Jim Liner at Ray Scott Outdoors passed along the sad news that T.J. Stallings, the director of marketing for TTI Blakemore Fishing group and co-founder of Crappie Now online magazine, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer.
Stallings had a long career in the fishing industry that started when he was still a teenager. He went on to hold positions with Shimano, Bass-Assassin and Hildebrandt. Concepts he developed resulted in Daiichi's Bleeding Bait hooks, which marked the launch of the red-hook phenomenon.
To read a heartfelt tribute to Stallings from Ken Duke at Fishing Tackle Retailer, click here.