A pioneer of professional fishing, a former Bassmaster Classic champion, a tournament industry leader and two longtime outdoor writers will be inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame at ceremonies during Bassmaster Classic week in Birmingham, Ala.
Added to the Hall of Fame are John Powell of Alabama, Irwin Jacobs of Minnesota, Tim Tucker of Florida, Woo Daves of Virginia and Steve Price of Louisiana. Powell and Tucker will be inducted posthumously. Inductees were selected by members of the Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame induction banquet will be held Tuesday, Feb. 16, in the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel adjacent to the Birmingham-Jefferson County Convention Center.
Kevin VanDam, five-time Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year, will give the keynote address, and each inductee or his representative will be given a chance to speak. Ticket prices have been reduced to $35 a plate to make the event accessible to more fishing fans, noted Sammy Lee, president of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.
Tickets must be purchased in advance, and can be obtained by calling 888-690-2277. Deadline for ticket purchases is Wednesday, Feb. 10.
The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring anglers, industry leaders and members of the media who have made a significant impact on the sport of bass fishing.
About the Inductees
John Powell of Montgomery, Ala., grew up in Elmore County, Ala., near Montgomery. After a 22-year career in the Air Force, Powell joined the new tournament circuit launched by BASS founder Ray Scott. He won several tournaments in the early years of BASS and was a popular educator in fishing seminars across the country. Powell died in 2007.
Woo Daves, Spring Grove, Va., won the 2000 Bassmaster Classic in Chicago. In all, he competed in 17 Classics, finishing among the Top 5 in six of those events. He also won four Bassmaster tournaments, including the 2002 New York Open. He was among the first pros to establish a close connection between NASCAR and bass fishing, establishing an annual charity tournament involving NASCAR legends and bass anglers in 1991 to benefit Super Kids, an organization serving the mentally challenged.
Irwin Jacobs of Minneapolis, Minn., owns FLW Outdoors and formerly owned Genmar Industries, at one time the world's largest privately held recreational boat builder. He formed FLW Outdoors (named after Ranger founder Forrest L. Wood) after purchasing Operation Bass in 1996. FLW made history by awarding the sport's first $1 million check to Scott Suggs of Arkansas, winner of the Forrest Wood Championship.
Steve Price, Mineola, Texas, has been a fulltime writer and photojournalist since 1973 and a writer/photographer for Bassmaster since 1974, selling more than 3,000 magazine articles, primarily about bass fishing, to a variety of national publications. He was a syndicated newspaper columnist for 10 years, a radio program producer/host and is the author of five books about bass fishing. An acclaimed photographer, Price was a finalist in the worldwide "Wildlife Photographer of the Year" competition sponsored by British Petroleum.
Tim Tucker, Cross Creek, Fla., was one of the country's most influential and widely published outdoor writers at the time of his death in an automobile accident in 2007. A senior writer for Bassmaster and BASS Times magazines, his work also appeared in numerous other magazines and newspapers. He was the author of eight books and won more than 100 awards for his writing and photography during his 25-year career as an outdoor journalist.