Ray Scott, the founder of BASS and face of the organization throughout its entire existence, has yet to go public with his thoughts about the proposed sale.

Good news: BassFan caught up Scott, who's been traveling, and asked him a pretty simple question: What are your thoughts on the news?

Scott never needs much of a springboard, and one simple question launched him into a half-hour discussion on the subject.

Clearly, Scott has a deep emotional investment in the organization. Just as clear: He's emotionally fired up and excited about the proposed sale. In his eyes, BASS will be sold to a perfect trio – three men who're passionate bass anglers and savvy businessmen.

The summary of that conversation appears below in Q&A format.



BassFan: All right Ray, the news has been out for the better part of a week now. What do you think?

Scott: I'm going to tell you the truth. The bottom line is I'm excited. And I'm hopeful. I'm just feeling very high about this whole matter. And what excites me most about this whole transition are the people who are buying it. All three love bass fishing. And I know that BASS is and has always been more than just tournaments.

There's a passion there in the BASS membership and this thrills the heck out of me. All the BassFans know how I feel about passion: There's no real success without it.

You know Jerry – he was there at the very beginning in Arkansas when you held your first two events. What about Logan and Copeland? Do you know them?

I know Don and Jerry. I don't know Jim. I fished with Don some years ago. He's a darn good fisherman – better than pretty good, actually.

But I do know these guys are all geniuses in their own areas. Jerry's the video-production man, and what a good one he is and is going to be. And Don with his multimedia background and Jim as a numbers man – it's a heck of a team. Best of all, all three are dedicated, diehard, died-in-the-wool bass anglers. I think that's remarkable.



ESPN Outdoors
Photo: ESPN Outdoors

Two things Scott would like to see from a new BASS are a dedication to youth and a fight against the antis.

Are you saying that ESPN didn't necessarily have that type of passion?

I'm not going to badmouth ESPN. They're great at what they do, and what they'll continue to do. I have a great respect for them and an enormous respect for their president George Bodenheimer. I did my research and he started out in the bottom of the building. He's a self-made American success story himself.

But I feel when this whole thing went down years ago, I don't think ESPN knew what to do with BASS. Not that they didn't want to know. We just didn't fit their template. Tournament coverage and TV production – yes. But the rest? They didn't quite get their hands around it.

We've seen over the years that BASS members are doers, not just viewers. They're action-oriented. They want to feel a part of something that's moving upward. And a membership organization is really just a different animal if you think about it. You have to build an intimacy in the membership.

It's easy to resent and pile on the big corporation – it's just a knee-jerk reaction. Jerry McKinnis pointed that out in his interview with you.

What's something you'd first like to see the new BASS do?

What I'd like to see – I tried to do this with Helen (Sevier) but was never quite successful with her – is a dadgum BASS decal on the back of every bass angler's car in America. There was a time when you couldn't drive across town without seeing one. And to tell the truth, I haven't seen many lately.

I also want to see this ownership do what's right with conservation and the Federation (Nation) programs. That's what sets BASS apart from being just another fishing club. Those two things are the heart and soul of BASS, in my opinion.

Folks out there want and need to be a part of something bigger than just themselves. They want to be a part of an army, a movement, whatever you want to call it. I want to see them rebuild that sense. The members are begging for it. But we as BASS members have our work cut out for us.

Jerry McKinnis also told us that BASS must be about more than just tournaments.

Two things. If we don't get kids fishing, we won't have a future as an organization. I'm absolutely convinced we have to do that, and we have to work through the clubs – the Federation program. They've done a good job when asked to do it, with CastingKids and a host of other things.

Second, there are people out there who'd like to ban, or severely restrict or control fishing. As individuals, we're not going to be heard. But united, we can get people to put their ears on and listen.

It's interesting that McKinnis, in his interview with BassFan, mentioned a conversation he had with you and Glen Andrews at Table Rock in Arkansas before BASS was even founded. It was about how far this whole bass-fishing thing could go. Now Jerry has come full-circle and will be part-owner of the empire you helped build.

I prayed to God every night since I heard this news. These three owners – you couldn't have scrounged around the world and found three better people than who we got. I'm serious about that. And I go back with Jerry a heck of a long way.

Next week, as a matter of fact, I'll be in Nashville at the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame. Glen Andrews is going to be entered this year.

When I went out to Beaver Lake for my first tournament, I didn't know my butt from first base. In the middle of that environment was Glen. He's been in a few tournaments – he was one of the guys who played the game. But it was for relatively small change and mostly in that area of Missouri, Arkansas and a little bit of Oklahoma.

When the dust settled from those fairly poorly administered affairs, Glen won more than anybody. He was the top gun. And here I am in Arkansas trying to figure out what I was going to do. I met Glen and picked his brain about how to compose the rules. He complained to me that Hy Peskin, in the middle of a tournament, had changed the rules, and that accommodated the guy who wanted the change. It didn't do Glen any good, and it was a sloppy deal.

Glen just harped over that as we sat in the Holiday Inn, and the first rule I ever wrote was: The rules of this tournament will not be changed. He was very helpful to me and was always there for advice.

Do you remember the meeting between yourself, McKinnis and Andrews that McKinnis referenced?

I do remember that up on Table Rock – he, Glen and I. I didn't know Jerry at the time, other than he had a little TV show in Little Rock. But I remember sitting by a fire, talking and dreaming about what could be.

Here I was working my butt off trying to put an organization together. We were talking about this and that. After that I did my first tournament in June, then another one in October, and in January I announced BASS. The first member was Don Butler and off we go.

I'll tell you, I'm just thrilled for this. I'm healthy, and I want to be a part of it any way I can to help put BASS back into four-wheel traction. I know it can happen. It's been sleeping, waiting for this new movement to come. I know it can happen.

Really, I'm high on this thing. I think BASS can look at its greatest days ahead if things work out like they should. It was over 40 years ago when that meeting happened, and to be honest, the fire in my heart right now is as hot as it was when we sat around that campfire dreaming.

Let's face it: I think ESPN did the best they could. But again it was a square peg in a round hole. They're extraordinarily great at TV production, and will continue to be. But the other things were just not quite there.

I use the term spiritual. The spiritual fiber needs to be regenerated. People need to be proud to have a BASS decal on the back of their truck or car. It's a badge of honor. There's a spiritual element of BASS membership that's a fire in your heart. I had it in 1967 and I have it right now.

I think for a lot of people, that's been a little bit suppressed in recent years. But I think the three men who'll own this company will agree with what I say right now: There are so many opportunities when you have a powerful, vocal group who are defending the rights and responsibilities for their particular sport – the fish and the environment.

I'm excited about it, and I'll again go back to what I said. We could have some jerkwad with a pocketful of money come in and buy BASS, but we got the three best men possible. I think it's a miracle from God. I really do.

Notable

> To read BassFan's interview with Jerry McKinnis, referenced in this above story, click here.