Charlie Campbell

Charlie Campbell (1933—2020) After a 15-year career as a schoolteacher and basketball coach (including a State Championship and a Coach of the Year Award), Campbell opened a marine dealership in 1974 in Branson, Missouri. That same year, he won the B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship and placed fifth in the Bassmaster Classic.

In 1977, he went to work for Johnny Morris of Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Missouri, where he helped design the Bass Tracker Boat.

Campbell’s fishing career started by guiding on Bull Shoals Lake in 1958 during summers and after school. He developed the “Charlie Campbell CC Spinner Bait,” and his successes in topwater fishing helped bring back the Zara Spook.

In addition to fishing five Classics, he won a total of 67 tournaments on a variety of trails. He has been inducted into the Drury College Sports Hall of Fame and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, and he was named an “Outstanding Missourian” by the state’s House of Representatives.

Mr. Campbell passed away April 19, 2020