Dave Precht

Dave Precht (1949-  ) — When he retired from B.A.S.S. in July 2019, Dave Precht ended a lengthy career in his “dream job” — educating and entertaining bass anglers through the pages of Bassmaster Magazine. His 40 1/2 years with the company made him the longest-tenured employee of B.A.S.S., and that included 19 years as editor of Bassmaster and another 16 as editor in chief.

When he succeeded Bob Cobb at the helm of the magazine, it fulfilled the goal Precht had set in grade school, when he decided he wanted to be the editor of an outdoor magazine. And it happened almost by accident.

As the outdoor writer for the Houston Post newspaper, Precht was invited to cover the 1978 Bassmaster Classic at Ross Barnett Reservoir in Mississippi. After he missed the media bus back to the hotel following the final weigh-in, he hitched a ride with Ray Scott, founder of the then-young fishing organization. The two hit it off immediately, and Scott soon recruited Precht to join the B.A.S.S. operation in Montgomery, Alabama, and prepare to take over Bassmaster.

After eight years in the newspaper business, Precht and his wife, Linda, moved to Alabama, and he began work as staff writer for Bassmaster and publicist for the B.A.S.S. Tournament Trail. When he wasn’t attending bass tournaments, Precht worked as speech writer and public relations assistant for Scott, who had just been named the state chairman in Alabama for George H.W. Bush’s campaign for the presidency.

In 1980, Precht took over another B.A.S.S.-owned magazine, Southern Outdoors, a hunting and fishing magazine that covered the southeastern states.

He was moved to editor of Bassmaster in 1984, when Bob Cobb became producer/director of the new television show on The Nashville Network, “The Bassmasters.” He maintained the editorial format Cobb had established by using professional anglers as the main sources of how-to information. He also set about assembling a lineup of contributors who not only were gifted communicators but also passionate and skilled anglers. Bassmaster senior writers including Don Wirth, Steve Price, Tim Tucker, Louie Stout and Wade Bourne — all members of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame — helped attract new B.A.S.S. members by the thousands.

He introduced those readers to mainstay features that are still read today, including “Day on the Lake,” “Lunker Club,” “Bassmaster Basics,” “Ask the Experts” and others. With the continued success of the magazine, frequency increased from eight issues per year to 11, and Bassmaster joined Field & Stream and Outdoor Life as the most popular outdoor magazines in the nation.

During his nearly 20 years as editor, Bassmaster grew to more than 600,000 members (subscribers), and the magazine was selected as one of the Top 10 “Hot Properties” among all magazines by Ad Age. As editor, Precht dedicated the magazine to promoting competitive fishing, boating safety, conservation, sportfishing ethics and bass fishing as family recreation.

Shortly after B.A.S.S. was acquired by ESPN, Precht was promoted to senior director of several departments, including editorial and conservation. After almost two decades of editing Bassmaster, he turned that job over to James Hall, who became the third editor of the magazine in its 50-plus-year history, in 2003.

As a member of the senior staff under ESPN and its successors — Don Logan, Jerry McKinnis and Jim Copeland, who bought B.A.S.S. in 2010 — he also edited B.A.S.S. Times Magazine from 2008 through 2015. He served as vice president, Editorial and Communications from 2011 until his retirement.

Precht also served on the Communications Committee of the American Sportfishing Association and the Board of Directors of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. Passionate about promoting youth fishing, Precht created the prestigious Bassmaster High School All-American Fishing Team program, which honors high school anglers who excel in fishing competitions, academics, leadership and community service. A 2011 inductee into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, Precht was named to the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in 2018.