The Power and Influence of BassFishing

by John Neporadny Jr.

If George Perry caught his world record 22-pound, 4-ounce largemouth bass today on the Creek Chub Bait Company Fintail Shiner, sales of that lure would also be record-breaking.

“It would be pretty unbelievable,” says Jerry McKinnis, co-owner of B.A.S.S. (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society).

Perry caught the world record bass in 1932, long before the advent of bass tournaments and B.A.S.S., two of the driving forces behind the popularity of bass fishing today. “It would be pretty hard to compare those times with today because back then there was no Internet,” McKinnis says. “If your company produced the lure that the new world record bass was caught on (sales) would be amazing.”

McKinnis has trouble recalling what baitand- tackle shops sold during the pre-B.A.S.S. days, although he does remember during his childhood buying plastic worms from Grandpa Pidgeon’s, a discount department store in St. Louis that sold everything from furniture to jewelry. “Tackle stores have obviously changed a lot,” McKinnis says. “I’m not sure B.A.S.S. did that but I’m sure we had an awfully big influence on it. We can take a tournament that is won on a single lure and that lure just goes crazy (at the stores).”

“I know companies that have had extreme jumps in their business when they have a lure that wins the (Bassmaster) Classic or a lure that just wins an event,” says McKinnis. “The hottest color in baits right now—and has been for about three years—is sexy shad. Every single bit of that came from Kevin VanDam catching the heck out of fish in several events including the Classic on a sexy shad crankbait or lipless crankbait. I remember at the time Kevin was talking to me about how (Strike King) couldn’t keep up with that color alone.”

Retailers have also seen increased demand for lures that win major tournaments. “That really occurs now even during a tournament with the real-time communications,” says Chuck Cavanah, Dunn’s office manager/sales/fishing tackle buyer at Dunn’s Outdoors in Paducah, Kentucky.

He recalls how sales of the Strike King KVD HC squarebilled crankbait spiked when Kevin VanDam relied on that lure to win the 2011 Bassmaster Classic. “We were fortunate enough that our tackle buyer had bought four dozen of each color. People started calling us looking for them as the Classic was being aired.”

Bass fishing was a leisurely hobby when Perry caught his world record largemouth in 1932 and remained mainly a recreational activity until tournaments started sprouting up in the early 1960s. Bass anglers competed for bragging rights and trophies in the World Series of Sport Fishing until an Alabama insurance salesman, Ray Scott, came up with the idea of cast-for-cash derbies.

“I knew (the bass market) would be big,” recalls Scott. “I knew the market was there under a shroud of clouds. It wasn’t as visible at the time as I thought it should be.”

So in 1967, Scott met with Glenn Andrews, a Bull Shoals Lake guide who was winning most of the tournaments being held in Arkansas and Missouri at the time, and McKinnis, who hosted a fishing television show, to work on the first tournament with cash prizes. “Nobody had ever heard of what I was doing,” says Scott. “I remember telling them that I thought if I was able to pull it off, this tournament thing would grow into more tournaments and an organization that we could promote bass fishing and it would help the tournaments. More people would know about it, read about it, hear about it and learn about it.”

Scott brought his ideas to fruition when 106 competitors from 13 states fished in his First All-American Invitational Bass Tournament June 5-7, 1967 at Beaver Lake in Arkansas. The next year Scott founded the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.), which became the world’s largest sport fishing organization.

“I thought if we could get the best fishermen together to demonstrate their best skills and productivity then that would be an infectious experience for other people to view,” says Scott. “The pot was boiling and there was an interest sprinkled all over the nation. People wanted to just catch fish, and any way, lure or technique that could be suggested,they wanted to at least consider it.”

Over the next three-and-a-half decades, bass fishing transformed from a relaxing weekend pursuit to a highly competitive sport with tournaments spread out from coast to coast and north and south of the Mason-Dixon Line. The South remains the hotbed of bass fishing, but smallmouth bass fishing continues to grow in popularity among Yankee anglers. According to the latest National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation compiled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 11 million anglers of the 27.5 million freshwater anglers in the United States fish for bass.

Statistics for bass tournament participation are sketchy, but an inkling of the popularity of bass tournaments can be derived from the number of tournament regatta permits issued by each state. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Water Patrol Division, the agency issued 450 tournament regatta permits in 2012 for Table Rock Lake alone.

The number of bass anglers nationwide adds up to a bountiful market for retailers, especially in the hotbed states where largemouth bass are king. “Bass anglers are very important to our business, especially our local anglers,” says Heath Anderson, fishing tackle salesman at Mark’s Outdoor Sports in Birmingham, Ala. “We do also have customers not only statewide but also countrywide. Eighty percent of our customers are bass anglers and 100 percent of our fishing inventory is for all bass anglers no matter what age.”

The bass market obviously has priority at Brannan’s Bass Shop in Powderly, Texas. “Our inventory consists of approximately 90 percent bass fishing merchandise with a small section dedicated to crappie and catfishing lures and accessories,” says store manager Kathy Ballard. “Bass fishing anglers overall are a very important part to our annual sales.”

Dunn’s Outdoors in Paducah, Ky., is a full-line hunting and fishing gear retailer, but bass anglers’ business still makes up about 25 percent of the store’s sales, according to Chuck Cavanah. He estimates about 75 percent of the store’s fishing tackle inventory consists of bass fishing gear. “From the spring through the fall, fishing is the main part of our business and bass fishing in particular with us being so close to Kentucky/Barkley lakes,” says Cavanah.

Since the bass market is such a large part of their business, retailers work on special events, promotions and sponsorships to attract more bass fishing customers. “We have the largest tournament circuit in Central Arkansas, the Trader Bill’s Team Trail, with six tournaments on six different lakes all in Central Arkansas,” says Philip Kastner, materials manager for Trader Bill’s Outdoor Sports in Hot Springs, Ark.

Mark’s Outdoors is also heavily involved in the tournament scene. “The Mark’s Outdoors Lay Lake Open is one of the biggest independent bass tournaments that has been going on for over twenty years every spring,” says Heath Anderson. “It consists of 500 boats and half the field is parent-child teams with about 20 of the boats in the tournament having pro anglers like Randy Howell, Bill Lowen, Aaron Martens and Fred Roumbanis. We also sponsor a lot of local high school and college teams such as The University of Alabama, Troy University and UAB (University of Alabama-Birmingham).”

For the past 25 years, Brannan’s Bass Shop has sponsored the Uncle Jesse’s Big Bass Classic tournament for the Denver Pyle’s Children’s Charities, which usually draws around 350 to 400 anglers. “We have around $25,000 in tackle donated every year by many different manufacturers,” Kathy Ballard says. “Brannan’s also hosts the Annual Open Falcon Appreciation tournament for all of our customers. Along with these kinds of sponsorships we also have had a couple of in-store promotions with several pros such as Jeff Kriet, Tommy Biffle and Gary Klein. We try to keep a close relationship with all of our local bass clubs. For example, we help to sponsor the North East Texas Anglers’ annual Free Children’s tournament on Pat Mayse Lake. Our most current method of attracting bass anglers is by setting up a booth at the Bassmaster Classic. Last year was our first year at the Classic and it was a huge success for reaching customers in a different area.”

When an FLW tournament was held at Kentucky Lake last year, Dunn’s Outdoors hosted some of the FLW pros for an in-store promotion for a couple of days. Cavanah notes that Dunn’s owner, Benji Stringer, is also considering displaying the store’s name on the boat wrap of one of the young pros on the tournament trail.

Supporting local bass clubs and annual bass tournaments and fishing events of local organizations is also a priority for Nabatak Outdoors in Claremore, Oklahoma, to draw in more bass customers. “The Claremore Lake Jackpot, Oologah Lake Jackpot, Fourth of July Kids Tournament, Oologah Kids Tournament, sponsored by (Bassmaster Elite Series pros) Terry Butcher and Edwin Evers, and the Rogers State University Collegiate Bass Fishing Team are all constants in our sponsorship budget each year,” says Kara Rowe, Nabatak Outdoors retail manager and buyer. “We also continue to make various charitable donations to The Firefighters Burn Camp, Disabled Veterans Center, Boys Scouts, church camps and schools in our area. We feel it is crucial to continue to support these events that are encouraging the youth in our community to get outside, pick up a rod and go fish!”

Keeping track of the tournament scene also helps retailers stay ahead of the bass fishing market. “We are fortunate that locally we have (touring pros) Terry Bolton, Dan Morehead and Mark Menendez who are all from Paducah and they are all helpful in keeping us informed of what is going on out there on the major tournament trail,” says Cavanah of Dunn’s Outdoors. “They will give us a heads up on what the pros are using and what is the next big thing coming down the pipeline. A lot of (staying in front of the market) is just kind of doing research yourself, depending on your sales reps to give you a heads up on some things, using the Internet and looking at the trade magazines.”

Kastner of Trader Bill’s takes pride in staying ahead of the market to give his store an advantage over the competition. “I fish tournaments as well so that helps,” he says. “You can’t just dilly dally when things come into season. You have to be aggressive and stay ahead of the curve, like with the Alabama rig thing last year. You have to be able to react very fast to industry trend changes.”

Her sales representatives and even her customers help Ballard of Brannan’s Bass Shop keep up with the constant changes of the bass fishing market. “I also use many other resources such as the Fishing Tackle Retailer magazine, TV shows, and the Bassmaster magazine to see the newest products available,” she says. “If you want to stay in front of the market you definitely have to keep up on your Internet sales. Nowadays everyone has gone to shopping online; therefore, it is very important to have a presentable and easy-to-navigate website to keep your customers interested. This includes making sure you have images for the customers to look at, good information about the product and keeping your newest product on your site.”

Attending tackle shows allows Mark’s Outdoors to get a head start on ordering the latest innovations in bass fishing. “Being one of the biggest independent dealers, we get a head start by going to shows and seeing the new baits, rods and reels first,” says Heath Anderson.

Nabatak Outdoors mainly relies on three sources to keep up with the bass fishing trends. “We attend the largest tackle shows annually and are in constant contact with our manufacturer representatives to receive any information on new product for our area,” says Kara Rowe. “We also have a great customer base that keeps us informed of the hottest products on the market.” Predicting what lure will produce the next world record bass is nearly impossible, but retailers can still cash in on consumer demands for the tackle competitive anglers rely on for their winning catches.