Farewell To A Dear Friend And Great Bassing Legend

Thursday, March 3, 2005
by Ray Scott

So much defines bass-fishing legend Tom Mann, who died February in a Birmingham, Ala. hospital from complications following a second heart surgery. A big, sun-tanned 6'3" Tom was larger than life as they say. The son of an east Alabama farmer, fishing was always the focus of his life.

As the founder of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society and struggling to organize bass anglers in 1968, I received strong support and encouragement from my friend Tom Mann, already building a great reputation himself as a lure designer. As a matter of fact, he was the second person to enter my very first tournament at Beaver Lake in Arkansas in 1967.

He also had the respect of fellow bass anglers for his bass-catching feats on Lake Eufaula, the famous Chattahoochee River impoundment on the Alabama-Georgia border. The same year I started BASS, Tom was involved in seriously building up his growing lure business and relocated from Enterprise to the fishing mecca of Eufaula.

For those younger fishermen out there, it's hard to adequately describe the star quality of Tom Mann in the early days of BASS and the Bassmaster Tournament Trail. He, along with Bill Dance and Roland Martin, were a golden trio who helped define the modern bass angler.

Photo: ESPN Outdoors Tom Mann was one of the first bass superstars – he won two BASS Championships and qualified for the Classic eight times – and this trophy is for the 1972 Florida National bass tournament.

Of all his trademarks, Tom Mann was perhaps most proud of his American Indian heritage as a descendent of the Cherokee tribe. From his youth, he was a born natural in the outdoors.

Tom grew up in a hard-working farm family of four boys and four girls. Sunup to sundown in the fields didn't allow much chance for fishing, but if it rained and the fields were too wet to work, Tom earned a break to fish. In later years Tom admitted he would pray for an early morning thundercloud and the hope of rain so he could dig a can of earthworms and hike to the creek and try to catch "a mess of catfish."

For young Tom Mann, fishing tackle was homemade. He fashioned fishhooks from his mother's straight pins and used her sewing thread as fishing line. For a pole he cut cane or an elder-tree limb. This early-day homemade tackle later put Tom Mann on the path to fame and fortune.

From an ad in the back of a fishing magazine, Tom ordered $5 worth of fish hooks and polar bear hair and began crafting bear-hair jigs, a lure he later sold out of his car trunk or at mom-and-pop tackle shops. The demand overcame his production, and his childhood sweetheart and wife Ann took to painting the jigheads on the kitchen table as Tom wrapped the hair jigs.

In the late 1960s, the plastic worm was the hot lure of the day. More of the early-day BASS tournament were won with the plastic worm than any other lure. The fake wigglers came in basic colors of red, purple and blue. Tom's introduction of the Jelly Worm changed the bassman's thinking.

At Ann's suggestion, Tom produced his plastic worm in flavor-scents. The Jelly worm would be produced in 15 flavors such as strawberry, grape, watermelon, blackberry, blueberry, etc. Tom's Jelly Worms featured a soft texture and the cooked-in flavor anglers believed held bass onto the lure much longer than the rubber-hard, non-scented worms of the day.

Tom will also be remembered as the creator of the Little George tailspinner. It is to this day rated as one of the all-time deadly bass lures. During the '60s, when Tom Mann wore a game and fish uniform for the Alabama Department of Conservation, the No. 1 man in the statehouse in Montgomery was the legendary George C. Wallace. It was from the "state boss" that the legendary Little George earned its name.

Tom's entrepreneurial spirit never diminished and he was full of "projects" when he checked into the hospital in February. He was always full of ideas – a better idea-man than businessman however. He spent lots of time and money promoting fishing for kids and he was extremely generous to friends in need. When he died, he left behind an incredible fishing legacy, but far from a financial empire.

Maybe Tom defined himself best in his very own words in a song he wrote not long ago. Shortly before he died, he presented me with a recording he had made titled "Cherokee." The words were his, put to music and sung by his favorite musical group Homeland (out of Birmingham).

These fine men came to Tom's memorial service in Eufaula to perform, and allowed us to distribute a memorial recording to all who came to pay tribute. Cherokee is uncomplicated, heartfelt and down-to-earth. Here's Tom Mann in his own words:

I was born a warrior from the hills of Alabama
I met a lot of people who made me who I am
I learned to shoot an arrow at an early age
I learned to shoot a rifle in the forest and the sage
I roamed through the woodlands happy as could be
Swimmin' holes, fishin' poles and a dog named Cherokee

One day I met a paleface, she was oh so heavenly
I called her my white dove, she called me Cherokee
We loved to view the mountains, we loved the clear blue skies
We loved the ripplin' waters, we loved the Eagle's cries
Lord knows we were happy, happy as could be with
Swimmin' holes, fishin' poles and a dog named Cherokee

In 1967 we hit fortune and fame
From the depths of Southern waters, we became a household name
I built her a mansion and bought her fancy pearls
But all she ever wanted was to be my country girl
We loved to view the mountains, we loved the clear blue skies
We loved the ripplin' waters, we loved the Eagle's cries
Lord knows we were happy, happy as could be with
Swimmin' holes, fishin' poles and a dog named Cherokee

When I leave this old world, may the Good Lord be so kind
To let my soaring spirit travel through that home of mine
Let me view the mountains, let me see the clear blue skies
Hear the rippling waters, and hear the eagle's cries
We loved to view the mountains, we loved the clear blue skies
We loved the ripplin' waters, we loved the Eagle's cries
Lord knows we were happy, happy as could be with
Swimmin' holes, fishin' poles and a dog named Cherokee

Good-bye Tom Mann. We'll miss you "Chief." May the Great Spirit welcome a Cherokee warrior home.

(Editor's note: Those who would like a copy of the Memorial Recording of Cherokee and to make a contribution to the Tom Mann Memorial Fund, please call the Mann family at (334) 687-3654.)