Bill Vanderford has lived his dream, and now earns his living by fishing almost everyday. He also talks, teaches, and writes about his favorite subject throughout the country.
After a successful auto racing career in Europe, Bill turned to professional bass tournament fishing and simultaneously started his guide service in 1971. Though he won many local tournaments and placed well in national events sponsored by BASS, BCA, and Project Sports, Inc., his love was the slower-paced pleasure of taking other people fishing. So, in 1977, he gave up competitive fishing to concentrate on his flourishing guide business. Since then, Bill has become a fishing legend in this area. In fact, during 1993, he was inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin as a legendary guide . . . the first southerner to receive this honor.
Though Bill is recognized everywhere as "The Expert" on Lake Lanier, he has also become well-known as a writer and photographer. His writing career has flourished, and today, Bill is an award-winning member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association, and the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association. Bill's byline and photography has appeared in many well-known publications, including Field and Stream, Sports Afield, Bassin', North American Fisherman, In-Fisherman, several Game and Fish Publications magazines, and he served many years as the Georgia Editor for Outdoor Life Magazine. In addition, he has recorded fishing segments for national and local radio and television shows, and is in his third decade of teaching an adult education class on fishing for a local community school. Bill has also produced educational video tapes on many facets of fishing.
In Bill's latest book, "Secrets of Fishing Lake Lanier", one will learn the habits and habitats of the most popular fish found in Lake Lanier. Throughout, the reader will discover many of the tricks and tactics that Bill has employed during his more than thirty years of fishing and guiding on Lake Lanier, which makes him uniquely qualified as Lanier's Most Knowledgeable Expert.