When an angler gets a sponsor, he’s expected to perform, and not necessarily just in competitive events.
Nobody knows that better than Michiana’s Ken Holder who helped put a former NBA basketball player in a fully loaded Caymas CX21 with a Merc 250 from Starboard Choice Marine in Edwardsburg, Mich.
Floyd Wolkins and Steve Martin recovered from a slow start at Paw Paw Lake the first day of the Arjay’s two-day Classic to wrap up the win Sunday at Duke’s Bridge.
The 2023 Bassmaster Classic wasn’t the first time that Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson had stacked big weights and solid limits of smallmouth bass on the Tennessee River out of Knoxville, Tennessee. Back in March of 2021,
Word of the “moping” technique traveled quickly through social wires, sending serious bassers on the hunt for Gussy’s favored jig head—Bass Tactics’ Smeltinator Jig.
Ray Scott, 1933 - 2022
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Ray Scott passed away on Sunday, May 8 at around 11:30 p.m. He died peacefully in his sleep of natural causes. Scott was 88 years old.
Scott founded the first national professional bass fishing circuit, the Bassmaster Tournament Trail, in 1967 and the following year founded the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society — B.A.S.S. — which would grow to become the world’s largest fishing organization.
“Our entire organization was saddened to hear about the passing of our founder, Ray Scott,” said Chase Anderson, B.A.S.S. CEO. “Ray’s passion and vision for bass fishing birthed our entire industry more than 50 years ago when he founded B.A.S.S. and started the first professional fishing tournament series. His legacy is felt to this day and continues to influence B.A.S.S., the world’s largest fishing membership organization, which he started in 1968. Ray’s contributions and impact on conservation and his advocacy and passion for anglers and our sport set the standard for tournament fishing and are something we will always strive to uphold.
“Our hearts and prayers are with the Scott family.”
The bass tournament competition Scott created rewarded anglers who caught the heaviest limits of bass in the three- or four-day events, which served as the proving grounds for rapid advancements in bass boats, outboard engines, fishing tackle, lures and electronics. Everyday anglers began purchasing whatever the bass pros were using, spawning a massive bass fishing industry that today has an economic impact in excess of $125 billion per year and employs more than 800,000 people nationwide.
IDNR Report
The DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife (DFW) recently recognized its top-performing employees for their contributions to conservation, mentoring, and teamwork during 2021.
Individual award winners were Bob Bell, Judith Black, Emily McCallen, and Andrew Reuter.
Bell, the northeast public lands supervisor, was awarded the Fish & Wildlife Mentor of the Year Award. He established strong relationships with his employees and promoted collaboration across teams, ensuring adequate staffing.
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