SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The last week of September was a quite an emotional week in the bass fishing world — there were moments where tears flowed.
The Daily Limit made a road trip to see B.A.S.S. coworkers inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, and the finale was a dramatic final day on the college circuit where one angler realized his dream of qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic.
Five of the eight men inducted Sept. 30 at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife have ties with B.A.S.S, two of them Classic champs and the other three big cogs in the world’s largest bass fishing organization.
Delayed a year because of the pandemic, the induction of the 2020 class was held in a ceremony with the 2021inductees. The former group was comprised of Bryan Kerchal, Jay Yelas, Ron Lindner, James Heddon and Steve Bowman. This year’s selections were Jason Lucas and B.A.S.S. employees Gene Gilliland and Trip Weldon.
Kerchal, the 1994 Classic champ on High Rock Lake, remains the only angler to win after qualifying from the B.A.S.S. Nation. Here’s a feature story on The life of Bryan Kerchal, and check out this slideshow of the Connecticut angler whose life ended way too soon.
Jay Yelas, a current Elite Series pro, was a dominant force in both B.A.S.S. and FLW. He won the 2002 Classic on Lay Lake and followed up with a Bassmaster Angler of the Year title in 2003, one of his three AOY titles. He earned more than $1 million on both circuits and might be the nicest guy on tour, prompting comparisons to Mr. Rogers in this feature. His latest passion is serving as executive director of the C.A.S.T. for Kids Foundation, which puts children with special needs on the water.
Editor’s note: See images from the BFHOF inductions ceremony.
Ron Lindner was co-founder of In-Fisherman with younger brother Al, who together built a fishing empire with magazine and TV and radio shows. Ron Lindner died just months after learning of his BFHOF induction, one of many halls he’s in. Read about the angling innovator and educator.
James Heddon was credited with creating wooden lures in the late 1800s, and his namesake company went on to revolutionize bass fishing. The Daily Limit recognized the great achievements by both Lindner and Heddon in this post.
Now for the final 2020 inductee, Steve Bowman. Bowman hired this scribe away from the newspaper where his columns stood up for common man, espousing regulations that helped the everyday outdoorsman. Bowman began reporting on Bassmaster Classics in 1984, so he’s fast approaching his 40th championship.
His stand that the outdoors are important continued through development of coverage at ESPN Outdoors and at Bassmaster.com, where he worked to put readers in the pros’ boats. Now he heads angler relations at B.A.S.S., spending much of his time on the phone. He probably most enjoys his time out on the water shooting photographs that help illuminate the sport.
The Daily Limit reported on his induction into the Arkansas Outdoors Hall of Fame in 2015, and much of what he said then holds true today. Oh, and he again got choked up during his induction speech, calling it a humbling experience.
Another scribe was included in the 2021 class. Jason Lucas, who was born in England, helped popularize bass fishing through his articles in Sports Afield. His 1947 book Lucas on Bass Fishing is among the most-acclaimed how-to books on the sport.
Since Ray Scott formed B.A.S.S. in 1968, the worldwide authority on bass fishing has been dedicated to enhancing the sport by advocating for access, conservation and youth fishing. Gene Gilliland made the Hall for his 32 years as research biologist, fisheries management supervisor and Assistant Chief of Fisheries in Oklahoma. He took over as B.A.S.S. National Conservation Director in 2013.
Trip Weldon made the Hall as the longest serving tournament director at B.A.S.S., where he helped create the Elite Series and modern tournament rules. He joined the tournament team in 1990 and in 2002 became only the third tournament director at B.A.S.S. The deep-voiced Alabaman was a pretty solid tournament angler, winning an EverStart and posting a pair of top-five finishes in Red Man All-American events.
Revisit a slideshow of Weldon through the years, and check out his recent Q&A.
There were several moments when inductees paused during their speeches as the enormity of the moment hit them. It was a similar experience to that of Bethel University senior Tristan McCormick.
McCormick, who reached his dream of the Carhartt Bassmaster College Bracket with teammate Stevie Mills, took the top seed after catching 10 pounds, 9 ounces on the first day of fishing the Coosa River out of Wetumpka, Ala. The eight anglers then had head-to-head matches, and McCormick caught 9-9 to win the first then 10-14 to advance to the final against Auburn’s Tucker Smith, the No. 2 seed.
With both fishing near Bouldin Dam, Smith caught the first four fish and took a big lead into halftime. In the afternoon with time dwindling, McCormick returned near the dam and plied a seam where the riprap ended. Within 40 minutes, he landed four bass topping 2 pounds to rally. At the weight reveal on stage, McCormick was left speechless when he learned his total of 11-0 edged Smith by 3 ounces.
McCormick dropped his head, raised his hand to his eyes in disbelief and joy before hugging Smith. McCormick was simply overcome with emotion that he earned the College berth to the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk. His dream realized, he was asked to speak, but at first he couldn’t.
“It hasn’t sunk in, and it won’t for a while,” he later told a reporter. “It’s such a blessing. I’m so fortunate and I’ve worked so hard for so many years just trying to get to this moment, and I’ve finally got it. That means a lot to me.”
In becoming the third Bethel angler to reach a Classic through the college bracket, McCormick broke a tie with Auburn. Besides the berth and its $10,000 payout to show up, McCormick earned $7,500, paid entry fees into all the 2022 Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens and the use of a fully-rigged Nitro Z20 and Toyota Tundra.
Yes, it was quite the emotional week.
