Mr. Bill seems sad in his latest promo for his TV show, which I watch now as I did before. I wonder if he sees the writing on the wall as do some of us old dudes knowing soon it will be time to hang it all up?

Sounds like a once in a lifetime experience. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the story. Bill seems like a very kind, good natured person.

Cool experience Ken and thanks for sharing!

I've always enjoyed his show. He's one of my dad's heroes and of course, my dad's hero is always gonna be my hero too. What an insanely cool experience!

Awesome post and great story!

Thanks for sharing!!

When the Lamestream Media stops "killing" people of Covid19 & the world starts turning again let's meet for lunch and I will tell you all about it.

great story.....thanks for sharing......I've heard similar stories about what a great guy he is.....
I lived in Miss. delta back in 60's and 70's...in early 70's I had a club tournament coming up on tunica cut-off and had never been on the lake so I decided to pull my boat up there and fish the lake....fished all day and caught one small bass....
I was taking my boat out when Bill Dance and his cameraman were taking out also....I had seen him on TV and knew who he was so I walked over and introduced myself....we talked a few minutes about how tough the fishing was and Bill said he had fished all day and had not caught a fish so I suppose I could say that at least one day,I beat Bill Dance at fishing..
also think it was about that time that Bill started filming most of his shows on private lakes.....

My all-time favorite! When Porter was too young to go fishing with Pake and me, he would watch fishing shows all Saturday morning. As soon as we would come through the door after coming back, Porter would come running up singing "I've been fishing with Bill Dance today" over and over and over. When the classic was in Bossier City Porter, Pake and I were walking around the expo and Porter, who was 4 at the time, wasn't too enthused with much at all. We were walking down the aisles and the boys were meeting and getting autographs from the pros that were there. Then as we were walking, all of a sudden Porter just stopped and his jaw dropped and he looked like he had just came face to face with God himself. He was absolutely frozen in place. I then realized who he was looking at. His look was priceless. Of all the things we did that weekend that experience was incredible for that little guy. He couldn’t stop talking about it. Bill Dance was just absolutely gracious. After the initial amazement, Porter ran over to him and Bill grabbed him and sat him in his lap like he was Santa Clause. Porter, Pake and I, especially Porter, will never forget that brief meeting. I wish I could upload the video of Porter sitting in his lap signing “I’ve Been Fishing with Bill Dance Today” together. Bill Dance is a true gentleman! Before we left Bill Dance got our address and sent Porter his blooper video. That little 4 year old boy was so excited! Thanks for sharing your story Ken.

He's a true legend and even a better guy.

Great story . I also grew up watching Bill Dance . Living on the west coast -- it wasn't easy to get his shows on TV . Saturday mornings were the best if you could watch Bill Dance , Roland Martin and Jimmy Houston all on the same day . Anything those guys would use , I would try to buy it if I had any lawn mowing money .
One show in particular always stood out to me --- Bill Dance was crappie fishing during the winter ( i don't remember the lake name ) --- he using his trolling motor navigating tree's and stumps . He is all dressed for really cold weather . He hits a stump , reaches to a limb on a tree to catch his balance --- takes a head dive into the water . The water wasn't really deep , but he did everything he could to get back on his boat quickly . I can't remember if he was wearing a PFD , but the shock on his face when he came out of the water was real . That show was from around mid seventies .

That's really cool Brian! Thanks for sharing it. Porter will remember that the rest of his life.

Man, I can't top that story, Ken!

Best I've got is I had dinner with Bill, Ray Scott and Dave Precht at the Classic in Shreveport. Ray called a few of my close buddies on my cell, telling them he was Bill Dance. He'd carry on for awhile then let them off the hook by telling them who he really was. Then hand my phone to Bill. Great fun and memory for me.

Good times!

Great story and thanks for sharing. Met him at the last Classic in NO, seems like a very funny and genuine guy.