The idea to establish the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame was born — as many good ideas are — on a fishing trip.
While an extended fishing trip in Canada with eight friends from the Hot Springs, Arkansas, area, Gilbert Garrett conceived the idea of building a hall of fame — in his hometown, of course — to honor bass anglers. There were halls to enshrine freshwater anglers and saltwater anglers, but none was specifically dedicated to those who target America’s favorite sportfish — the black bass.
Garrett was so excited about his plan that he had his fishing guide pull up to the boat from which two of his friends, John Selig and Bill Fletcher, were fishing, where Garrett outlined his concept and enlisted their help in founding the Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. An organizational meeting in March 1999 drew several Hot Springs boosters, along with some touring bass pros from the area, and the Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame was incorporated two months later.
Arkansas’ governor at the time, Mike Huckabee, an ardent supporter of sportfishing, pledged $15,000 from his discretionary funds, and the dream of building a hall of fame in Hot Springs was suddenly looking attainable.
Garrett, Selig and Fletcher were charter members of the Board of Directors. They were joined by tournament anglers Mike Wurm and Rob Kilby of Hot Springs and Mark Davis of Mount Ida.
The first induction banquet — held in conjunction with a fundraising bass tournament on lakes Ouachita and Hamilton — took place in Hot Springs in 2001. The inaugural class of hall of famers included the luminaries of professional bass fishing: B.A.S.S. founder Ray Scott, Ranger Boats founder Forrest Wood, legendary outdoor writer Homer Circle and five of the most successful professional anglers of all time — Rick Clunn, Bill Dance, Roland Martin, Bobby Murray and Larry Nixon.
Garrett, Selig, Fletcher and another Hot Springs mover and shaker, Wayne Ranson, continued to push for the building of a Hall of Fame facility for several years, until a feasibility study convinced them it could not be successful in their hometown.
“We wanted it as a tourist attraction here in Hot Springs,” said Fletcher, who served as the first president of the board of directors. When it became obvious that would not happen, most of the original board members dropped out, but Fletcher stayed on.
“I wanted to see the hall of fame built to honor professional bass fishermen,” Fletcher explained. “I wanted to develop something that showed people there was much more to the sport of bass fishing than a bunch of rednecks getting in a boat and running across the lake spitting chewing tobacco. I wanted to elevate the image of bass fishing in the eyes of the non-fishing public. That was my dream.”
In 2007, the Board of Directors voted to change the name of the organization from the Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame to, simply, the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. The change signified their desire to promote the recreational aspects of bass fishing in addition to the professional side, including conservation of the fisheries resources on which the sport depends.
Sammy Lee of Birmingham, Ala., host of the “Tight Lines with Sammy Lee” radio program, succeeded Fletcher as president of the board in 2007, serving until 2016. Donald Howell, a Birmingham businessman, followed Lee as president. Fletcher remained an active member of the board through 2017, when his dream finally was realized in the grand opening of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame within Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in Springfield, Mo.
Today, the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame’s permanent home in Springfield is packed with floor-to-ceiling displays of artifacts and photos honoring pioneers of the sport and commemorating some of the greatest events in the history of bass fishing. Items range from a rare first edition of Dr. James Henshall’s 1881 Classic, The Book of the Black Bass, to the first scales used on the Bassmaster Tournament Trail — plus all four of Rick Clunn’s Bassmaster Classic trophies. Those and other exhibits devoted to the 78 members of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame are part of the attraction that drew 1.6 million visitors to the Wonders of Wildlife Museum in its inaugural year.
Banquets are held at Wonders of Wildlife each fall to induct each new Hall of Fame members and to raise funds to fulfill the Hall’s mission, which states: “We are dedicated to celebrating, promoting and preserving the sport of bass fishing.”
