“Hooked on bass fishing since 1776.”
That was the first tagline that popped into my head when we decided the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary would be a focus for our company this year. It made me chuckle, mostly because I could picture George Washington standing in a dugout canoe arguing with Thomas Jefferson about whether to throw a topwater or a jig. I sense George was a jig guy.
But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense: Bass fishing is uniquely American.
Not just because the fish are native to our country. Not just because the tournaments, the gear, the culture and the characters all feel distinctly homegrown. But because the very spirit of bass fishing mirrors the spirit of this country: independent, inventive, stubborn, optimistic, sometimes frustrating and built by regular folks who decided to do something a little better than it had ever been done before.
No one handed bass fishing to us. It wasn’t passed down as a polished, finished tradition (no offense to the fly-fishing crowd). It was carved, shaped and refined by our country’s anglers, garage tinkerers, boat manufacturers, lure designers, rod builders and dreamers who thought, “I bet I can make this work.” I know Ray Scott said those exact words.
So, as B.A.S.S. joins the nation in celebrating America250 throughout the year at our events, in our coverage and in our storytelling, we wanted to highlight the people who represent that connection best. Not the household names. Not the Elite Series pros you recognize from the weigh-in stage. We want to focus on the people behind the scenes. The hands that literally shape the sport.
That idea became a new feature series you’ll see throughout the year. The concept is simple: Ordinary people, extraordinary impact. In the last issue of Bassmaster, we told the story of Mark Hanson, a hydro technician for Mercury Marine who, for the past 35 years, has helped shape modern bass boat performance.
By lifting up the “everyman,” we want to connect with members who can see themselves in these innovators. These are people who started where most of us started — standing on a bank, sitting on a dock, fishing out of a boat that cost less than today’s high-end rods — and through craft, creativity and grit, built something that made the sport better for all of us.
This brings us to Andrew Gardner.
Gardner is a master woodcarver. He doesn’t have a background in engineering or marketing. What he has is a knife, a supply of wood and an eye for detail that borders on obsession. As you’ll read on page 22 of the March issue of Bassmaster Magazine, Gardner’s is not a corporate origin story. This is a guy who loves bass fishing, is wickedly creative and who found a way to let those two passions collide (take a gander at the issue’s cover to get a sense of his work). Similar collisions flow throughout our industry, and we hope to share as many of these stories as we can.
There is no doubt the American Dream looks a little different to everyone. Hanson’s dream revolved around wrenches. Gardner’s is covered with wood shavings. What really matters is that in this country — and in our industry — when passion meets effort, that dream can be caught.