Bass Fishing Hall of Fame

06/08/2026

The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame has learned that Harold Allen, a 2015 inductee and member of the famed Hemphill Gang, is battling an aggressive form of cancer and would ask that you keep him and his family in your thoughts.

Known across the sport as “The Legend,” Allen helped shape professional bass fishing as we know it today from his home base in east Texas. Alongside fellow Hall of Famers Larry Nixon, Rick Clunn and Tommy Martin, among others, Allen was one cog in the Hemphill Gang that used Toledo Bend Reservoir as the backdrop to develop techniques and innovations that helped shape modern competitive bass fishing. Allen’s specialty has always been deep water structure and he was known as a great soft-plastic worm angler. He competed in 264 Bassmaster events and made 15 Bassmaster Classic appearances.

Beyond statistics and accomplishments, though, Allen earned the respect of his peers through his professionalism, humility, and unwavering passion for the sport. Allen is an indomitable character who has impacted countless people either on guided fishing trips, on the tournament trails or just amongst friends and acquaintances.

If you’ve got a story to share about your experience with Allen, feel free to drop it below.

06/08/2026

HOF Merch available today.

06/01/2026

🚨 LIMITED-TIME PREORDER 🚨
WEAR THE HALL
Official Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Merchandise
Pre-Order by June 7 🎣🧢👕

The official Bass Fishing Hall of Fame merchandise store is now open!

Grab your Hall of Fame gear before the store closes on June 7:

✔️ Premium T-Shirts
✔️ Embroidered Hats
✔️ Official Hall of Fame Logo Merch

Don't miss your chance to own exclusive BFHOF apparel while supporting the organization that preserves and celebrates bass fishing's greatest pioneers.

📦 Orders ship the week of June 16.

Order now before it's gone!

The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization led by a volunteer board of directors and is dedicated to celebrating, promoting and preserving the sport of bass fishing.

05/22/2026

🇺🇸🎣🇺🇸We’re loving being at the ACA College National Championship at Pickwick — and what a timely honor here on Memorial Day Weekend to meet the team from West Point.

05/12/2026

Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Class of 2026 spotlight – Rick Pierce

A driving force within the performance boat industry, Pierce has spent decades advancing hull design, manufacturing quality, and angler focused engineering while at the helm of Bass Cat Boats, a company his parents Ron and Jan Pierce founded in 1971.

Pierce helped establish Bass Cat as a leading brand in the category, winning numerous awards from the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) for its innovations.

Among the innovations that are now commonplace are larger fuel tanks, interior storage lighting, digital dashes, the pivot trailer tongue and most notably the recessed trolling motor pedal.

In 2000, Bass Cat integrated full fiberglass construction to better handle the stresses of tournament fishing and Pierce partnered with brands, including Mercury, Yamaha, Lowrance, Humminbird, and Minn Kota to improve consumer offerings and change the bass boat industry for the better.

05/06/2026

Raise your hand if you're in favor of bringing back old school jackets like this one Larry Nixon received 42 years ago at the 1984 Bassmaster Classic.

It's on display at the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame located inside Wonders of Wildlife in Springfield, MO.

04/30/2026

Let’s throw it back on this Thursday to 1959 when Life Magazine, featuring Marilyn Monroe on the cover, published a story titled “The Lure Fish Can’t Pass Up” about the Finland-based Rapala Minnow – launching its popularity to a point demand exceeded supply in the USA, and ultimately led to the wildly impressive success of the Rapala brand today.

See many more cool stories and artifacts like this at the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame inside Wonders of Wildlife Museum in Springfield, MO.

04/21/2026

04/21/2026

BFHoF Class of 2026 spotlight -- Mike Whitaker

As the founding father of Operation Bass and the Red Man Tournament Trail, Mike Whitaker created accessible opportunities and set new standards for professionalism and sponsorship, for countless working-class weekend tournament anglers to pursue their dreams.

Operation Bass was born in 1979. Through a partnership with Pinkerton To***co Company in 1983, the Red Man Tournament Trail was launched, offering anglers a competitive circuit with affordable entry fees and a clear path to the prestigious All-American Championship, where anglers could compete for substantial cash prizes.

The inaugural All-American at Kentucky Lake paid $50,000 to the winner. A year later, Shaw Grigsby won the sport’s first $100,000 tournament paycheck for winning the All-American at Florida's Kissimmee Chain of Lakes.

Mike Whitaker was adept at securing non-endemic sponsorships, bringing companies outside the fishing industry into the fold and elevating the sport's visibility and financial viability.

In 1996, Whitaker sold Operation Bass to Minneapolis business mogul Irwin Jacobs, who expanded its reach and renamed it FLW Outdoors.

Waterbug Bait Company