Veteran Pro Mike Wurm to Fly Hall of Fame Colors in 2008

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Well-known professional angler Mike Wurm of Arkansas will field the colors and logo of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame on his Ranger Boats Z520 during the 2008 tournament season.

Wurm will debut the Hall of Fame boat wrap at the 2008 Bassmaster® Classic in Greenville, S.C., which marks his tenth appearance in the storied championship in 13 seasons as a professional angler.

Wurm will compete on the Bassmaster® Elite Series circuit this season, driving his rig from central Florida to west Texas and north to New York. On the road and on the water, fishing fans will come to recognize the Hall of Fame's colors while those who are new to the sport can learn about it from Wurm on the Hall of Fame website, www.bassfishinghof.com.

"It's going to give us some good promotional value and help drive people to our website to get some information about the Hall of Fame," said Wurm, who is on the Halls board of directors. "We need to get the word out about the Hall of Fame because we're on the road to a bright future."

During his travels this year, Wurm expects to log more than 30,000 miles towing the boat with its distinctive logo and colors. That will translate into millions of impressions from those who see it and, hopefully, will visit the Web site to learn more about the Hall of Fame.

"There will be a lot of eyeballs looking at it and now we can use our boats throughout the entire tournament," Wurm said, referring to the anglers being able to use their personal boats on all four days of Elite Series events. "I think people knew about the Hall of Fame at first and maybe we lost a little interest, but I think this will spark their interest again."

Wurm is a resident of Hot Springs, Ark., and has 16 top ten finishes and two wins during his 13 years as a professional. Along with his ten Classic berths, he has qualified four times for the FLW Championship. Wurm is sponsored by Strike King, the City of Hot Springs, Ranger, Evinrude, Quantum, Tru-Tungsten, Humminbird and Minn-Kota.

"The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame is proud to have an angler with such high morals and professional accomplishments as Mike Wurm promoting us in his travels," said Sammy Lee, Hall of Fame president. "It is an honor to know that Mike thinks so much of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame as to make us his flagship cause in 2008."

With the logo prominently displayed on his Ranger, Wurm expects interest to pick up. "We're still alive and kicking, and they can see that dot-com address to find out more about it," he said. "Bass fishing is our sport and we're all in it together. This is our Hall of Fame and we all need to help continue to make it special, because it is special."

Editors Note: For more information on the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame or to download a color photo of Mike’s boat go to www.bassfishinghof.com and click on "That’s a Wrap".

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Four accept nominations to serve

on Hall of Fame Board of Directors

Jan. 28, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Four new members to the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Board of Directors bring decades of experience and a wealth of enthusiasm as it prepares for its 2008 induction ceremony in February.

Kathy Magers and Dick Hart of Texas, Gene Ellison of Massachusetts and Hobson Bryan Jr. of Alabama have accepted nominations to serve up-to three-year terms. They assume their position beginning January 1, 2008. The board is comprised of 15 members from the within fishing industry.

“We are pleased to welcome Kathy, Dick, Gene and Hobson to the board and appreciate their willingness to serve,” said Hall of Fame President Sammy Lee. “All of them will bring new ideas along with vast experiences that will help us continue to honor the sport of bass fishing and those who have helped make it great.”

The 2008 inductees into the Hall of Fame will be introduced Feb. 21 at the Bassmaster Classic in Greenville, S.C. This year’s class includes Charlie Campbell; Nick Creme; Elwood "Buck" Perry; Virgil Ward.

Kathy Magers of Texas, the first female member of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame board of directors, is well known in the fishing industry as a professional angler and ambassador for the sport. Magers is a Bass’n Gal national champion and 13-time Classic qualifier, inductee into the Legends of the Outdoors and Texas Freshwater Fishing halls of fame, and a noted outdoor writer and photographer. A certified boating safety instructor, Magers has hosted two television shows, is founder of   www.kathymagers.com and is a frequent speaker at fishing seminars across the country.

Dick Hart of Texas --- Richard M. Hart is an avid outdoorsman and extremely successful businessman.  Prior to his retirement on June 1, 1987, Mr. Hart held the position of the Chief Administrative Officer of InterFirst Corporation, a large regional bank holding company in Texas.  His many honors include: Texas Parks and Wildlife Lone Star Legend, Chairman’s Award for Public Service, 2002;  Two (2) International Game Fish Association, Fly Fishing World Records, 1987 and 1988; 2006 Induction into the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame; and, Designation of the Richard M. Hart/Johnny Morris Conservation Center at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center.

Gene Ellison of Boston is the owner of an investment practice and has competed professionally in bass fishing tournaments across the country. He recently completed more than two years as the volunteer Executive Director of the Professional Anglers Association. In this role Ellison designed, implemented and supervised the PAA’s first professional tournament, the Toyota Texas Bass Classic. Ellison appears nationally on television programs, radio shows and live at outdoor writers conferences, state wildlife angler education clinics, Nitro Boats dealerships and Bass Pro Shops locations to teach fishing techniques, discuss the “new direction” of bass fishing and spread his passion for the outdoors with children.

Hobson Bryan Jr. of Alabama is a University of Alabama professor specializing in environmental policy. Much of his research and consulting is with the fishing industry. He served two terms as a member of the BASS Advisory Board, is an avid bass tournament angler and fly fishes for trout and bonefish all over the world.

The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the sport of bass fishing and establishing a museum for the men, women and companies that have taken this sport to anglers around the world.

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Nov. 27, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Four selected for Bass Fishing Hall of Fame

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Four legends of bass fishing who contributed greatly to the sport through lure design, education and media are slated for induction next year into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.

Charlie Campbell of Missouri will be joined by Nick Crème of Texas, Buck Perry of North Carolina and Virgil Ward of Missouri in the seventh class of inductees. Crème, Perry and Ward will be inducted posthumously.

The group has a varied background with specific contributions that continue to impact the sport today. Campbell, for example, helped revive the Zara Spook topwater bait and was instrumental in the creation of the Bass Tracker boat. Crème, in 1949, created the first rubber worms on his kitchen stove and began a new era in fishing with artificial lures.

"This group of men, like the others who have been inducted before them, are among the true legends and innovators of the great sport of bass fishing," said BFHoF president Sammy Lee. "Their efforts have rippled through the waters of time and we applaud their inclusion into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame."

Induction ceremonies will be Feb. 21 in the main ballroom of the Hyatt Hotel in Greenville, S.C., during the week of the Bassmaster Classic. The induction banquet will be held the night before the opening day of the three-day Classic championship on Lake Hartwell.

Inductee Charlie Campbell said,  "This is the greatest honor that has ever been bestowed on me.  To be recogonized by your peers and voted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame is the highlight of my life."

Tickets are available for the induction banquet at www.bassfishinghof.com, or by calling 1-888-690-2277.

Biographical information on the inductees:

Charlie Campbell

After a 15-year career as a schoolteacher and basketball coach, which included a state championship and "Coach of the Year" honor,

Campbell opened a marine dealership in 1974 in Branson, Mo. That same year, he won the B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship and placed fifth in the Bassmaster Classic on Wheeler Lake in  Alabama. In 1977, Campbell went to work for Johnny Morris of Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Mo., where he helped design the Bass Tracker boat.

Campbell's fishing career started by guiding on Bull Shoals Lake in 1958 during summers and after school. He developed the "Charlie Campbell CC Spinner Bait," and his successes in topwater

fishing helped bring back the Zara Spook. In addition to fishing five Classics, he won a total of 67 tournaments on a variety of trails. He has been inducted into the Drury College Sports Hall of Fame and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, and he was named an "Outstanding Missourian" by the state's House of Representatives.

Nick Crème

In 1949, Nick Crème invented the first plastic worm in his family's kitchen, kicking off the soft plastics revolution in bass fishing. As the founder and owner of Creme Lures, he helped make plastic worm fishing popular in the 1950s and 1960s. When professional anglers began winning early B.A.S.S. tournaments on Creme Scoundrels and Shimmy Gals, his business really took off.

In fact, Creme became one of the first tackle companies to sponsor a pro when, in 1967, Crème offered John Powell of Alabama $18,000 a year to fish Creme Worms. Seldom does one individual in our industry have such a major impact. Crème's invention of the plastic worm in 1949 actually revolutionized bass fishing.

Elwood Lake "Buck" Perry

Widely acclaimed as the "father of structure fishing," Buck Perry of North Carolina opened up our lakes and rivers to a different style of fishing than anyone before him had ever enjoyed.   Even before the days of sonar, Perry was using his Spoonplugs and trolling tactics to catch deep water and offshore bass that others did not even know existed.

Perry spent his life educating others about bass migrations, habitat and deep water methods.  Though he passed away in 2005, his Spoonplugging school is still a serious educational institution for anglers.

Virgil Ward

Virgil Ward's Championship Fishing Show was successful for 27 years and one of the most popular showcases of bass fishing techniques.  Ward's show was syndicated nationally for 20 years, gaining fans across much of the country, and in 1985 was rated No. 1 overall.

Additionally, millions of fishing fans followed his weekly shows on 253 radio stations and followed his advice through articles published in 450 newspapers.

Also, in 1955 Virgil, and his son Bill, started the Bass Buster Lure Company, and patented the fiber weedguard. This weed guard revolutionized the weedless jig, and is still used today by jig manufacturers. However, it was the feather jig that was the first big success of the company.

After the feather jig came the famous maribou jig, and Beetle Spin. Later the company was sold to Sam Johnson of the Johnson Wax Company, who owned Johnson Fishing, now known as Johnson Worldwide Associates.  This company has now been sold to Pure Fishing, which owns several other companies, including Berkley, Garcia, Mitchell and Fenwick.

The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, headquartered in Hot Springs, Ark., was established in 1999 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. It is dedicated to promoting the sport of bass fishing and establishing a shrine to the men, women and companies who have supported and elevated this sport to anglers around the world.

(Reporters interested in conducting interviews with any Bass Fishing Hall of Fame member, either before the upcoming Bassmaster Classic or at the event, can be arranged by contacting the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame at 1-888-690-2277.)

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