February continues with cold temperatures and usual white precipitation, and while the ice fishermen are enjoying the winter fishing techniques, other fishermen hope for the melting of Lake Michigan and in the Peninsula area. My previous article concerns the new fishing techniques that may improve Smallmouth Bass catches this year – as the fish adapt, so do fishermen. Meanwhile, there are some things in the world of fishing that you may be interested in.
As you may know, I am a lifetime member of BASS organization and lifetime subscriber to its Bassmaster magazine, as as Bassin’ Times
periodical – celebrating its 40th anniversary. I am also a member of the North American Fishing Club
. First some information from James Hall and if you get the magazine you can see the picture of the first issue of BASS Master Magazine from 1968. Calling All Bass Geeks …
[Image Left: Ray Scott
]
Bassmaster has been funneling to you, the BASSmember, the best of these tips and tricks since the first issue appeared in the spring of 1968. However, I think there is more bass fishing knowledge out there than we could ever publish within the pages of this magazine. So, I have a proposal for you, the bassmaster reading this column.[i] I’d like for you to send me a tip or technique that you think other anglers might not know about.[ii] And it can be advanced, intermediate or basic. Here’s an example recently emailed to me by Brandon Wallace of Fort Worth, Texas:
“You always talk about tuning a crankbait to run straight. However, you should let bassers know that there are times when getting a crank out of tune can produce more strikes! I was fishing a sea wall where the waves had cut out the land beneath the wall. I bent the eye on a medium running crank so it would purposely swim to the left, up in that cut out section, I loaded the boat! I thought you’d like to share this tip with your readers.” …
Email your tip/trick/lure modification to me at editorial@bassmaster.com. In return, I will reward you with a bag of stickworms (you’ll have to be one of the first 250 to claim the prize, and be sure to include your mailing address). All the good tips will be published on www.bassmaster.com for all to see – and learn from.
If not for angels, we wouldn’t have celebrated the 40th anniversary of that first tournament in 2007 …
Jack Wingate, [pictured left of Ray Scott
] who owned Lunker Lodge on Lake Seminole, was one of those angels. …
Jack sold Lunker Lodge, but he still sits in a rocking chair out on the front porch and does a radio show. He also has a boys’ camp that he’s run for years and he makes nothing from it. That’s Jack Wingate. He was one of my angels.
And another one was Stan Sloan. His was one of the first names that Jack gave me. Stan’s health is not really good right now. He sill lives near Nashville. Back then, he was a law officer with the prison there.
He and a guy named Bill Dance duked it out in that first tournament. I was at an outdoor show in Nashville when the first issue of Bassmaster Magazine came off the presses. That was seven months after the first tournament. Stan took me to the bus station to pick up the magazines. I signed and dated the first copy of the first issue for him.
Stan went into the lure business as a result of the Beaver Lake tournament, and he’s done very well. Bobby Murray used one of his spinnerbaits to win the first Classic at Lake Mead in 1971.
A third angel was Don Butler, who recently passed away. He was sort of the Jack Wingate of Tulsa. After he signed on for the tournament, in less than a week we had 13 men from Oklahoma.
On Jan. 5, 1968, I was riding around in Don’s pickup promoting the upcoming Lake Seminole tournament. This was the first tournament in which you had to be a member of BASS to fish.
Don asked the cost of a membership, and I said, “$10.” He then asked the cost of a lifetime membership. When I told him, he handed me $100 and said, “I want to be the first BASS lifetime member.”
Years later, he gave me back the receipt. I have it framed in my office.
If it weren’t for angels like Jack, Stan and Don, I’d just be a retired insurance man today. In the months ahead, as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of BASS, I’ll tell you about some more of the 106 men who were willing to send a goofy man in a cowboy hat $100 to help him make history.
Ray Scott – subscribe to Bassmaster Magazineand read the rest of the history of BASS. It is an organization that promotes conservation, protecting our waterways for a better life as well as continued enjoyment for those who are sport fishermen (and women).
Lighthouse Journal 