Legendary Western angler Mike Folkestad, electronics innovator Darrell Lowrance and renowned guide, educator and lodge owner Jack Wingate have been elected to the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. The trio will be inducted during a ceremony on Feb. 24, 2013 at the Hilton Doubletree Hotel in Tulsa, Okla.
Folkestad is one of only two anglers who've won the WON Bass U.S. Open three times (Aaron Martens is the other). He's claimed titles on all major Western circuits, holds the record for the lowest winning weight in a Bassmaster Invitational (14-10 at Florida's Harris Chain in 1992) and set a 1-day weight record at Lake Havasu in 2010 (26.63). He's made one appearance each in the Bassmaster Classic and Forrest Wood Cup.
Lowrance, along with his father, Carl, and brother, Arlen, set out to design a portable electronic device that would help fishermen and boaters determine depth of the bottom and other underwater objects. The famous ‘Little Green Box’ was introduced in 1959, and it revolutionized bass fishing. As president and CEO of the Lowrance company, he was responsible for many breakthroughs in marine electronics, including the first sonars capable of high-speed performance (1965), the first graph recorder (1974), the first integrated sonar/GPS unit (1995) and many others. During 1983-84, he served as president of the American Fishing Tackle Manufacturer’s Association (AFTMA), and was also a director of the National Association of Marine Products and Services in 1989. He retired in 2007 following the company’s acquisition by Navico.
Wingate, who died earlier this year, supplied the names of many bass anglers who fished Ray Scott’s first tournament in 1967. He competed in several of Scott’s early events and soon decided that he could make a living for himself and his family by guiding and teaching fishing. As the long-time owner of Wingate’s Lunker Lodge, as well as a popular fishing guide on Lake Seminole, he helped promote both tournament and recreational bass fishing in its formative years. For more than 33 years he operated a summer camp on Seminole for youngsters, where he taught them the basics of fishing and outdoor appreciation.
“Expectations are high for the Tulsa Classic, and we’ll be going all out this year to make the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame induction dinner one of the highlight events of the weekend,” said BFHOF president Sammy Lee. “Along with our program to recognize the new inductees, we’ll again bring back our exceptional silent auction featuring bucket-list fishing trips, premium rods and reels, hunting gear and special fishing celebrity memorabilia.”
