Jerry McKinnis

Jerry McKinnis comes to us as one of the elite few who will ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame, who did not make his living as a full-time tournament fisherman. Instead, he made it through almost forty years of providing outstanding television programming to millions of viewers around the world. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, and still a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, he came into fishing rather naturally when he moved to the state of Arkansas at an early age. He began his fishing and business career on the famous White River where he was one of the more popular fishing guides to be found. As his business knowledge moved forward, so did he. After moving to Little Rock, Jerry found that his fishing prowess provided him ample opportunities to "get in front of the camera" when he started giving fishing reports from area lakes. Wanting to provide as much coverage to fishing as possible, he purchased a film camera so that he could show his audience his weekly catches. From the mid 60's until 1979, his man's weekly fishing program, "The Fishin' Hole" was seen around America, in spot markets. In 1979 he and his business partner Jim Manion took "The Fishin' Hole" to a national audience, when they signed on with a relatively new sports broadcasting network called, "ESPN". In march 2000, "The Fishin' Hole" celebrated it's 36th season on the air and its 20th year as being the anchor of ESPN's outdoors block. "The Fishin' Hole" is the second longest running program on ESPN, behind the wildly popular "Sport Center". ESPN's programming director, Gary Morgenstern, has even said that this man's production company, JM Associates, "is this network's best friend." In addition, JM Associates produces a number of different fishing and outdoor programs for ESPN, inc;uding: "The Spanish Fly"; "The Guides" with Bobby and Billy Murray; "The Bass Class" with Denny Brauer; the Citgo BassMaster Tournament Trail and Rick Ruoff's "Orvis Sporting Life". JM Associates also produced the Iditarod sled dog race; the Wal*Mart FLW Tour; ESPN's Stihl Timbersports series; the U.S. Open Racquetball Championship; Great American Events; and countless other specials. In the late 60's, when fellow Hall of Fame member Ray Scott was getting his Bass Anglers Sportsman Society off the ground, Jerry found time to compete, and succeed, with the early day heroes of bass fishing. While the prize money wasn't what it is today, our inductee did take home checks in two/thirds of the tournaments he competed in.

Don Butler

Don Butler could quite literally be the man who "jump started" this industry. It was his belief in the sport and the profession of bass fishing, not to mention his money, that helped cement, in Ray Scott's mind, that his B.A.S.S. idea was onto something. When Ray Scott started fishing tournaments, back in 1967, Don heard about them when Ray gave him a call and asked him to gather all of the good anglers from the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area and bring them to the first "All American" bass tournament, on Beaver Lake, Arkansas. Don did so well that he was responsible for helping make Ray's first tournament a success. In January of 1968, Ray told him about his plans about forming what would become the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, and asked him if he thought that it would work. Not only did he tell Ray that it would work, but Don wanted to become the first "Lifetime Member". So, for one hundred dollars, he not only became the first "Lifetime" member of B.A.S.S., he also gave Ray Scott the confidence to pursue the idea of banding together America's legion of bass anglers. To prove this belief in both B.A.S.S. and tournament fishing as a profession, this Don pursued both a career in pro fishing as well as forming one of the first national lure manufacturing companies, "Okiebug", which would not only prove to be a winner at producing fish catching baits, but also provided him with the "Okiebug" spinnerbait that helped him win the second BassMasters Classic, in 1972, on Percy Priest Reservoir, outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Don Butler's fishing career continued, to include another B.A.S.S. national tournament title, when he captured the 1973 Arkansas Invitational, on Beaver Lake, with an incredible catch of 56 pounds, 14 ounces. He organized what is believed to be the first bass club in America, the Tulsa Bass Club, in 1967. He also is a member of the "Seasoned Outdoor Sportsmen Foundation", and helps with the "Sharing Outdoor Skills", which is a children's educational program.

Tom Mann

It's one thing to win bass tournaments, which Tom Mannhas done, but it's an entirely different matter to design, produce and manufacture fishing lures for the professionals and weekend anglers to use. When he began his lure manufacturing business, in 1958 with $5.00, on his kitchen table, I doubt that anyone, especially himself, thought that it would one day grow into one of the most widely recognized lure companies in the world. While he held down a full-time job, as an Alabama Game warden, his love of catching fish, designing lures and, with the help of a supportive wife, proved to be a winning combination. It didn't hurt that he moved his business to the tiny town of Eufaula, Alabama, and located his manufacturing plant on the shores of one of the best big bass lakes in the country. When Lake Eufaula came to the nation's attention, in the late 60's and early 70's, Tom Mann was ready to supply them with the needed lures to land one of those "Alabama lunkers". His famous "Little George" tail spinner, "Deep Pig" crankbait, "Wooly Bully" spinnerbaits and scented "Jelly Worms" became mainstays in every angler's tackle box, from California to Connecticut. His world famous "Jelly Worms" were distinguished by being named after different fruits. Who, in the 60's, 70's and 80's didn't get a funny look from their wife when they told them that they were going fishing with blueberry or watermelon or strawberry worms? Each color in the Mann's "Jelly Worm" collection was named after a different fruit and had a scent that smelled like that fruit. It wasn't Tom who named the flavors of the "Jelly Worm" collection, it was his wife, Ann. A supporter for more than fifty years! Not content with just manufacturing fishing lures, while the owner of Mann's Bait Company, he also founded and was the C.E.O. of Allied Sports Company, from 1969-1983. As the manufacturer of the "Humminbird Depth Sounder", Allied Sports eventually became a stock company and was renamed Techsonic Industries: one of the largest selling depth sounder companies in the world. He also founded Southern Plastics, in 1977, a company that today is the world's largest private brand supplier of soft plastic lures. Designing and building baits to catch fish, and creating companies that would help every angler on the water, were just a part of his repertoire. He knew how to catch 'em as well, as his success along the Bass Anglers Sportsmans Society tournament trail quickly proved. He began his professional tournament career along the B.A.S.S. tournament trail in 1967 by competing in the Dixie Invitational. In 1971 he captured his first national title by winning the B.A.S.S. Georgia Invitational on Lake Seminole, Georgia. He then followed that impressive victory with another championship performance by winning the 1972 B.A.S.S. Florida National, on Lake Kissimmee, Florida. In all, Tom Mann fished in 104 Bass Angler Sportsman Society tournaments, taking home over $36,000.00. When compared to today's dollars, that would have been in excess of $700,000. He also qualified for 7 BassMasters Classics and has the distinction of finishing in second place in the very first BassMasters Classic, on Lake Mead, Nevada, behind fellow hall of fame member, Bobby Murray. He has been inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, and he received the Fishing Hall of Fame's highest honor, the Dolphin Award. He has been named as one of Alabama's most unforgettable faces, by the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel and has authored two of the all time best selling books on bass fishing. Tom Mann is still active in designing fishing lures and also co-hosts a nationally syndicated television program called, "Tom and Tina Outdoors" with his co-host, Tina Booker.

Tommy Martin

When Tommy Martin first began tournament fishing in 1968, little could he have known that it would lead him into a thirty-five year career. A career that has seen him go from guiding on Lake Sam Rayburn, Texas, in the late 60's, to guiding on Lake Livingston, Texas, in 1969. From there, he moved on to fishing the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society's tournament trail in 1972. Since then, he has won 19 national tournament titles, with over one million dollars in prize money. He has qualified for the prestigious BassMasters Classic 19-times and captured five different B.A.S.S. tournament championships: the '74 Classic; the 1974 Arkansas Invitational; the 1981 Texas invitational; the 1983 Texas Invitational and the 1995 Oklahoma Invitational. Along with winning the 1974 BassMasters Classic, he became the first professional angler, in B.A.S.S. tournament history, to win both a B.A.S.S. Classic and a regular season tournament, during the same season, when he captured the Arkansas Invitational on Beaver Lake. A feat that has rarely been accomplished since. He has won tournaments in three different decades. Something that only a couple of other anglers in professional bass fishing have ever accomplished. Today, even though he is in his early sixties, he continues competing successfully along the Citgo BassMaster tour. Tommy Martin has competed in over 280 B.A.S.S. tournaments since he first started fishing them and has taken home a check in more than half of these events.

Hank Parker

Hank Parker's life reads like a "who's who" when it comes to bass fishing. He began his professional tournament career in 1978, after many successful years guiding and fishing tournaments around the Carolinas. During the course of the next 13 years, he competed in over 120 B.A.S.S. tournaments and finished in the money an astonishing 76% of the time. He captured B.A.S.S. titles at the 1983 Virginia Invitational and the 1988 Missouri Invitational. His victories in the 1979 BassMasters Classic, on Lake Texoma, Texas, the 1985 B.A.S.S. Super Bass tournament, on the St. Johns River, in central Florida and a second BassMasters Classic victory in 1979, on the James River, (by a mere two-ounces over runner-up, Jim Bitter, one of the closest BassMasters Classics in history) outside Richmond, Virginia, cemented his place in the record books. Along with his many national tournament titles, he became known as one of the premiere fishing instructors of his time, sometimes traveling up to 300 days a year to fish, give lectures, or perform promotional work for his many sponsors. He even found time to have a family. When he retired from competitive angling, a few years ago, he decided to give professional race car driving a try. If tournament victories, BassMaster Classic championships and a promotional schedule that would make your head spin isn't enough, in 1985 he decided to jump into the television business. His "Outdoor Magazine" television program highlights the family and promotes the outdoor experience. In it's 18th year on the air, it is seen weekly by millions of viewers.

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