Our featured Sponsor for February is Bill's Marine for bass boat service in the Tidewater area
(Bill's Marine Website)

For the past 15 years there has been a bass boat dealer among all those Tidewater area salt water fishermen. That dealer is now one of the major sponsors of the Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation.

Bill Noell of Bill's Marine in Portsmouth, Virginia, has been interested in sponsoring the state federation for several years. He wanted people to know there's an outlet for bass boats in the middle of the Tidewater area's ocean vessels but previous commitments the state had with boat companies prevented Noell's sponsorship. However, the opportunity for sponsorship opened late last year, state federation president Roger Fitchett approached Noell about filling the gap, and the two men reached an agreement. Fitchett says he's very pleased to have Bill's Marine as a state sponsor, adding that he anticipates a long-lasting relationship with Virginia's largest Ranger dealer.

Bill's Marine will rig the Ranger boat that the state federation purchased for its annual fund-raising raffle. Noell says Bill's Marine will take care of the boat delivery, trolling motor, rigging, depth finders, other electronics, the cover and the freight Fitchett adds that Bill's Marine also will be donating prizes for all of the state's events, including the Children's Miracle Network charity tournaments. Noell says he wants to support the federation because he believes it's "a good thing for people to be involved in" and "a worthwhile cause." He says he admires the "good standards and morals" set in the B.A.S.S organization all the way up to the BassMasters Classic.

Noell, 45, is a native of Richmond, who moved to Portsmouth while in grade school. He began working in the boating business in 1976 at a marine shop in Portsmouth. He was a partner in a marine shop in the 1980s, and founded Bill's Marine 15 years ago as a one- day service shop. The company he owns with his wife, Judy, now has ten employees. The shop moved to a new location about one and a-half years ago, taking over a former Honda dealership in a move that provides Bill's Marine with pavement and 10 service bays. Noell says almost 100% of the company's business over the past five years has been in bass boats. The company hooked up with Ranger Boats four years ago in a relationship that Noell says has gone "very well" for his company. He says Ranger officials "do a lot of stuff other boat dealers don't do," especially in areas of support. Noell says Ranger president Randy Hopper knows him by name, a personal touch he hasn't found with some other boat companies. He says that if something's not right on a Ranger boat, company officials say they'll fix it "and they get it done."

Bill's Marine handles Ranger, Pro Craft and Fisher boats, Mercury, Yamaha, Johnson and Evinrude engines, Minn Kota and Motor Guide trolling motors, Pinpoint Network fishing systems, Detwiler and CMC jackplates, Mercury Marine props, and RangerWear apparel.

Bill's Marine also sponsors its own team tournament circuits. There are five tournaments, plus a classic, held on horsepower-restricted lakes in the Portsmouth area. There's also a five-tournament trail, with a classic, for larger boats on the local rivers. Noell says last year's events averaged about 30 to 40 boats per weekend. Anglers interested in the tournaments can get more information by contacting Bobby Kinsey, the 2000 Virginia Mr. Bass tournament champion, at Bill's Marine. The phone number is 757-465-1408.

Bill's Marine is on the Internet at www.billsmarineinc.com. The web page includes directions to the shop, photos and recent news concerning employees, information on the company's tournament trail, details about the shop's parts and service department, a used boats-for-sale area, and links to Ranger Boats, Pro Craft, Fisher, and the Mercury Parts Express 24-hour ordering line.