Carl Dyess
The First B.A.S.S Champ

Photo: Ray Scott Outdoors Carl Dyess won the first official B.A.S.S. tournament at Lake Seminole in February of l968. He was also among the Tennessee contingent of outstanding anglers who competed in Ray Scott's first professional bass fishing tournament at Beaver Lake in 1967.

No 40th anniversary of BASS can pass without recognizing the winner of the very first official BASS tournament at Lake Seminole in February of 1968.

Even bass-trivia experts get a little confused with the "first bass tournament winner" category because although the late Stan Sloan did indeed win my first tournament at Beaver Lake in l967, that event was a Ray Scott tournament. It would be another 8 months before I incorporated BASS and held my first official BASS tournament at Lake Seminole on the Florida/Georgia border.

The winner of that tournament was one Carl Dyess, a rough-cut former paratrooper and native-born Alabamian – short and tough as a slip sinker. He had made his home in Memphis in l967 when I was rustling up anglers for my first professional bass tournament. His passion for bass fishing was about as big as his heart – and his raucous sense of humor.

He was one of the Tennessee gang that heeded the call to Beaver Lake, along with the likes of Bill Dance, Stan Sloan, Clyde Harbin and Charles Spence. As a matter of fact, when I called the local marinas in Memphis to get names of good anglers, two always came up – Bill Dance and Carl Dyess.

Thanks to Bob Cobb, then the outdoor editor of the Tulsa Tribune, a friendly grudge match was generated in his column between the Memphis anglers and the Tulsa anglers led by my soon-to-be dear friend and supporter (and first member of BASS) Don Butler. Together, the Memphis and Tulsa anglers made fishing history.

Carl was raring to go like the l05 other angler/pioneers who paid a whopping $l00 (compared to $2 fishing derbies) to fish a national, professionally run competition with a grand prize of $2,000 and a trip to Acapulco. It was like nothing anyone had ever seen, and even though I was feeling my way along, it all went well.

One thing was for sure, the anglers came out of the woodwork – from 13 states and from every stratum of society. They were proud, they were determined, and each one was convinced he was certainly good enough to win back his entry fee, if not capture the big prize.

Carl made his own fishing history at Beaver Lake when he caught five bass in three casts. You heard right. He made a cast using a beat-up old Lucky l2 lure and caught a bass. He cast again and two bass promptly jumped on the hooks and Carl landed them both. When he cast the Lucky l3 yet once again, two more bass jumped on.

Carl was in hawg heaven. He found his place in the sun when he placed sixth at Beaver Lake then third at my following Dixie Invitational at Smith Lake and then walked away with the first BASS championship at Seminole only 4 months later.

He had the bass bug bad. When I held my first Lake Eufaula BASS tournament, also in l968, he pulled out all the stops. The fishing was incredible. Eufaula was hot. No one had seen such a sight. Guys were pulling out 6-, 8-, and l0-pound bass. It was a blowout.

Carl called his wife. "Honey, I ain't coming home. Grab the boys come on down here!" And his family moved to Eufaula where he guided for several years.

A few years ago, I asked Carl about his trophies, especially the first BASS trophy for Seminole, hoping he might donate it to my historical collection. "Don't have it no more, Ray. Don't have any of them any more. My wife took a baseball bat to all of them – nothing left." And he laughed his big, deep laugh.

The bass world will remember Carl Dyess as the first winner of a BASS tournament. Ray Scott will remember Carl Dyess as one of the most faithful of friends to me and to BASS. Few did more to promote BASS on his own initiative. I'll never know how many anglers he brought to the fold, starting with that first tournament.

On the 25th anniversary festivities and tournament at Beaver Lake, he was there front and center. And in 2001 he came to my fund-raising Eagles of Angling Seniors Tournament on my private lake where we raised over $l00,000 for our little public school here in the country. Carl was there to fish and as usual, he brought friends with him.

Carl is a giver. He always had time to share his knowledge and expertise and time for his fellow anglers. And he always had time for BASS and for Ray Scott

Carl, I love ya' man.

To read more about the inspiring story of Ray Scott and the multi-billion-dollar sportfishing industry he created, order Robert Boyle's 368-page biography, Bass Boss, at www.RayScott.net, or call (800) 518-7222.