1975 bassmaster classic

It is crazy to see how different it was then.

http://www.nola.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2017/08/1975_bassmaster_classic_video.html

Dang only allowed 10lbs of tackle for 3 day. I know guys who go through 10 pounds of tackle in 2 hours.

Thanks for sharing that. Enjoyed it very much!

Really enjoyed. Thanks for sharing.
This is the Fleck that helped him bring in that huge stringer when the others could not get the job done. I will be building some of these.

Very cool video to watch. My how things have changed....flashers to TV sized electronics. I bet those trolling motors were no more than 15# thrust. And the pistol grip rods....wow!

Enjoyed watching that!

Reminded me of an angler I met on Palestine four years ago that I took a picture of. I didn't notice the Bass Masters Classic on his boat until I got home so I didn't get to ask him about it. Left the pictures with lady at the bait shop near dam who knew him but I've forgotten his name. Anyone recognize him? Anyone have an idea what year that boat is? Always wondered if he participated or just bought the boat. I'd bet he participated judging from the fish I watched him catch. He was nailing whoppers on topwater.

Cool video, thanks for posting

enjoyed the video thanks for sharing

Cool video but how did they catch any fish? They didn't have large screen graphs, power poles or 20 rods on their decks? They couldn't be real fishermen...I didn't see any of them wearing a jersey with ads covering them.

Probly because those fish had hardly seen a lure in their life.

Kind of makes you wonder how much more weight would've been weighed in if they had the new technology we have

The boat looks to be 1983 or 84. Don't recognize the angler.

When you find him, ask why he has a jack dolly wheel on his front deck? Must have thrown everything at them but the (kitchen sink) dolly wheel.

Really cool video, some of those guys are still catching fish today. Here's a little trivia for you, Tommy Faile who narrated the video wrote Phantom 309 the trucker song made famous by Red Sovine. Bo Dowden owns a real estate company in Many Lousiana and Jimmy Houston, well he's still full of BS just like he was 42 years ago, lol.

Mr. Harper,
The Fleck Weedwader has long been my favorite of all spinnerbaits. Unfortunately, it is no longer being commercially manufactured and has been difficult to find. If you build a duplicate in the future, I would be most interested in purchasing same if not cost prohibitive.

Jack Hains used it in 1975 to win the Classic, and if memory serves, Rick Clunn used it the next two years to win the Classic in back to back years.

It was, and still is, a killer lure. perfectly balanced and tuned.
Thanks,
DoyceM

I hate to admit this but I remember the song, Phantom 309

I build them all and they are the ones I threw the prototypes of back in the 60's. Then the real thing came out in the 70's.

Zorro Aggravator Spinnerbait 1971: Bassmaster Classic I - Lake Mead, Las Vegas, NV Winner: Bobby Murray, Hot Springs, AR Color: White with tandem blades Weight: 1⁄4 ounce Method: Murray ran from cove to cove, making long casts and bringing the spinnerbait past any brush in the cuts. He caught most fish in about 2 feet of water.  Bobby Murray (43-11) beat out Tom Mann (37-13) for the Classic I title. He caught his fish on a 1/4-ounce white Zorro Aggravator spinnerbait made by Stan Sloan.


Okiebug S.O.B.  Spinnerbait 1972: Bassmaster Classic II - Percy Priest Reservoir, Nashville, TN Winner: Don Butler, Tulsa, OK wins with 38-11. olor: White (primary bait) Weight: 1⁄4 ounce Note: Butler was the first BASS member, owned Okiebug Lures, and manufactured the S.O.B. spinnerbait. He was the first Classic champ to win the event on a lure he manufactured.


Wooly Bully Spinnerbait 1973: Bassmaster Classic III – Clarks Hill, SC -  Rayo Breckenridge would hold off a hard charging Bill Dance to walk away with the trophy. Breckenridge shared a small section of water with fellow competitor Don Norton and accumulated a weight of 52-08 over the three days.


Fleck Spinnerbait 1974: Bassmaster Classic IV – Wheeler Lake, AL -  Tommy Martin would outshine the competition by more than four pounds. His fish were caught on a combination of Fleck spinnerbaits with a 3-day weight of 33-07.


Fleck Spinnerbait 1975: Bassmaster Classic V – Currituck Sound, NC - Jack Hains, who had jumped from 10th place to second on day 2 was able to bring 6 huge fish to the scales on the third day. His winning weight was 45-04.


Fleck Weedwader Spinnerbait 1976: Bassmaster Classic VI – Lake Guntersville, AL – Rick Clunn started out the first day in 3rd place but a missed fish in a new area would make him step back and change gears. On day 2 he broke the record for a 1-day weight, 33-05 (10-fish limit) and went on to win the first of his four Classics with a total of 59-15.



Redman Spinnerbait fished and designed by Jimmy Houston. It helped him secure Bassmaster’s Angler of The Year in 1976. The Redman was marked by Bill Norman Lures and offered in Single, Double and Tandum Spin builds.


Manns Classic Spinnerbait fished and designed by Hank Parker. This bait play a great roll in my tournaments wins in Ky., TN. And TX. I received prototypes from the Hawg Caller Rep in 1974. It was a bait like I had never used before with a very light wire, short upper arm and Ind. blades that road really close to the hook and skirt. Parker used a spinnerbait made by the Hawg Caller company of Winston-Salem, N.C. to win at Truman, specifically a ¾ ounce model with Indiana/Colorado blades and a variety of skirt colors. He likewise used a Hawg Caller the following year to win the second of the three James River Classics, but it was later marketed by Mann’s as “The Classic.”  The Hank Parker Classic spinner bait brought him to his first 3 Classic appearances in 77,78, and the win on Texoma in 1979. Although most of his fish on Texoma was caught flipping; but the spinnerbait got him to the event.

Thanks for posting the video. That brings back many memories.

I hate to admit this but I remembered who wrote it, lol.

Its hell to get old....but the date of the boat fits.

I recognize the dude, but cannot for the life of me put a name to the face. In the mid-eighties I lived and worked on a fish hatchery near Crockett, and later from the late eighties into the nineties in Danbury. At first the face sorta reminded me of two guys I knew from back then, Billy and Bobby Murray, but looking up their more recent pics, neither is that big. My intersection with the world of professional bass fishing pretty much ended in the late nineties as I began to concentrate more on Japanese koi than on largemouth bass.

The reference and the video reminded me of when I was in high school and terribly infatuated with bass fishing. Nowadays I can actually fish for other species and go maybe two or three days without even having to see a bass.

Thanks to the OP for the post. Brought back many fond memories. Thanks too, to Donald Harper for responding to my inquiry as to the Fleck Weed Wader spinnerbait. there were some great spinnerbaits in that era. Seems like the spinnerbait has lost some of its appeal to the modern day bass angler, although some such as Kevin Van Dam still are known to utilize one when conditions are right.

Cool

Here is a closeup.

much nicer time back then, fishing and everything else.

I have 9 Fleck's still in their packages and two beat-to-hell in the TB.

I can vouch for that manns one, had one thrown in a tackle pack I won years back, not the sexiest bait out there but let me tell you that thing catches toads.

Awesome video! Thanks for sharing.

Anyone could buy a bass master classic boat. Ranger sold all of the boats they furnished for the event and made a lot of "backups" also. Most pros didn't fish out of a classic boat.

Great video !

Good to see Elroy Krueger on there ! Great fisherman. I used to go to
his tackle shop, Elroy's Fishing Hole in Universal City. He was always
so helpful. Sadly, he passed in 2015.

Obit on B.A.S.S. for Elroy --

https://www.bassmaster.com/news/saying-good-bye-elroy-krueger

.

Yes he was. It saddens my heart to loose such a great fisherman. I am also grateful to have shared so many conversations with him at Choke and Amistad. His knowledge of the blades was as good as it gets. I cherish the knowledge we shared during those times.

I like the Ford LTD "tow vehicles".

I can imagine the thread that would get started seeing a guy towing a boat to Fork of Athens with an old 4 door car.

Years ago I towed my bass boat to the lake behind my wife's Cadillac Sedan Seville. Only I would get to go fishing. She wasn't riding in my old Chevy PU. Talk about embarrassing. I could hear them snickering as I walked back to the boat after launching it. Don't have to do that anymore.