Pro Bass Fishing Hall of Fame
To Honor Ray Scott: The "BASS BOSS"

His Tournament Trail vision changed
The sport of bass fishing from a weekend
Recreation to a megabucks fishing industry.

HOT SPRINGS, Arkansas - Ray W. Scott, Jr. is the godfather of modern-day bass fishing. As the founder of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) in 1968, Scott has been the single biggest influence on the growth of bass fishing in the world over the past three decades.

Not many men can lay claim to having discovered a new world, a new pathway or a new industry, but like Christopher Columbus, Lewis and Clark and Bill Gates, Ray Scott surely pioneered the path for the growth of professional bass fishing and the bass fishing industry as we know today's modern world of bassin'.

Scott and seven other bassin' greats will be honored May 26 at the Hot Springs Civic and Convention Center as inductees into the Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. Professional fishermen Rick Clunn, Bill Dance, Roland Martin, Bobby Murray and Larry Nixon, along with bass boat builder Forrest Wood and outdoor writer Homer Circle will be enshrined as the charter members of the new bass fishing hall of fame, according to Bill Fletcher, president.

"The Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization founded for the purpose of recognizing and honoring bass anglers who have achieved excellence in their profession," said Fletcher.

The induction ceremonies will be the high-water mark of week-long festivities, including the first PBFHOF Champions Challenge Tournament on Lake Ouachita, May 24-25, and the top ten finals at Lake Hamilton on May 26.

Scott, a native of Montgomery, Alabama, a southern city with a history of "movers and shakers" in the likes of Martin Luther King, Hank Williams, Bart Starr and F. Scott Fitzgerald, carved out a niche in history when he introduced the world to cast-for-cash bass competition in 1967.

An avid bass angler, the 34-year old Scott had a vision - a "brainstorm in a rainstorm" - while on a fishing trip to Jackson, Mississippi. Chased off a local lake by bad weather, Scott watched a professional basketball game on television and fretted over the fact his favorite sport received little, if any, recognition by the sports world and press.

An activist at heart, Scott acted. Like the rain drops the plan came pouring out of his active mind. Bass fishermen competing rod-to-rod. A fishing tournament. Strict rules. Prize money. Sponsorship fees. Fishing sports stars. Competition. Press coverage.

In June 1967, Scott's vision took root in the All-American Invitational Bass Tournament at Beaver Lake, Arkansas. With his salesmanship, determination and a way-with-words, Scott got 106 fishermen from 13 states to accept his invitation to complete and pay a $100 entry fee. An ante - at the time - in big dollars.

Scott pulled the tournament off, while at the same time keeping his fulltime job as an insurance executive in Montgomery. With a leap of faith, Scott quit the company - moved two doors down the hallway - and plunged into the bass tournament business.

The rest, as folks say, is "history." From his original four names on a 4 x 5 file card, Scott parlayed his "dream" of bass fishing into a worldwide Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) with a membership of over 600,000 anglers.

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, Rachel Carson and Aldo Leopold.

In its 100th anniversary issue in 1998, Outdoor Life Magazine pointed to Ray Scott's "Bass Boom" as one of "Ten Keepers," among the most influential outdoor innovations of the past 100 years. A role of importance to the advancement of fishing along with Ole Evinrude's outboard motor, zoologist Rachel Carson's work, Silent Spring, the Lowrance sonar fish-locator and du Pont's monofilament fishing lines.

Over three decades (1967-1998), Scott transformed bass fishing from a sleepy weekend past time into a super-charged sport; launched the Bassmaster Tournament Trail; 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 BASSMASTERS" soon became the top ranked outdoor program on The Nashville Network (TNN) cable system. The how-to articles and tv coverage detailed the winning ways of the anglers on the Bassmaster Tournament Trail, and names like Bill Dance, Roland Martin, Rick Clunn, Larry Nixon and others became "fishing heroes" and sports stars.

Without a doubt, Scott's creating the super-stage for pro bass fishing - The BASS Masters Classic - put bass fishing into primetime. The world championship showdown, indoor weigh-ins before over 20,000 cheering fans with Scott the ringmaster, the P. T. Barnum of Bassdom.

If there is one permanent legacy Ray Scott will leave to bass fishing, it surely is the "Don't Kill Your Catch" effort. Started in 1972 at the Florida Bassmaster Invitational, Scott's new Catch-and-Release tournament program changed the future. The conservation effort has earned Ray Scott a permanent place of gratitude in the bass fishermen's hearts and souls. Some ninety-eight percent of the bass weighed-in during B.A.S.S. national events are, now, released alive.

As a long-time advocate of boating safety, Scott put safety-first in his bass fishing events. In 1968, Scott instilled the wearing of life vest in angler's minds, by requiring a Coast Guard-approved life jacket be worn by all tournament contestants.

Later, Scott's tournament rules forced outboard manufacturers to develop a dependable emergency ignition cut-off device (kill switch) to stop the motor if the driver was thrown from the console seat. He also worked with the U.S.. Coast Guard and boat manufacturers to require upright level flotation and horsepower ratings on bass boats.

As the innovator of play-for-pay, Scott wrote the "rules" for bass tournament competition. For the most part, his first set of rules are the "standards" by which all bass tournaments are conducted today.

Scott's concern for fairness and play-by-the rules made his B.A.S.S. tournaments: the "Test of the Best." Ray's strict code of conduct and his constant concern for policing the rules is told in the chapter, "The Cheater" in his biography BASS BOSS, when a tournament cheat is caught.

BASS BOSS, the 365-page account of the exciting history of modern-day sport of bass fishing is more than a time line of the past 30 years. It's a highly readable story about a man with a dream, the behind-the-scenes dramas, the vision, determination and faith that created the heroes and happenings to change bass fishing forever and lay the foundation for the Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.

As the godfather of bass fishing, Scott left the B.A.S.S. family in 1998 to pursue another "dream" of serving as consultant and national spokesman for a handpicked core group of leaders in the fishing-marine industry. Scott, now, serves as spokesman for TRITON Boats, Mercury Outboards, MotorGuide trolling motors and SOSPENDERS, the U.S. Coast Guard approved inflatable life vest by Sporting Lives, Inc. His RAY SCOTT OUTDOORS, Inc., company is located in Pintlala, Alabama.

Never one to be far from the action, Ray Scott is still active in the bass fishing arena. His vision for bass fishing is still bright. His original idea of a fishing organization - dedicated to the black bass alone - has exploded into a major sport, pumping millions of dollars each year into the U.S. economy and making it possible for the bass angler's dream to come true: "Fish for a Living."

Rick Clunn is the true pro's pro, winning the BASS Masters Classic championship four times. Roland Martin with 19 B.A.S.S. career wins earned the Bass Angler-of-the-Year honor nine times. Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Arkansas claimed the milestone of first to win a million dollars in B.A.S.S. events. Bobby Murray of Hot Springs, a two-time champion, won the first BASS Masters Classic in 1971 at Lake Mead, Nevada. Bill Dance of Memphis, Tennessee is best know as the popular TV fishing show host, but in the early 1970's was the B.A.S.S. Trail's first superstar. Forrest Wood of Flippin, Arkansas started the bass boat evolution with his Ranger bass boat line. Homer Circle, long time writer for Sports Afield magazine, was based in Roger, Arkansas, when Ray Scott launched the bass tournament phenomena.

For information on the week's activities, contact: Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, 928 Airport Road, Hot Springs National Park, AR 71913 or telephone (501) 767-2366. Or check out the organization's website at www.probassfishinghof.com.

(Note: Ray Scott's book, BASS BOSS is published by Whitetail Press, 238 Whitetail Trail, Pintlala, AL 36043. Autographed copies are available for $24.95 plus $4.95 shipping and handling by telephoning 1-800-518-7222.)