Forty years ago, B.A.S.S. first dipped its toe in television, and it briefly fell in over its head before learning to swim real fast.
The Bassmasters series pilot was produced to boost membership, aka Bassmaster Magazine subscribers, said B.A.S.S. senior editor Craig Lamb, who was involved in those first shows. Before committing to ad buys, potential non-endemic sponsors wanted the organization to meet their mark.
“Chevrolet was telling us for them to advertise in the magazine, we have to reach 500,000 in membership,” said Lamb, noting a 100,000 shortage. “Helen Sevier, with her background in direct marketing and TV, came up with a plan for B.A.S.S. to produce a one-off informercial.”
Lamb said the pilot was shipped to three networks, including The Nashville Network, which was already familiar with the sport. In 1984, Rick Clunn’s historic Classic victory was aired on TNN as another one-time special called, “The Bassmasters: The Winning Tradition.”
The B.A.S.S. team was surprised when TNN’s reaction to the pilot was that they wanted more, much more.
The Bassmasters series pilot
Dated Jan. 15, 1985, the half-hour pilot was basically a nuts-and-bolts primer, explaining the ground rules and aspects of the bass tournament scene. It featured B.A.S.S. founder Ray Scott telling the organization’s story and detailed Roland Martin’s 1984 tournament win on the Hudson River, among other facets of the sport.
With on-the-water action including boats runs, hooksets and catches, narrator Dick Schmitz opens:
“The Bassmasters. Pros and would-be pros. Amateurs, doctors, welders, car salesmen and farmers. The young and old. The experienced anglers and those just learning. Bass anglers fishing head-to-head in the fastest growing segment of America’s No. 1 participant sport, fishing. Not just fishing, but bass fishing.”
The show led to B.A.S.S. becoming fully immersed in the burgeoning cable television market. Lamb said TNN believed outdoor shows would fit into their country music and Southern U.S. programming.
“David Hall at TNN said instead of a one-off, we’re going to make a series out of it,” Lamb said. “He kind of took Helen and everybody else off guard.”
At first, Scott was hesitant to give the go-ahead — what did B.A.S.S. know about TV? Sevier conceived a business plan that convinced him to finally dive in.
Cobbling a show together
Lamb, on loan from Ranger Boats, was asked to help cobble together those first shows. Magazine editor Bob Cobb, who was Scott’s first employee, was dragged out from behind his desk, told by Sevier he has to make the show work.
It all started from scratch.
“We had one camera boat,” Lamb said. “It was Bob, me, a boat driver and a cameraman.
“It was difficult. The cameras were huge and heavy. We couldn’t get close to a lot of guys. I had a telescopic directional mic on a pushpole, but we’d have to get within 6 to 10 feet to get a soundbite. In rain, trash bags were our best friend.”
It was Cobb’s talents, from writing the script to his voice and delivery, that made the show, Lamb said. To this day, many say they still get chills when hearing the familiar Bassmaster music before Cobb’s authoritative voice begins weaving the stories.
“He would use that Bob Cobb-esque, ‘It’s Denny Brauer vs. Guido Hibdon,’” said Lamb, imitating him. “He would do what only Bob Cobb could do. To me, there’s nobody who could have done that better, give that spice.”
Cobb, a Bass Fishing Hall of Famer, made it must-see TV for bass fans, pushing his crew even though trying to cover the field was more miss than hit. Lamb said simply finding anglers was a chore, and then some waved them off.
Winning catches were rarely seen, but B.A.S.S. made modifications that helped move things along swimmingly. In 1986, tournament director Harold Sharp devised the MegaBucks tournament format, putting anglers in specific holes and allowing cameras to get up close and personal.
“His idea was specifically for the Bassmaster TV show,” Lamb said. “It was so we can get shots like Larry Nixon catching the 10-pounder.
“After that, most all the anglers said, ‘We get it.’ From then on, it was no problem getting cooperation from the anglers.”
Good content, good results
Although assistant tournament director and then associate editor with B.A.S.S., Lamb later moved home to Nashville to manage outdoor content for TNN.
“It was The Bassmasters that fundamentally started the franchise we called TNN Outdoors,” he said. “We literally only had that show and built an entire outdoor block around it — four hours on Saturday and two on Sunday.
“We got Bill Dance, Roland Martin, Orlando Wilson, Mark Sosin, a bunch of hunting shows, but it was all because of The Bassmasters.”
The Bassmasters aired on TNN for around 15 years, until 2000. It was always TNN’s highest Neilsen rated outdoors show, pulling 1.2 or 1.3 million viewers for every episode.
Lamb said it wasn’t long after the show started that B.A.S.S. met its initial intent. Membership increased and big companies advertised in the magazine, which had been the organization’s bread and butter.
“That show enabled the magazine to bring in Chevrolet, BP Oil, Kodak, Rubbermaid, the list went on and on,” he said. “All these non-endemics came on board as a result of that show going from that one-off informercial to a series.”
It was a point of pride for Lamb that Bassmaster Magazine rated well with Adweek, an advertising trade publication. It was regularly among the top 10 magazines, right alongside the likes of People.
“And it was tied to that show,” Lamb said. “The Bassmasters is what fueled the success of the magazine, and the entire organization, for that matter.”
The future of The Bassmasters
B.A.S.S. executive producer Mike McKinnis thinks Sevier’s move to get on board with TNN was brilliant. At that time, he was just diving into JM Associates, his father Jerry’s production company that took over Bassmaster TV for the past two decades.
“Those 20 years from 1980 to 2000, that was the perfect storm of cable TV, just because there was now so much more space,” he said. “Before there were three or four channels.
“Dad went down the road of ESPN. TNN was a really strong cable network then, too. It was the perfect storm for our niche to expand.”
Last year, Bassmaster TV produced almost 350 hours of live coverage, with much of it airing on FOXSports and FS1. It all arose from humble beginnings, and producers like McKinnis and his team are always looking for ways to improve.
“It feels like we’re at the ceiling almost, because we don’t miss anything unless it’s crazy weather or we can’t get service,” McKinnis said. “However, the amount of drone, and more ways to see the anglers, is always going to change and grow.”
McKinnis said the potential for growth is adding to the on-the-water cameras. Bassmaster LIVE premiered in 2015 with the advent of cameras that could send footage via cell service. B.A.S.S. now covers all 10 anglers who make the final rounds in Elites and Opens.
“Where we’re going to grow now is seeing the rest of the field, seeing 30 guys, 50, 100, but not with a handheld camera,” he said, noting technology like automated car backup cameras is in the works. “Somebody’s going to figure that out in the boat, and then we’re going to get to see what all the anglers are doing.”