It’s distinctive, connective, and often definitive — a Classic angler’s walkout music says a lot about their personal style and preference.
From rap to rock, Christian to country, musical genres are diverse, but one angler will walk out to a custom song written specifically for him.
We’re talking about Takumi Ito, the standout from Chiba, Japan, whose walkout song, Smallmouth Disneyland, was written by a fan he’s never met. That fan was Canadian musician Scott Bannerman, who gladly shared his songwriting story.
“The song was a collaboration with my brother Michael (Bannerman) and our friend Charlie McEvoy, who added a variety of synth parts to the song and helped us in terms of getting the recording done,” Bannerman said. “We wrote most of the song in one night and then I revisited it a few times over the following week and tweaked some lyrics.
“We eventually started recording the song at Charlie’s studio, which took about two months from start to finish.”
There’s more to the story, but first, some relevant background.
Quick learner
Qualifying for the Elites through the 2019 Bassmaster Opens, Ito had never fished for smallmouth bass prior to his rookie Elite season. Impressively, 2020 saw him claim three Elite Top-10s — all on smallmouth fisheries: St. Clair (10th), Lake Champlain (10th), and the St. Lawrence River (6th).
A year later, Ito ended the 2021 season by winning the final Elite event on the St. Lawrence River. This is where he coined the phrase “Taku’s Smallmouth Disneyland” — a reference to the Lake Ontario honey hole where he sealed his win.
Located outside Chaumont Bay, south of Cape Vincent where river meets lake, Ito’s winning spot comprised standard smallmouth-friendly rock structure in 26-27 feet. Following a strong Day 3, Ito arrived on Day 4 to find a massive school of jumbo smallmouth had invaded his spot.
Ito leveraged the opportunity for a 26-pound Championship Sunday limit that sealed his victory and gave him the platform to deliver one of the most memorable statements in Bassmaster Elite Series history:
“Smallmouth can speak the Japanese language; I can speak the Japanese language, so I can speak smallmouth.”
The genesis
Okay, we’re not debating the Dr. Doolittle assertion, but the totality of Ito’s achievement and his memorable stage presence impressed many, Bannerman included.
“Although we have written lots of original songs for our band, I’ve never tried to write a custom song for anyone before,” Bannerman said. “I remember when Takumi first talked with (Bassmaster emcee) Dave Mercer at the weigh-in about his boat being like ‘Smallmouth Disneyland,’ I felt like Takumi needed his own special weigh-in song.
“I had talked with my brother about writing it for several months before we eventually sat down at the piano and started piecing it together. We had not been in contact with Takumi, so we were mostly focused on creating a fun song that I thought I would use as my own blastoff song if no one was interested.”
While Bannerman wrote the song with Ito in mind, he felt the lyrics also would broadly apply to the excitement inherent to smallmouth events.
“The anticipation that every tournament angler feels when blasting off in Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, or especially the St. Lawrence River is something that I think we can all relate to,” he said. “It’s like the excitement we had as kids when we would visit places like Walt Disney World (or Disneyland).
“It’s a great feeling when you’re heading out in a tournament knowing that catching a 25-pound bag is possible. That’s how I see the song; just as an anthem of hope for an outstanding fishing day.”
The man behind the music
Hailing from Stratford, Ontario, Canada, Bannerman’s a high school principal who plays in a local band, Upside of Maybe, with his brother Michael. The band stays close to home during the school year, but summer finds them playing a schedule of tour dates.
A member of the Forest City Bassmasters, Bannerman fishes local tournaments as a boater. Last year, he fished his first St. Croix Bassmaster Open event as a co-angler at Lake Oneida; and he’s planning to fish this year’s Open at the St. Lawrence River.
“I am a huge fan of competitive bass fishing and tend to watch the live streams for Elite series events every chance I get,” Bannerman said. “I’m really excited to Marshal at the Lake St. Clair event this year as well.”
When Smallmouth Disneyland was complete, Bannerman wrote to Ito through Facebook Messenger. It took a while to connect, but with the help of Google Translate, Bannerman offered his song to Ito, patiently waited for his decision and eventually got the green light.
“I was pretty excited after that point, but I still didn’t believe it until I watched the first weigh-in event at Lake Okeechobee online to confirm that the song was playing,” Bannerman said.
Meaningful message
Bannerman said his favorite part of Smallmouth Disneyland is found in the second verse:
“Drop it down where the big boys hide, make a little twitch let’s go for a ride,
it’s California somewhere on this old spot of mine.”
“I can just relate to this verse so much when I’m casting a dropshot and feel like it’s about to get hit by a 5-pounder every cast.”
Like a tournament angler making a long run to find that kicker, Bannerman said he traveled to the Bassmaster Classic just to hear a 20-second clip of the song he wrote played in the Thompson-Boling Arena.
“As an artist, I generally write for myself in mind and plan on singing the songs I write directly to an audience,” Bannerman said. “When I first heard the song played at an Elite event, I felt really excited and proud.
“As a songwriter who is also a huge fan of bass fishing, it’s likely as close as I’ll ever get to participating in the Classic myself, so I’m just really proud of that moment and want to soak it in as much as I can.”
So what does Ito think of this custom song?
“This is my very favorite song because Smallmouth Disneyland (reminds me) of my Bassmaster Elite win,” he said. “That was a good memory, so now, my song is very impressive.”
