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Our featured Anglers for October are Region 9's Dean and Trey Perrin
by Pete Robbins
(Who is Pete Robbins & what
else has he written?)
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In the Perrin family, sibling rivalry is
less important than working together to figure out the fish. "We’re not
really competitive with each other," says younger brother Trey, age 40. With their twin Gambler bassboats (their dad has a Gambler also), they may not always fish together, but prefishing is a collaborative process. |
"We share everything," says Dean, at 43 the older of the two, "and even if we didn’t the other is likely to stumble on it anyway." Both concede that their fishing styles are extremely similar, favoring power techniques. Dean notes that his specialty is "a crankbait, preferably a deeper diver, because I’m a fast fisherman," adding that his brother is also a power fisherman, "but probably fishes a little more with a drop bait, like a worm or a jig."
Raised close to the shores of Lake Anna, the two brothers have been fishing the lake virtually since it was impounded. In their teens, a girlfriend’s father allowed them to fish with members of the Fredericksburg Bassmasters, and they later joined the Hawghead Bassmasters out of Thornburg. Eventually, they formed the Plank Road Six club in Region 1 (the club was subsequently placed in Region 9 when Region 1 was split in half).
Trey continues to live and work at Lake Anna. His job at the North Anna Power Station keeps him within casting distance of the lake even when he’s not fishing. Dean works fairly close by for General Motors. Each is married with children, and while they admit that family duties limit their time on the water somewhat, both continue to fish an ambitious schedule of events.
Lake Anna has long featured various series of weeknight tournaments, often lasting for three or four hours, and demanding that anglers not waste any time. A few years back, the Perrin brothers set what they believe to be a lake record for one of those tournaments, with nine fish for over 29 pounds. In a full-day tournament a few Decembers ago, Dean and frequent partner Mitch Moats caught a ten fish limit weighing close to 42 pounds.
As they progressed as fishermen and developed regular partnerships with other anglers, the brothers agreed as a general principle not to fish the same evening tournaments. Accordingly, one of them fishes on Tuesdays, and the other competes on Fridays, and each has won a season-long championship on one of these evening circuits. Dean says this separation prevents them from "butting heads on the lake," and also allows them, and their other partners, to share information freely over the course of the week.
The Perrins continue to compete against each other in Region 9 tournaments, though, and both are ranked near the top of the standings this year with one tournament left to go. They also battle for their club’s Mr. BASS title, with one or the other of them winning that honor nearly every year. Trey shows some modesty when he says that "I measure myself by him," referring to his brother, but it’s clear that both brothers respect and depend on one another.
As noted previously in our February, 2002 interview with longtime Lake Anna fishing guide Dave Fauntleroy, to many anglers Lake Anna is known as "the Dead Sea." When asked about their frequent success on the lake, the brothers note that they have located a lot of hotspots over the years ("with the low water, about half of them are out of the water now," Trey says), but more importantly they have worked to develop a winning attitude. "A lot of people come down here with the wrong attitude," Dean says, "hoping to catch a fish or two, but if you know the potential of this lake you can do well."
Despite the onslaught of pressure exerted on Anna, especially during prime times, the Perrin’s don’t see the need to slow down or finesse the fish. They claim that trying to wait the bass out is a mistake. "We cover water and keep moving until we get on them," says Dean.
Both brothers have the long-term goal of making the Virginia state team. "I’m a family man, so I probably wouldn’t take it any further than that," says Trey, whose 10 year old son Brandon is developing a wide-ranging interest in the outdoors, including fishing and hunting. Dean, who has fished both B.A.S.S. and Red Man tournaments in the past, and allows that he has been "skipping around from circuit to circuit," doesn’t discount the possibility that he might fish the "big-time" tours at some point in the future. For the time being, however, he seeks to rededicate himself to the Federation events. "I’ve really made it a goal to get on the state team," he says. To contact either Dean or Trey, please e-mail them at perrin@cvalink.com
Copyright 2002 Peter Robbins All Rights Reserved
robbins@vabass.com
