Ever since he created the FLW Tour in 1996, Irwin Jacobs has been a lightning rod in bass fishing. In fact, he seems to be a guy some people actually want to dislike.

One reason for that is that he isn't scared of controversy -- and news of controversy, like bad news, travels fast. Another reason is that, just like Ray Scott had a vision for B.A.S.S., Jacobs has a vision for Operation Bass (now FLW Outdoors) that he has relentlessly pursued.

While his pursuit of that vision has ruffled feathers, it also has brought numerous benefits to bass fishing. A few of these are bigger purses, involvement of non-endemic ("corporate") sponsors, better bass fishing TV, and -- not least -- competition for B.A.S.S.

A well-known business phrase is: "Competition is a lot like cod liver oil. First it makes you sick, then it makes you better." Virtually everyone will agree that the competition created by Jacobs and FLW has been healthy for the sport.

Certainly Jacobs' involvement in bass fishing, whether competitive or not, has made bass fishing better -- for pros, the industry and fans. No one, not even his biggest detractors, argues that.

As BassFans will see in the following multi-part interview, Jacobs appears to favor an "a rising tide floats all boats" approach to the sport. And if that tide floats more of his boats than others, so much the better.

Background Info

Before getting into the interview, here are a few things you might not know about Jacobs:

> He owns Genmar, the world's largest boat manufacturer. The company has roughly 7,000 employees who build and sell 16 brands (including Ranger) and 400-plus models of boats. Anticipated 2001 sales were $1 billion.

> He also owns businesses involved with direct marketing (Watkins, Inc.), close-out and return merchandising (Jacobs Trading Co.) and franchising. He is a former owner of the Minnesota Vikings and at one time was involved in various sporting goods companies.

> Jacobs has a reputation of having made much of his money in the 1980s as a "corporate raider." To that he says, "I made lot of money in the '80s, but I was building all of my businesses during that time." While the media made it sound like he was just buying and selling stocks, Jacobs says he had his eyes on the future. For example, his boat companies came together during the '80s.

> Is he a billionaire? He won't say, but all of his money is self-made. A native Minnesotan and first generation American, he grew up from modest means, peddling items with his father. His business acumen evolved from there.

> Jacobs went to college for three days. "Only because my parents drove me crazy," he says. After that he was back at work. He tells everyone he attended MIT -- the "Minnesota Institute of Trucking."

> He grew up cane-pole fishing with his father. "My dad couldn't fish with a rod and reel. He always got it tangled up. But he had cane poles in the truck. We would take a break, catch some fish and cook them at a local restaurant. I never stopped fishing," Jacobs says. He notes that he has since graduated from cane poles.

Interview Notes

Jacobs was not given any questions beforehand. BassFan.com publisher Jay Kumar conducted the interview and says that Jacobs "came across as candid and passionate about the sport."

Whether you agree is of course up to you. But one thing's for sure: BassFans will find this interview enlightening.

In it Jacobs discusses ESPN, his run-ins with Jeff Coble and Rick Clunn, why he created the FLW Tour, why FLW Outdoors moved from ESPN to PAX-TV, the state of the bass boat market and much more -- all presented raw, just like you would expect from BassFan.com.

(Note: Because the interview is long, it will run as a daily series. The first part follows.)

BassFan.com: Despite the numerous things you and Operation Bass (FLW Outdoors) have done to improve the sport of bass fishing, you remain a lightning rod in this industry. Why do you think that is?

Jacobs: Lightning rod in what sense?

BassFan.com: Anytime anyone says anything bad about FLW, usually you're mentioned.

Jacobs: It's almost better for other people to answer that. But I'll share this with you: I had a very, very close friend who was 80-some years old, a very successful businessman who after my father passed away was kind of my surrogate father. I used to call him every Monday morning -- he ran a major U.S. corporation and he was in his 80s at the time. (Editor's Note: This was Cal Turner Sr., who founded Dollar General stores.) Once I was having a very down day based on something that happened, and he said, "Something's wrong with you. What's the matter?" I said to him that I was really down because of this situation, where someone had let me down for no good reason at all. And he said to me, "You know, you're going to have to learn something, Irwin. In life you'll be forgiven for just about anything except one thing: Society will never forgive you for being successful."

I said, "I don't know what you mean." I grew up from very humble beginnings, not with a silver spoon in my mouth, and he grew up in a similar way. He said, "You can't forget your beginnings, particularly when they're humble. But more important than that, you have to be sensitive to the fact that people who are looking at you from a different perspective sometimes just don't like to see success. They'd rather see themselves be successful."

Does that answer your question? Probably not, but I know how hard I have worked. I had a vision for what I wanted to see happen in competitive fishing, and my objective was to sell more boats. That's why I got into it. It was not because I wanted to be a tournament director. That was not my ambition in life, nor is it today.

(Jacobs notes that FLW Tour title sponsor Wal-Mart also gets "picked on" for various things.) We talk to one another and say, "Hey, it goes with the territory." So when you say people pick on me for (things) -- again, I can't sit here and defend other people's views of me or someone else. They have their rights. It would be interesting to think about if there was no Operation Bass. What would fishing be like today?

- End of part 1 (of 5) -