SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame welcomed its newest induction class on Thursday, Sept. 25, as the Hall capped off its 25th anniversary celebration and annual Celebrate Bass Fishing Week with a memorable ceremony at the White River Conference Center.
With the enshrinement of Randy Hopper, Craig Lamb and William Shakespeare, Jr., the Hall’s inductee roster now stands at 103 members.
Through sponsorships, proceeds from a silent and live auction, and donations, the Hall generated approximately $200,000 that it will utilize to enhance the Hall of Fame space within Johnny Morris Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium. The funds also will support the Hall’s philanthropic efforts through its scholarships and conservation grants. In addition, officials from lure company PRADCO presented the Hall of Fame with a check for $22,500, representing proceeds from the sale of commemorative custom lures honoring the living members of the first Hall of Fame induction class.
“Looking around the ballroom during our induction dinner and ceremony, I was in complete awe in what has become an event that celebrates everything that is good about the bass fishing world,” said outgoing Hall of Fame board president John Mazurkiewicz. “From the 23 inductees in attendance sporting their blue jackets, industry leaders taking off their corporate hats to share a meal and drinks together, to seeing the future of our sport with members of various college bass fishing teams interacting with legends like Kevin VanDam, Hank Parker, Gary Klein and so many more was extra special.
“It’s been a highlight of my 40-plus year career in the fishing industry to serve on the Hall of Fame board and in the role as president over the past six years to see that this organization continues to enhance its mission of celebrating, promoting, and preserving the sport of bass fishing.”
Hopper is a visionary and innovative force in the boat building business and worked under and alongside Forrest L. Wood in establishing Ranger Boats as a premier brand in the fiberglass bass boat category before helping launch Vexus Boats in 2017. A humble family man from Flippin, Ark., Hopper recalled during his induction speech that upon being informed that he would be inducted alongside Lamb, a longtime friend, and Shakespeare, he briefly confused the latter with the legendary playwright.
“I remembered back to an old teacher I had in English literature … I wasn’t a very good student,” Hopper said jokingly. “I was gel coating at night at Ranger back then and I was not interested in what William (Shakespeare) or anybody else had to say. I had another thing on my mind.”
He then cited a note left in his yearbook by that literature teacher.
“I can’t remember what any of my friends wrote,” Hopper said, “but I can remember clearly what Mrs. Briggs wrote and it went exactly like this: ‘Randy, I’ve enjoyed working with you what few times you’ve chosen to work.’”
While Hopper wasn’t much for the classroom, his best work was done bringing ideas to life that improved the performance of bass boats and made life on the water easier for anglers, both novice and competitive. In working his way up from teenage laborer to president and CEO of Ranger Boats, Hopper left his fingerprints on many bass boat features that are now standard across the industry. Among them: He helped design the first aerated livewells for bass boats in 1973, making catch-and-release fishing tournaments a reality.
“I haven’t done anything really extraordinary in my career except I’ve been around some real extraordinary people,” Hopper said.
Hopper went to work full-time when he was 15 years old after his father’s passing. He called a man who was a fishing guide at the boat dock his father used to work at on the White River. The man told Hopper to stop by his factory after school the next day.
“I walked in that night – my first night at Ranger Boats – and here’s a guy sitting behind an old Army surplus desk with a blue denim jacket on and a felt cowboy hat,” Hopper said.
That man was Forrest L. Wood, the founder of Ranger Boats.
“I thought about that many times,” Hopper said. “What he should’ve said was, ‘Come back when you’re 18 and I’ll see if I can still use you.’ But that’s not what he said for whatever reason. So for the next 46 years, I had the opportunity to work right alongside that man. What a pleasure it was.”
Lamb has been a fixture around the tournament scene for decades either in a media role or a tournament operations capacity. He, too, worked alongside Wood early in his career, filling myriad roles at Ranger Boats.
“I became a man in Flippin, Ark.,” Lamb said.
That led to his getting involved with the production of “The Bassmasters” television show in the mid-1980s. He later moved to the tournament operations side with B.A.S.S., helping execute the made-for-TV Megabucks hole-format event and managing the Western Division, which expanded the sport’s reach beyond the Southeast and offered a pathway to Bassmaster stardom for some of the West’s best bass anglers.
“This blue jacket I’m wearing is a tribute to role models and mentors,” Lamb said. “I would not be here without any of them.”
Lamb recalled a letter he sent to legendary angler Rick Clunn, now a fellow Hall of Famer, when he was 15 years old. He still remembers receiving a two-page handwritten response from the four-time Bassmaster Classic winner.
“Not a single fishing tip,” Lamb said. “Instead, it was filled with words of encouragement and to expect setbacks and never accept failure. Be yourself and do your best.”
So taken with the tournament scene as a youngster, Lamb was allowed to travel with Hank Parker, another Hall of Famer, during his spring and summer breaks from school.
“I was just that starstruck teenager showing up at the tournaments trying to find a career,” Lamb said. “I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going. I had no clue and no connection to it.
“I got to meet the very people who put me where I am today and I had no idea it was going to be that way. It’s fantastic.”
Shakespeare Jr. was a pioneer in the fishing tackle in the late 1800s through the mid-1900s. Among other things, he introduced the level-wind reel then secured a patent for the world’s first fiberglass fishing rod. The Shakespeare Company also produced ground-breaking baits invented by its founder before expanding into other categories. Shakespeare passed away in 1950, but Shakespeare brand is still a force in fishing today as an affordable option for anglers of all skill levels.
Brand manager Adam Campbell accepted Shakespeare’s plaque on behalf Pure Fishing, the parent company of Shakespeare.
If you missed the induction ceremony, click here to watch the induction program and speeches. The 2026 Bass Fishing Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 24, 2026, in Springfield, Mo.
For more information on the accomplishments of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Class of 2025, click here.
