Honey Hole | End of an Era

TFF,

Today, we come to you with mixed emotions as we announce the end of an era. After the 2023 show season, Dirk will be retiring, bringing to a close the chapter of Honey Hole All Outdoors.

We want to take this moment to reflect on the incredible journey Honey Hole has taken us on since its inception. For nearly four decades, this show has been a cornerstone of the Texas fishing community, and we've been privileged to be a part of it for the past decade. We owe a profound debt of gratitude to Jerry Dean and all the passionate individuals who have been involved in the magazine and show since 1986.

A special thank you goes to Randall Boyd for his unwavering dedication in keeping the show moving forward. We appreciate him for entrusting us with the opportunity to continue this legacy.

Lastly, our heartfelt appreciation goes out to Bill and Dirk. It's hard to put into words the admiration we have for their remarkable body of work spanning over two decades. Their dedication, countless shows, and thousands of hours of content have enriched the lives of countless viewers. We all owe them a tremendous thank you.

As we move forward, we are committed to finding ways to keep the Honey Hole All Outdoors content accessible for purchase and ensuring continued access to the show. For now, we simply want to express our gratitude to all the viewers and fans who have been a part of this journey. It's been our privilege to play a small role in this incredible community.

In the coming months, we will continue to share more details about our plans for the future. We encourage you to share your memories, stories, and favorite moments from the show. Together, we can ensure that the spirit of Honey Hole lives on.

With heartfelt thanks,

Mark & Keith

Loved me some Honey Hole over the years. Ty Bill and others. Always appreciated all you shared.

Thank you for all the shows and content that you and the teams have produced. This can't be the end of this, we will need this to live on in some manner. Hopefully, the future brings more for the next generations.

We appreciate all that Honey Hole has done for the fishing community and to those around it.

Thank you all for the great shows and memories. It's a true Texas classic.

Late 80's, I'm a broke college student in Lubbock. Took my dirty clothes to a hole in wall washateria (aren't they all) and sat down for the next 1 1/2 hours to get through the cycles. The only things to do while waiting for your clothes to finish are either read a book or stare at your fellow unfortunates and I sure as heck didn't bring my college books to read. I sat down in an open seat against the wall, resigned to my torture session and there were 3 old magazines on the counter. Only magazines in the whole place....and they were Honey Holes! I would have enjoyed Readers Digest at that point but for it to be Honey Holes was a miracle. Great magazine and show over the years. Certainly turned a miserable outing into a good one for me.

Man I grew up watching this show..... It will be missed for sure!

Memories...

I didn't get to enjoy HH as long as many of you, but it did play a role in me learning my home lake. Moved to TX in 2019. When I learned of our great escape to TX becoming a reality, I started talking with folks, scouring the net for all things TX, etc. I stumbled upon Honey Hole Outdoors. I watched a few free episodes, then ordered the Ray Roberts videos. I felt like I was in the boat with Bill Wilcox. He didn't sell you on anything, was open to sharing, and seemed down right genuine.

Flash forward to 2021, I think it was just after COVID passed, and Fun N Sun had their show. I'm walking through the aisles and see an Epic Baits booth. Make my way in and who do I see? None other than Bill. I introduced myself, chatted fishing for a few, thanked him for his time. I don't think Bill met a stranger. He was the same with me as everyone else in there.

I got to go fishing with Bill and TFF Casey after winning a raffle many years back. The stories Bill shared on that day about his early days guiding on Ray Roberts were entertaining to say the least. Honey Hole with Bill and Honey Hole with Jerry Dean were always good and filled with valuable information. Best of luck to Dirk and thanks to Mark and sponsors that invested toward the continuation of the series.

Me too, got a DVR full of shows when it was on KDFI and then followed a few more years when they went off over the air tv to youtube

I ran into Jerry Dean many times at the boat ramp on Monticello in years past. He will be missed.

Bill Wilcox is a great guy and one heck of an angler. Best of luck to all the Honey Hole Crew!!

Hate to hear that

I recently found these while going through some fishing stuff

It was a great ride while it lasted. Best of luck to all the Honey Hole Crew! Thanks for the entertainment for all those years.

I enjoyed fishing the Couple of Honey Hole Top 6 tournaments that I was able to fish.

Thanks for the memories Jerry, Bill, & the Honey Hole team!

I really enjoyed watching every episode. I would like to share a boat with Bill. Always had a smile and positive attitude. Hope you find a way to keep it going.

I met Bill a few times and he is as good as they come. Over the years I would see him fishing tournaments and get to chat with him. He is always approachable and easy to talk too. Thank you, Honey Hole, for the childhood memories and memories watching Honey Hole on TV with my son.

Honey Hole helped introduce me to fishing in Texas. Thanks to Bill, Mark, Dirk and everyone who helped keep it on the air. It will be missed

Thanks everyone for the kind words and the stories. Keep them coming.

These maps run down memory lane for me.

I would watch the show and glean as much as I could from Jerry & whoever his guest was for the week.

Jerry & Deborah were the nicest people and always willing to help.

I met Bill at the ramp at Lake Roberts several times. I credit him for the reason that I caught bass.

Funny story. My wife was watching TV and saw Honey Hole come up as recently watched show. She questioned me about watching Porn. I told her yes, I was watching porn... fish porn.

I was fortunate enough to film a show with Jerry and Bill. Fished with Jerry over 25 years ago I believe. Lol. The whole Honey Hole staff has always been top notch. I like a few others had a funny story wit HH. I typed in Honey Hole.com on my computer years ago. Next thing I know I've got all kinds of porn pics popping up on my computer. LMAO. Their will never be a TV show like Honey Hole ever again. Great job guys. Enjoy your time off. It's well deserved.

Stogie - Those were some great maps and I still somewhere at my place have the video Hollice Joiner did going around Fork talking about the spots listed.
I ran into Jerry in the back of Monticello Cove on Bob Sandlin and just as we met to pass each other he took quite a while to visit and see how I was doing and we had a really great conversation. Not too much later I was helping out in a booth at a boat and tackle show and it ended up being right next to the Honey Hole booth and was such a great time getting to really know Jerry and the awesome Deborah Dean and how she told one girlfried of a young man who was ate up with bass fishing. She asked Deborah what she thought when her man said he was heading off to go fishing. Deborah looked at her and said "Honey, when my man say's he's going fishing, I don't have to worry about anything because I know that's exactly where he is going!"
The highlight of my weekend.

Put me on the cover.

One time on Lake Georgetown, met the only other boat on the lake and it was Jerry Dean and a guide scoping the lake out for a future show. He asked if we had any luck and hell yeah we did. Probably boated 20+ or so. Asked if we caught any smallmouth, hell yeah we did. A couple up to 3#. They didn't catch anything. Told him, welcome to the beautiful, barren bitch.

Nice man who gave us a few copies of HH magazine.

Show never happened.

Thanks for the shows and magazines.

Great show! Tell Bill, I've yet to catch a fish on a chartreuse color Smash Tech Bubble Fry and I've dragged that sucker all over Belton and Stillhouse Hollow.

And one could tell the show was loved, watched and followed.

How?

I seem to recall that Bill decided to fish Lake Athens one time in the cold of winter. It might've been a shift in plans at the last moment for some reason where he chose Athens over another lake. I can't quite recall; perhaps someone else does. Anyway, he went out and just slaughtered the bass, showed what and where he fished. It seems he found a steep drop off back toward the dam that had grass down to a certain depth. He explained how cold bass like to warm up in grass, little informational tidbits like that. That mapping Honey Hole did left little confusion about where he was having luck.

So, what happened? As best I recall, it was after that show that little sleepy Lake Athens became a very popular destination owing to its proximity to D/FW.

I think Bill fished it several different years, always with good results.

Brad

Honey Hole was an important part of teaching me how to fish in Texas when I moved here. The show is always entertaining and educational and you can tell people were putting their hearts into making it.

For a while, my family had a Nielsen Ratings Box. When we’d watch something, we would enter the time/channel/number of viewers. I would watch HH while the family slept but max out the number of viewers! No idea if that had an impact on anything but they told me our box represented 300,000 viewers in DFW.

Great show.

Saw Bill on fork earlier this year fishing with two other guys.
I told them to wait up and I would follow them just making conversation.
Had know idea it was Bill until he said come on let’s go.
It was his voice that got me.
I’m looking up and going I’ll be dog.
That’s Bill Wilcox voice.

Well lookey what I found ... Maybe the last brand new one in existence....

Enjoyed the show, both old and new, with Jerry and Bill .

Both were great fisherman and did it their own way.

Doubt we'll see anything like it in the future.

My favorite memory is when you killed the intro song, lol.

When googled the term can return some interesting results…..lol.

We fished the Honey Hole tournaments back in the day. Good tournaments.

I have a HH pendant made out of silver ( about the size of thumb nail ) I won as door prize on Cedar Creek

I met Jerry Dean in 1986 dropping off his magazines in Bassmaster Pro Shop in Richland Hills. Ran into him periodically at Monticello, did not talk to him again until I ran into him at Jim Murrey's funeral in 03, he was still just as genuine as he was back in the day. That's my Honey Hole memory. On a side note, Jimmy Johnson fishing the south and putting some butt whooping's on us, He owned the south, He was one of the good guy's


Ron Ricketts

Same

Had a chance to meet Bill on Monticello one day, not long before the lake closed to boaters. Had one of my best days there and saw him pass by several times earlier in the day. Didnt know it was him but we both ended up at the bridge later in the day... When I recognized it was him, I paddled on over and we got to talking... he had noticed I had never left the bridge area and figured I had done well.. he had caught a nine pounder that day. Just as nice in person as on tv..really easy to speak to. Gave me a few tips about the bridge.. he liked to fish the opposite side from where I was.. said he had always caught bigger fish there.. I liked where I was as I had always done better there. Thought of him when I caught an almost 12 lb bass on his side a couple of years later.

I followed the show probably from its inception. I was living in Louisiana at the time of its beginning, but it got broadcast there pretty early on. After moving to Texas, I never missed it and usually recorded it on VHS, even subscribed to the magazine and read it cover to cover. Jerry and Deb and Bill as well always kept me spell bound, especially if they fish lakes I could access locally. My favorites were always the shows they'd film on the tri-lakes. Jerry and Bill had such vast knowledge of those lakes. I've sure glad they are going to keep the shows available. I hope Bill can keep going in some form. I sure learn a lot from him.


"Put me on the cover of Honey Hole Magazine"[

First time I met Jerry was on Monticello at the boat ramp. We were there for 3 days. Stayed at Reagan's . We ask Jerry where he was staying. He said his van. Slept in it all the time. Conversation switched over to jobs. I was totally surprised when Jerry said he worked for Angelo's BBQ. He was Angelo's George bodyguard. Never would of thought that. But he said it worked great for his fishing. He only worked 3 or 4 days a week.

watched Honey Hole as well. It was a down to earth show and did not have all the antic's and drama of the shows today. Sorry it will be gone.

I don't live in Texas, but the show is one of my favorite fishing shows. I am sorry to see it come to an end.

that was EPIC!

One Saturday when I was young I want to town with dad. We went to every store in town looking for a magazine. We went into a small mom and pop store. Dad was looking over the magazine rack. The lady that owned the store came over and asked what he was looking for? He told her, "honey hole magazine!!!!!" She turned white and started screaming at him to get out of the store and not come back. "WE DONT CARRY THAT TRASH HERE!!!!" We sat in the truck and laughed our [censored] off. My granddad owned the building the store was in.

Jerry was and Bill is a hoot.. I spent many a Saturday morning in line for Honey hole tournament day. Enjoyed every one weather we cashed a check or not. I will miss it all Adios Honey Hole & Tite lines Y'all .

Good to see you on here Basstex, me and my old partner Bill also stood in those lines back in the day. We got lucky and pulled in a 29.86 lb sack in a Honey Hole tournament on Sam Rayburn for the win one year and was a memory I while not ever forget. They ran a great trail.

Great memories.

Jerry spent a lot of time on Monticello.

F**k'n Legends

I wish Bill would consider getting a Youtube channel and film his fishing trips and tips. He has a wealth of knowledge he has shared. I hate for it to end.

He may very well do that at some point but every episode since 2014 is available on VOD and we will be working on some different packages people can purchase for access.

Hey Mark - is it possible to get episodes pre-2014? I had the opportunity to fish on the show and would love to get my hands on a digital copy of the episode!

So this was a TV show as well as a magazine? Are there recorded programs one could watch somewhere?

EDIT- oh I see, VOD. I don't get that.

Unfortunately we don't have any content prior to moving to HD production.

Jonesy can you rerelease the old song?

I mean the show is fading into nonexistence, at least give us some hope that the good times aren't really over for good...

El Salto Trip with Honey Hole...Fun Times

Kinda late to the party.

My wife, dog, boat and cap are on the cover of the March 1993 (I think) magazine. I didn’t make the cut.

Jerry sent me about a dozen copies of that issue, and I haven’t seen them in years. I have some digging to do.

Congratulations on the great run!

Darn! I just started watching and recording the show' this year on the Pursuit Channel. I recall the magazine growing up but was never able to catch a show on tv. I really learned a lot and felt the host represented me; the Texas blue collar fisherman". The show will be missed by many bass fisherman. Hopefully there is a chance to continue this great show.

Nothing more satisfying than watch Butch Wilcoxe rippin them lips

+1 I thoroughly enjoyed all the shows I watched with Jerry and Bill!

I’m kinda glad to see it go. It was outdated and Bill was getting tired and old. Need some new blood and fresh perspective.

Thanks for taking time out to provide this hateful and unwarranted comment. Imagine my added dismay after seeing your signature line... WWJD

Are you having a bad day?

Maybe God is getting tired of you and needs some new blood and a fresh perspective.. Maybe you need to read Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

hmmmm, I assumed that Frank the taint was being sarcastic ...no ?

Sarcastic or not, if you get butt hurt that easily maybe over something on the internet you opened yourself up to then perhaps it is time to hang it up.

I loved HH magazine and TV show. But HH has been dead to me since they no longer broadcast the show on TV.

All though I have not seen the show in a while , I hate to see it come to an end .
Hopefully the name and rights can be sold to someone else to continue on with the show ..

They have been on TV for the past several years, that's how I watched it. It was on around 5:00 AM on Saturday.

Great quality show. Hate to see it go.

I cannot get HH on my hi-fli antenna anymore

Not at all. All good things must come to an end. I’m not saying do away with the show, I’m Saying bring in a younger replacement and keep doing it. It will be better with new energy and a younger vibe.

Wrap some foil around it

I vividly remember the day in the summer of 1986 that I went to Jerry & Deb Dean's house on Dennis Avenue to pitch Honey Hole TV Magazine to them. Jerry told me "Bud, with this magazine, I barely have time to go fishing as it is right now." I replied, "well if you host a weekly bass fishing show, you'll have to go fishing every week." He smiled and said, "what's on your mind?"
The rest as they say is history. As the guy who conceived the original concept and outline of the show, I want to state how proud I am, and have been, of my little ol' TV fishing show. It was my privilege to be cameraman, editor and all around flunky for the first 190 episodes. It was a magnificent ride. We went from a magazine and tv show to include HH Radio, HH Tournaments, and owners of Fliptail lures. The early years it was Jerry, Deb, myself and my wife. We had a lot of bricks on our loads. I treasure those memories and Jerry Dean and I were like brothers. We had so many great experiences together.
After I left in 1990, I saw the show continue to grow and when Jerry finally retired and passed the rod and reel to Bill Wilcox, I knew the show was in good hands. I want to say Thank You to all of you who ever subscribed to the magazine and watched the show. Also Thank you to Randall Boyd and Mark Jones for seeing that the show had value. Also thanks to Kent Dakour who stepped in and became producer after I left as well as Dirk Hardy who spent the last 20+ years as producer. In the 37 years of HHTV, only 3 guys have been producer/cameraman and only 2 have been the host. Not many TV shows last 37 years.
I still have my original episodes (the first 190) on dvd and will watch one sometimes. I still smile when I reflect on that time. With the advent of technology, the show has continued to get better every year and if Jerry were still alive, I know he would be just as proud as I am at what we started together. Bill, Dirk and Mark have done a tremendous job on the production of the show. It takes a LOT of hard work to get it right. You don't simply turn on the camera and say "okay Bill, catch a fish." The show has been better these past 20 years than it ever was.
I want to wish Dirk a well earned retirement. And knowing Bill like I do, he won't ever retire.
I still have a lot of original HH memorabilia that I cherish and to those who may ask, sorry but I can't provide any copies of those first 190 episodes. Maybe one day I can upload them to YouTube. Thanks for reading this long post and Thank You to everyone who was a part of the HHTV ride these past 37 years. GOD Bless!