In defense of Ray Scott and
the BASS Federation
Editor's note: Since this story broke, we have received many letters in support of BASS founder Ray Scott. Here is a sampling:
• Letter from Bill McGhee, Ft. Valley, Ga.
• Letter from Bob Lusk, editor, Pond Boss magazine
• Letter from Don Watts, Denver, Colo.
• Letter from Fred K. Azbell, Bowes Seal Fast
• Letter from Sara Smedley, Prattville, Ala.
• Letter from Walt Reynolds, Roland Martin Productions
In the lengthy interview, posted Dec. 7, Jacobs, owner of Ranger Boats and other boat brands, dangled "a seven-figure amount of money" if the Federation would leave BASS and move to FLW. More to the point, Jacobs used the forum to launch a vicious attack on Ray Scott, founder of BASS, as well as the organization itself.
In words carefully chosen to drive a wedge between Scott and members of the BASS Federation, Jacobs sought to discredit Scott and minimize his contributions to the sport of bass fishing. He said BASS would be nothing without the Federation and that Ranger Boats was responsible for Scott's success.
Not satisfied with undermining the founder of the BASS Federation, Jacobs called Scott hypocritical and said "He should go off into the sunset very quietly."
Scott wouldn't dignify the personal attacks with a response, but numerous friends — including some who worked in lockstep with him to build the Federation — rallied to his defense.
Rick Clunn, who started out as a bass club angler, then went on to a career that, earlier this year, earned him the distinction as the "Greatest Bass Angler" in the history of professional fishing, was most outspoken.
"If you could put the careers of Ray Scott and Irwin Jacobs on a balance beam, all Jacobs can do is hope that one day he accomplishes half of what Ray has done for the sport," he began.
"The people in the world I have the least respect for are those without a historical perspective. We need to have an understanding of how we got where we are. Irwin Jacobs is obsessed to erase everything that came before him. He's smart enough to take what happened and build on it, but he won't do it. He wants credit for the sport of bass fishing and refuses to acknowledge the great people who came before him. In any sport, if someone comes in and denies the historical significance of others they are a complete fool.
"Without Ray Scott I seriously doubt the sport of professional bass would even exist right now. You have to recognize his great contributions, and it's a sad reflection on you if you don't."
Roland Martin, who joined Scott on the famed Seminar Trail that led to the explosion of BASS clubs across the nation, said, "I have so much respect for Ray Scott that I named my son after him. When I first met Ray and heard about the plans he had for BASS and the sport of bass fishing, I immediately became one of the first life members.
"It's ludicrous to criticize the man who brought the sport to its present level. Irwin Jacobs should be praising Ray Scott.
"Ray Scott created the BASS Federation. The grass roots level anglers obviously complement everything else at BASS, but no one should ever forget that Ray created the Federation."
TV angler Bill Dance, the first superstar BASS pro, agrees that it's wrong to overlook Scott's contributions. "Ray Scott has done more for the sport than any living soul. You can ask anyone in the industry — not just me. He's a genius at putting things together. With BASS, he set a goal, worked hard and accomplished it. This sport started with a man in Montgomery, Ala., who had a dream.
"To call Ray Scott a hypocrite is so far out of line it's not funny," he added. "The man created this industry. When the good Lord created Ray Scott, he did a beautiful thing."
Dance recalls the beginning of BASS as a special time, when many people worked together to help Scott build an organization that would protect the resource while giving prominence to bass fishing. "He provided us the opportunity; he helped us more than we helped him.
"Ray Scott is my friend, and my hat's off to him for what he's done for this industry and others. Give the man the respect he deserves."
Bill McGehee, first national director of the B.A.S.S. Federation, notes that the priorities of the Federation have changed over the past several years. "When Ray asked me to be the Director of the Federation back in '73, our vision was to create a unified voice for fishermen, to create clubs that could improve the environment, and to organize events to help get kids fishing. The core reason to get involved in the Federation was to give something back, not to join to see what you would get out of the deal.
"I was there when Ray Scott was still struggling through a lot of issues in the early years. His devotion to the sport is well documented. Just look at the things he spent his time on that he didn't have to: kill switches, pollution, catch-and-release. These were issues that benefited the sport, not his pocketbook."
Although no longer involved in the industry, McGehee observed that people who want to pull the Federation away from BASS "have lost sight of what being a part of the Federation really ought to be. The founding purposes should still apply. The Federation should still give the many anglers out there a unified voice. It should still rally behind causes. It should still focus on transferring knowledge to children and communities. It should still strive to make anglers better sportsmen through conservation. That's what the Federation is about."
Bob Cobb, a charter member of the pioneering Tulsa Bass Club who later joined Scott as vice president of BASS and founding editor of BASSMASTER magazine, listed a litany of achievements for which Ray Scott and BASS deserve credit:
"Don't Kill Your Catch," launched in 1972, which led to catch and release in bass fishing; livewells in boats; antipollution campaigns that resulted in cleaning up waters in Alabama, Tennessee and many other states; quality life preservers; upright, level flotation in bass boats; kill switches — all these are the direct result of Scott's efforts, Cobb said.
Scott led the successful campaign to enact the Wallop Breaux Fund, which now pumps hundreds of millions of dollars annually into state fisheries and boating program. And he did so over the opposition of some in the boating industry, including some key advertisers, who didn't want excise taxes levied on their products. Cobb noted that a more detailed discussion of BASS achievements as well as background on the Federation's involvement is presented in Scott's biography, "BASS Boss," (800-518-7222). Cobb, too, said it's wrong to challenge Scott's integrity. "He may throw fastballs," he said. "But he'll never throw you a curve ball."
"Ray doesn't deserve the criticism he's getting on BassFan and other Web sites," added
Harold Sharp, the first BASS Tournament Director. Sharp organized several bass clubs in the Chattanooga, Tenn., area and he helped Scott draft plans to form the Federation more than 35 years ago. He recalls the reason for clubs and Federations in the very beginning:
"Remember that the clubs were organized for the protection of the sport and the environment," he said. "We didn't organize BASS or BASS clubs to sell bass boats or fishing lures or television shows. It was organized for guys to enjoy the sport of bass fishing and the competition with each other, to protect the fish, and to preserve the sport."
Scott also drew criticism for supporting BASS' elimination of the positions of Divisional Representatives of the BASS Federation. Don Corkran, BASS Federation Director from 1991-2000 and again from 2003-2005, backed him on that point.
"Anytime you formally establish a level (like the so-called 'Fab Five' representatives) between BASS and the Federation presidents, you provide the opportunity for something like this (rift in the Federation) to take place," Corkran stated. "Years ago, when Ray still owned BASS, this was tried in the Eastern Division, and it almost tore that division apart.
"When (the plan to establish divisional representatives) came up, I told Al Smith (Federation director at the time) I did not think it was a very good idea.
"I was not with BASS at that point, but it seemed we (BASS) lost our most effective means of communication between BASS and its constituency — we were letting all that information be filtered through the reps."
After the system was put in place, he believes, it became almost inevitable that the relationship between BASS and the individual Federations would never be as strong.
"Over the last couple of weeks since all this (controversy) hit, I have searched my soul to figure out if there were things I could have done in 18 months I was back at the helm that would have fixed things so this situation would not have occurred. I don't think there were."
Corkran concluded by saying that it's "certainly unfortunate that Ray is taking personal attacks now for things he did clearly from the heart. When Ray formed the Federation program and affiliated the first chapter, he absolutely had the good of the Federation at heart. He's putting the last of his 10 fingers in a dike that he sees crumbling. He speaks passionately and from the heart, and sometimes that gets you in trouble.
"No one has greater love for the Federation program than Ray Scott."
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