Inductee

Starting his writing career in daily newspapers, Louie Stout sold his first article to Bassmaster in the early 1980s. He has been a full-time freelance writer specializing in bass fishing since 1987, and has covered every Bassmaster Classic since 1979. The co-author of three successful books about bass fishing with seven-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year Kevin VanDam, Stout was inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in 2005, and in 2013 was awarded the Homer Circle Fishing Communicator Award. He continues his senior writer/boating role for Bassmaster Magazine, his long-time outdoor column in the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune, and even though newspaper ink flows through his veins, Stout also keeps anglers and hunters informed and entertained with his website.

Retiring from the U.S. Army after 20 years of service, Morris Sheehan purchased the Military Bass Anglers Association and changed the name to American Bass Anglers. Through his leadership and foresight, ABA has become the largest tournament trail for weekend anglers, with more than 1,000 bass tournaments held annually. Sheehan’s efforts have given amateur anglers a place to hone their skills and the opportunity to gain the experience for competition in higher-level events. More than 35,000 anglers compete in ABA tournaments today. His contributions to the bass fishing industry have elevated him to a position of respect by all those he has touched

Combining his love of fishing and his efforts to promote tourism and economic growth around Sam Rayburn Lake in Southeast Texas, Bob Sealy convinced Ray Scott to bring a Bassmaster event to the lake. From there, he worked his way into creating the world’s largest amateur bass tournament — the Big Bass Splash. Open only to amateurs, the Big Bass Splash events today have spread across the nation. During the past 33 years, Sealy’s idea to bring some competitive fun to bass fishing has paid out over $30 million dollars and raised more than $2.3 million dollars to support Ronald McDonald House Charities and the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In 2015, he was inducted into the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame.

Shaw Grigsby fished his first national tournament in 1977, 40 years ago this year. A former motorcycle racer, he became a full-time pro angler on the Bassmaster Tournament Trail in 1984, and since then has won nine Bassmaster tournaments, qualified for the Bassmaster Classic 16 times, and competed in four FLW championships. Known for his sight fishing expertise, in his fishing career with B.A.S.S. Grigsby has 60 top ten finishes and has won more than $2 million. To many of his fans, Shaw is the 20-year-plus host of One More Cast with Shaw Grigsby, airing on the Sportsman Channel.

Wade Bourne (1947—2016) —  A native of Clarksville, Tenn., Wade Bourne was a senior writer for Bassmaster Magazine for more than 40 years before his passing in 2016. He was a talented communicator across several media platforms, including print, television, radio and photography.

Bourne was founder and host of the award-winning “Wired2Fish/Hunt Radio,” a syndicated fishing/hunting radio show that aired year-round throughout the U.S. on 280 stations. For the 16 consecutive years prior to that, he had hosted “In-Fisherman Radio” (north, south and west editions), the largest syndicated outdoor radio show in North America.

Bourne was a prolific writer, contributing more than 3,000 articles to many of the nation’s top outdoor magazines.

His long and successful career in outdoor journalism spanned both fishing and hunting. In addition to his position with Bassmaster, Bourne was editor-at-large for Ducks Unlimited Magazine.

He was the author of six books: Fishing Fundamentals, Fishing Made Easy, Fishing Basics, Ducks Unlimited Guide to Decoys and Proven Methods for Using Them, Ducks Unlimited Guide to Hunting Dabblers, Ultimate Turkey Hunting. Bourne hosted or co-hosted “Ducks Unlimited TV” for more than a decade. His other TV credits included “Advantage Outdoors TV” on The Nashville Network (TNN) and “Southern Outdoors TV” on ESPN2.

Bourne earned a BA degree in English from the University of Tennessee. He served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force after college before beginning his career in outdoors communications. In 2003, he was inducted into the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame. In 2005 he was inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame. He received the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in October 2014. And in 2016, he received the prestigious Homer Circle Fishing Communicator Award from the Professional Outdoor Media Association and the American Sportfishing Association.

An ardent conservationist, Bourne had a special passion for introducing young people to outdoor sports. He worried that too few children were not being exposed to nature. To help fulfill his goal of introducing more people to nature, leaders in his hometown of Clarksville, Tennessee, began construction of the Wade Bourne Nature City in Rotary Park in Clarksville, shortly after his death. Visitors to the center will be able to enjoy free access to permanent and temporary displays and participate in hands-on activities to learn more about the natural history of the nature park.
In dedicating the center to honor Bourne, Mayor Jim Durrett of Montgomery Country, Tennessee, said, “The Wade L. Bourne Nature Center will offer countless opportunities for our children, as well as our adults, to explore, educate and help sustain the great outdoors. It’s exactly what Wade did his whole life. He explored and stayed very active in conservation efforts, but his greatest gift was educating all of us, especially our children.”

VanDam is one of the most recognized names in bass fishing as the all-time money winner with B.A.S.S. (more than $6 million). His initials are the most-feared in bass fishing as KVD has won four of the 27 Bassmaster Classics in which he’s competed, has a record 25 B.A.S.S. wins and has seven Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles. He was the first-ever winner of ESPN’s “Outdoorsman of the Year” ESPY trophy. During only four years with the FLW Tour, he finished in the top 10 nearly 30 percent of the time, pocketed more than $370,000 in winnings and appeared in four Forrest Wood Cups. In addition to his fishing accomplishments, VanDam is a philanthropist through his KVD Foundation as well as contributions in the KVD Charity Classics with the Detroit Lions, Michigan hospitals, March of Dimes and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.