip”) and 21-year-old Brent, as well as a friend of the family. It didn’t take long for them to find fish. “Within about five minutes after we got there, we had fish on. Then it happened. I had a tube and worm rig on, and that rod just started to bend. Fred knew it was a big fish. He immediately said to pull the other pole in.” Wilder was in for an exciting, exhausting battle. “I watched the that line go out and in from the reel five times. What a fight! It took me a good 25 or thirty minutes to land him.” The battle finally ended as Wilder landed the striper that was both the best of the day and a personal best, a 41-inch beauty. 
Alas, Buddy’s rule as top dog that day was to be short lived. Within
ten minutes of Dad’s landing the fish, son Brent began a struggle.
When it was all over, he trumped his father in two ways: not only had he
nabbed the largest fish, a 43-inch trophy, but he had done so with one arm
in a cast! (It probably helped that Brent is a rather large football
player for Sacred Heart College in Connecticut. A lesser mortal would
have accepted the help that was offered.) A PARTING SHOT
Buddy and I passed our time on his deck talking about fishing and gators, but before I left, one question remained: What did he think of losing the spotlight aboard the Bottom Line that day? He considered for a moment and smiled, “I felt better when I had the biggest fish!” And Buddy Wilder laughs once again. |
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ANGLER PROFILES
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