Gary Klein

GARY KLEIN – Gary Klein, a 2018 inductee into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame and an original member of the Hall’s Board of Directors, has known no career other than as a professional angler. As a teenager from Oroville, California, he studied under the watchful eyes of western legends including Dave Gliebe and 2007 Hall of Fame inductee Dee Thomas, before heading east to seek out his destiny on the Bassmaster Tour. He never looked back, and in over four decades of casting for cash, Klein established himself as a leading competitor, promoter and innovator.

In addition to his many on-the-water achievements, Klein’s ascent into the ranks of top pros at age 21 marked the recognition that the sport of professional bass fishing could be a full-time career straight out of school. He did not guide or work another job to support his “hobby,” but instead set out to make a living exclusively from tournament angling.

Klein showed off his angling chops from the outset, finishing 10^th on Florida’s St. Johns River in his inaugural B.A.S.S. event. That was just an indication of things to come, however. In his next tournament, closer to home on Arizona’s Lake Powell, the young pro earned the first of his eight Bassmaster victories. He finished in the top 10 in five of his first seven B.A.S.S. events, with 11 straight money finishes.

In addition to those eight B.A.S.S. wins, which spanned four separate decades, Klein qualified for 30 Bassmaster Classics, including 17 in a row from 1984 through 2000. He was the Bassmaster Angler of the Year in 1989 and 1993. One circuit could not contain his angling ambitions. Indeed, he won two FLW Tour tournaments and qualified for six Forrest Wood Cups. Klein also won the 1988 U.S. Open on Lake Mead, a then-summertime event often referred to as “the Iditarod of bass fishing.” All told, his tournament earnings are in the range of $3 million. He was also a gold medalist in the ESPN Great Outdoor Games.

Klein was initially known for bringing the innovative technique called flipping – now a staple in every serious angler’s repertoire – from the west. He used it extensively to contribute to his early success, but his skill set was not limited to that one technique, or even to just shallow water angling. Later, he was a pioneer in the field of finesse fishing and offshore angling, using the deep technique known as “doodling” a worm to earn victories on Lake Lanier in 1985 and on Bull Shoals in 1988. He remains the consummate lure and tackle tinkerer, and has been and early and enthusiastic adopter of techniques like dropshotting. Indeed, Klein prides himself on being an open thinker and a highly versatile angler.

In addition to serving as an inspiration for young western anglers in particular, Klein has also been a staunch advocate of organizing anglers to act collectively. He was an early advocate for anglers being allowed to use their own boats in the Bassmaster Classic, served as a Board Member of the Professional Anglers Association and was a co-founder of Major League Fishing and the resulting Bass Pro Tour.