Terri Clark says her band thinks she needs therapy for fishing obsession
The Canadian-born country star says her fishing habit has become so intense that her bandmates suggest professional help, as she prepares to fish alongside professional bass anglers in Nashville.
Country star Terri Clark says her bandmates think she needs therapy for her fishing habit. The Grand Ole Opry member said her band has joked about the obsession during an exclusive interview with OutKick OutDoors, where she admitted that she has even practiced fishing knots on her tour bus.
"My band is just like, 'You can get therapy for this. There's a problem," Clark said with a laugh. She blamed Instagram for feeding the habit, explaining that the app's algorithm keeps serving her videos promising to teach the strongest fishing knot, which she feels compelled to try.
Clark will get a chance to test her skills on Sunday, when she takes part in The Champions Celebrity Pro-Am on Old Hickory Lake near Nashville. She will share a boat with one of the world's top professional bass anglers. The event follows a three-day championship that brings together 60 of the sport's best anglers competing for a $3.25 million purse.
Clark, who has spent years fishing Lake Erie, said she is aware of how much the professionals differ from amateurs. Unlike the anglers who must learn unfamiliar lakes, study underwater topography and adapt to changing conditions, she has the advantage of knowing her home waters. "Everybody thinks I'm such a great fisherwoman," she said. "I'm like, they have no idea the level that these guys operate at. I mean, they're professionals. They make a living doing this." She added that she expects the day to be "a master class in bass fishing, which will be super fun."
Clark is also keen to learn more about fishing electronics. She owns a Humminbird MEGA Live 2 system but has not installed it on her boat, because she does not want to spend the day staring at a screen. She acknowledged that the technology can be useful, and joked that she may need to mark the productive spots on Old Hickory Lake so she can return to them later by kayak.
Her current fishing goal is a musky, preferably one measuring more than 50 inches. She recently returned from a fall trip to Lake Erie, where she hoped to land one of the elusive fish, but strong easterly winds kept her off the water for much of the trip, and warmer-than-usual lake temperatures appeared to delay the muskies' typical fall movements. Clark said she is not giving up: "I'm gonna get one though. I'm gonna get one." She is also considering chasing muskies on Tennessee's Caney Fork River, closer to home.
Clark said she values Lake Erie's multi-species fishing, where she might catch bass, northern pike or walleye, sometimes on the same lure. In 2022, she landed a 16-pound northern pike, a catch she remembered so well that she had a replica made for her wall after releasing the fish. Over the summer, she also took comedian Kathleen Madigan out on Lake Erie, where Madigan landed her personal-best bass, a five-and-a-half-pounder. "The fish was bigger than Kathleen," Clark laughed. Madigan is also scheduled to compete in Sunday's Pro-Am.
Clark described her approach to fishing as intense. "I will dehydrate myself because I won't even stop casting long enough to take a drink of water," she admitted. She has had pike leap out of the water beside her boat, has cut her hands badly enough to need bandages, and keeps several weather apps on hand to decide whether it is safe to go out. Even on tour, she hires guides or finds local anglers on days off, though she avoids fishing on show days because a boat breakdown could make her miss soundcheck.
For Clark, the appeal goes beyond landing a big fish. "It's not just about catching fish. It's not just about fishing," she said. "It's about being surrounded by nature." After more than three decades in a career defined by bright lights, loud crowds and constant travel, she described watching the sunrise over Lake Erie at 6:30 in the morning, with the water perfectly still, as an experience that has moved her to tears. She said she hopes more women and young girls will discover the same experience for themselves.
6
