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DANIA BEACH
,
Florida
– Ray W. Scott, Jr., the
Alabama
angler that changed bass fishing from a weekend recreation pastime to a
major league sport, was honored October 26 by the International Game Fish
Association.
Known
as the “Bass Boss”, Scott founded the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society®
(BASS) in 1968. He was
inducted into the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame during the sixth annual
ceremony at the Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum at the
300 Gulf Stream Way
headquarters in
Dania Beach
,
Florida
.
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“The
International Game Fish Association is the world’s leader in sport
fishing conservation, the trustees of the all-time game fish records
and stewards of the traditions of fishing, remarked Scott.
“To be included among the 51 past inductees, with such
sportsmen as Ernest Hemingway, Lee Wulff and Curt Gowdy, is truly an
honor. One I will always
treasure.”
In
1967 Scott, an insurance salesman in
Montgomery
,
Alabama
, answered an urge to “make bass fishing a recognized sport.”
Scott lured 106 fishermen from 15 states to
Beaver
Lake
in northwest
Arkansas
to cast for cash at the All-American Invitational Bass Tournament. |
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Scott
parlayed his tournament fishing idea into organizing the Bass Anglers
Sportsman Society, a membership organization that grew to over 650,000
worldwide BASS members at its high-water mark.
The
Society’s BASSMASTER Magazine with how-to tips and tactics from the
fishing pros proven on the Bassmaster Tournament Trail soon became the
“Bible of Bass Fishing”. And
spawned fishing heroes like 19-time BASS winner Roland Martin, who
introduced Scott at the IGFA Hall of Fame induction.
Scott’s
idea for a world championship of bass fishing resulted in the birth of the
BASSMasters Classic in 1971 at
Lake Mead
,
Nevada
. Today the Classic is
televised worldwide by the ESPN Network and is recognized as the “Super
Bowl of Bass Fishing.”
His
cast-for-cash tournament format has made millionaire bass anglers and
improved the bass fishing sport for average weekend anglers.
The modern-day bass boat is the direct result of tournament
fishing, much like the changes to the automobile are the result of the
Indy 500 auto races. Improvements
in rods, reels, lines, fish-finding sonar, electric trolling motors and
outboards can be traced to innovations and demands by bass fishing
professionals.
But
Scott’s lasting legacy is his “Don’t Kill Your Catch” conservation
campaign. Introduced in 1972,
Scott promoted the live release of tournament-caught bass.
Today, “Catch and Release” is followed by bass clubs,
tournament sponsors and bass fishermen worldwide.
The result is the recycling of untold numbers of black bass to
insure the future of the bass fishing sport.
As
a leader in bass boat safety, Scott has been recognized by the U. S. Coast
Guard and the National Safe Boating Council for his contributions.
Scott pioneered the wearing of life jackets in his B.A.S.S.
tournaments, required a cutoff safety switch for outboards, worked with
the boat manufacturers to provide up-right flotation in bass boats, and
most recently helped Triton Boats develop a retractable safety-ladder for
reboarding the boat.
To
get more recreational anglers interested in fishing, Scott has promoted a
“Put the Sport Back in Sport Fishing” idea by fishing with
light line. He designed a line
of special Sportackle rods for four-pound line use and worked with the U.
S. Reel company to develop a new spinning reel, the Ray Scott SuperCaster
225 with an oversize spool for increased casting distance and accuracy.
Scott
continues to be associated with BASS as a special ambassador for the
organization’s 3,000 bass clubs and 535,000 members.
The organization Scott founded was taken over in 2001 by ESPN, Inc.
Scott sold BASS to a group of BASS employees and investors in 1986
and remained as President for many years.
He currently is head of Ray Scott Outdoors, Inc., based in
Pintlala
,
Alabama
and is founder of the Whitetail Institute of North America.
Scott has recently launched another career as a builder of trophy
bass lakes. Much like Jack
Nicklaus is sought by golf course developers, Scott’s thumbprint is
showing up on land developments and real estate featuring trophy bass
fishing waters.
The
IGFA recently recognized Ray Scott for his fishing feat, setting a
four-pound line class record for largemouth bass in
Alabama
. Scott’s 7-pound, 9-ounce
IGFA state record was “caught & released” after weigh-in from his
own
Legacy
Lake
in Pintlala.
The
Hall of Fame is a featured exhibit in the IGFA’s 32-million dollar
facility. Display cases with a
granite plaque featuring the likeness of each honoree, angling artifacts,
photomontage and a narrated video clip represent IGFA Hall of Fame
members.
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