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BFHOF Report

2024 Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Inductee Mark Zona2024 Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Inductee Mark Zona

The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame announced today that Mark Zona will be among five inductees into the 2024 Bass Fishing Hall of Fame this fall.

Other inductees include Fred Arbogast, Mike McKinnis, Skeet Reese, and Alfred Williams. They were selected in balloting conducted by the Hall of Fame’s 30-member Selection Panel and living Hall of Fame inductees. The new additions will bring the total number of Hall of Fame inductees to 100.  

The new class was chosen from a 12-man ballot that included a mix of dynamic personalities, on-the-water competitors, off-the-water innovators, and trailblazers. Seventy-seven ballots were circulated to those with voting privileges and 59 were returned, the most since the Hall of Fame began allowing living members of the Hall of Fame to vote in 2022.

Zona, 51, makes his home near Sturgis, Mich. and has been one of the leading voices and personalities in bass fishing since the early 2000s, either in his role as analyst for Bassmaster tournaments or as host of the popular “Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show.” Known for his spontaneity and high-energy manner, Zona will join longtime broadcast partner Tommy Sanders (2018) in the Hall.  

The Class of 2024 will be honored later this year during Celebrate Bass Fishing Week, which will be highlighted by the induction banquet on Sept. 26 at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Mo.  

By Al McGuckin

Bassmaster College Series champ, Easton FothergillBassmaster College Series champ, Easton Fothergill

Current Bassmaster College Series champ, Easton Fothergill has an intriguing last name, but at age 21, his life story is even better. Six weeks prior to winning the Bassmaster College bracket and a subsequent birth to the upcoming 2024 Bassmaster Classic, he had a hole drilled in his skull to drain a brain abscess that could have caused brain damage or taken his life.

The 21-year old Grand Rapids, MN native and University of Montevallo standout angler continues to thrive, and graciously took a few minutes to gives us a life update, including his plans to pack a few non-forward-facing sonar baits in his Tundra for the Grand Lake Classic.

BASS Report

Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey OutdoorsBass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors

FORT WORTH, Texas — The Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors, will return to Fort Worth for fishing’s biggest event of the year. Dubbed the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing, this tournament is estimated to draw crowds approaching 150,000 to Fort Worth as anglers compete for a $1 million dollar purse on March 21-23, 2025. 

The Fort Worth Sports Commission will host the tournament and festivities at the Fort Worth Convention Center and the 14,000-seat Dickies Arena. The tournament will be a week-long, fishing-themed party with the world championship of bass fishing as its centerpiece. Only the fourth time the Classic has been held in the Lone Star State, it will get a Texas-sized boost in attendance and participation with an expected economic impact of more than $25 million for local businesses. Weigh-ins and all of the usual festivities will be held in Fort Worth, the state’s 12th-largest city, with competition being held on Lake Ray Roberts in nearby Denton.

Fort Worth and Lake Ray Roberts hosted the event in 2021, drawing 147,197 fans. At the time, it was the second-largest crowd ever for a Bassmaster Classic and still a record for a Classic held in Texas.  

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