Penny Berryman

Penny Berryman (1958—2012)  – Penny Berryman was born to be a champion. Among her pre-fishing achievements, she was the first runner-up for Miss Kansas in the Miss USA Pageant. She was a competitive water skier for fifteen years, qualifying for the American Water Ski Association Championship three times and ranking 3rd in the nation when she set her sights on professional fishing in the early-1980s.

Considered a pioneer in women’s professional fishing, she reached many of the sports highest honors over a career that spanned nearly three decades. She qualified for more than 20 Women’s Pro Tour Classic World Championships, won the 1985 Bass N’ Gals Tournament of Champions, the 1987 Bass N’ Gals Georgia National, the 1989 Lady Bass Missouri National, the 1995 Bass N’Gals U.S. Invitational and became the 1992 Bass N’ Gals World Classic Champion. In Berryman’s eyes, her greatest accomplishment was winning the Bass N’ Gals Angler of the Year award in 1997. In later years, she earned four Top 10 finishes in the Bassmaster Women’s Tour.

For years Berryman was very active on fishing seminar stages around the country, using her vast experience and love of teaching and encouraging others to make her a fan favorite. She appeared on many television fishing shows including a stint as co-host of ESPN’s “Sportsman’s Challenge” outdoor competition series.

Berryman’s career was sidelined in 2008 when, at the age of 58, she was diagnosed with meningioma, which claimed her life 4 years later.

Penny is a member of the Bass Pro Shops “Living Legends of Fishing” and in 2004, was inducted into the Legends of the Outdoors National Hall of Fame. In 2014 she was posthumously inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, which was accepted by her husband, Dick Berryman, and daughter, Lisa Lowry.