"BASS Boss," the Story of Mr. B.A.S.S.

Here's the inspiring biography of RAY SCOTT
and the sportfishing industry,
the bassin' heroes he created…

PINTLALA, Alabama - He's been compared to Will Rogers and Sam Walton. Part showman. Part entrepreneur. But, one things for certain, Ray Scott's an all-American original. He turned bass angling into fishing for a living.

With his own passion for bass fishing and the God-given gift of marketing (i.e. selling), Scott founded the world's largest fishing organization - B.A.S.S. (the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society) and created the biggest event in fishing - the BASS Masters Classic world championship of professional fishing.

"BASS Boss" tells the story behind the headlines. From Scott's original brainstorm in a rainstorm in a Jackson, Mississippi motel when chased off the lake, he envisioned the idea of tournament bass fishing. The inspirational biography by Robert H. Boyle is an insider's look at the personalities, the pro fishermen, the technology and events that shaped the building of today's multi-dollar bass fishing industry.

Rarely has one individual had such an impact on an industry. Field & Stream magazine named Ray Scott as "one of the twenty most influential outdoor Americans of the 20th century." A place of honor alongside Theodore Roosevelt and Rachel Carson of "Silent Spring" fame.

Over three decades (1967-1998), Scott transformed bass fishing from a sleepy weekend recreation into super-charged sport; built a worldwide organization of over 650,000 members; formed anglers into bass clubs and organized a conservation and political force to protect the environment and further bass fishing interests.

Scott's "Bassmaster Magazine" became the Bible of bassin' and the long-running "The BASSMASTERS," soon became the top ranked outdoor program on The
Nashville Network (TNN) cable system. The BASS Masters Classic championship, the crowning moment for the annual big-money Bassmaster Tournament Trail. Indoor Classic weigh-ins before over 20,000 cheering fans with Scott the ringmaster, the P. T. Barnum of Bassin'.

But, "BASS Boss," is more than chronicling of fishing or an industry. This is the story of a natural-born promoter and salesman. During his childhood days in the Great Depression era in Montgomery, Alabama, Ray Scott's hustle and entrepreneurial spirit took hold. Selling his homemade lunch sandwiches to third-grade classmates or hawking peanuts at baseball games, the youthful Scott had a zeal for marketing - almost equal to his passion for bass fishing. He combined the two in 1967, walking away from a successful insurance sales career to follow his dream of bass fishing as a living.

Robert Boyle captures an insightful portrait of the early-day struggle, the trials and tears. By the time Scott conducts his first All-American Bass Tournament, readers are pulling for this somewhat outrageous young man to pull it off, despite being rejected by sponsors and Chamber of Commerce groups.

For Scott there was no well-traveled road. He wrote the rules how-to play the sport of tournament bass fishing. A wrong turn. A bad decision. A pot hole. Any serious setback might have changed the direction of modern-day bass fishing.

The behind-the-scenes encounters are the golden nuggets mined by writer Robert Boyle and the folklore surrounding Ray Scott and the birth of B.A.S.S.

As an example, at a critical juncture in 1968, Don T. Butler of Tulsa, Oklahoma (without Scott asking) wired him $10,000 by Western Union to cover the cost of postage needed for a B.A.S.S. membership mailing. If Butler had not been such an early-day venture capitalist, the history of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society may have been short, but far from sweet. As reported, Butler - the first B.A.S.S. member signed up by Scott - would later win the coveted BASS Masters Classic title.

Present day bass fishing greats - the likes of Bill Dance and Roland Martin - are spawned in the pages of "BASS Boss." Dance's legendary status grew swiftly from the feat of catching the very first fish in a Ray Scott tournament, to champion, to Bass Angler-of-the-Year honors to one of the most admired TV fishing show hosts. Less than a minute after Scott fired the opening gun at Beaver Lake, Arkansas, Dance stopped on a point and hooked a two-pound bass on a plastic worm. The rest is history.

Roland Martin, the all-time B.A.S.S. titleholder with 19 wins, almost gave up before ever entering a Ray Scott tournament. As a backwoods guide on Santee-Cooper Lakes, South Carolina, Martin came to Lake Eufaula, Alabama to observe "these bass tournaments." His introduction was to see Rip Nunnery of California and Gerald Blanchard of Tennessee struggle out of the boat with two huge stringers (98 pounds and 86 pounds, respectively) carried on a boat paddle. Roland turned on his heels and was headed back to the Carolina swamps only to be urged by Scott to stick around. His nine Bass Anglers-of-the Year titles are evidence of his stick-to-it-impact.

Readers will discover how Scott's concern for fairness and play-by-the-rules have made B.A.S.S. tournaments the "Test of the Best." Ray reveals the code of conduct and his constant concern for the rules in the chapter, "The Cheater," when a law breaker was caught.

Also, you'll learn the details behind the story of how "Don't Kill Your Catch" started with Ray's tournaments and the effect of Catch-and-Release on the history and future of bass fishing. The conservation effort has earned Ray Scott a permanent place of gratitude in bass fishermen's hearts and souls.

Robert Boyle is well qualified to be Ray Scott's biographer. A writer for Sports Illustrated and author of the book, "Bass," he's covered the outdoors for over 40 years. Boyle first interviewed Scott in 1969 at Lake Ouachita, Arkansas about his notion for national bass fishing tournaments and fishing society. The article, "A big BASS bash in Arkansas," about "Ray Scott rides herd on a watery range of bass fisherman who are crawling out from behind every stump to join his organization," appeared in October 20, 1969 issue of Sports Illustrated.

The 365-page "BASS Boss" features 32 pages of vintage photos from Scott's family albums to official White House photos. Included are fishing personalities like Dance, Martin, Tom Mann, Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris, and then Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton alongside presidential hopeful George Bush with fishing legend Rick Clunn at the record-setting 1984 Classic in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

Indeed, an exciting history of the modern-day sport of bass fishing, "BASS Boss" is much more than a time line of the past 30 years. It is a highly readable story about a man with a dream, the behind-the-scenes dramas, the vision, determination and faith that will inspire bass anglers and non-anglers alike.

"BASS Boss" is published by Whitetail Trail Press, 238 Whitetail Trail, Pintlala, AL 36043. Autographed copies are available for $24.95 plus $4.95 shipping and handling by calling 1-800-518-7222. Or send checks and special autograph instructions to: BASS Boss, Dept. NR, 238 Whitetail Trail, Pintlala, AL 36043.