Well, older. I'm 41 now, but when I was about 13 through 20 I was a subscriber to BassMaster and I was a card carrying member of the Bass Angler Sportsman Society. I subitted a tip that was published, and thus I was awarded a "Harry & Charlie" hat, which I worn constantly until my hair fell out, and then the hat subsequently fell apart.

 

I don't have any of the old magazines left, but I found a short stack of In Fisherman magazines at the recycling dropoff from the same era. Man I miss those good old days.

 

Anyways, I was just thinking about it and wanted to share.

 

@Bazoo I miss those days too!  Loved the Harry 'n Charlie adventures.  Such an era of growing and learning about bass fishing.  Miss Ray Scott too.  

Being nearly 69, I miss the days of fishing magazines where they didn't promise "37 Surefire Ways to Catch Smallmouth Bass," where an article was an essay about a particular fishing trip and what it meant to be on water and in the woods, puzzling about bass, musky, or walleye, with your father, brother, or buddy.

I think I have tons of the magazines somewhere, I could probably send them to ya if you want @Bazoo

I have questions about old B.A.S.S. as well. One of my relatives was connected to early B.A.S.S. but I am not sure how. I know he fished connected to them, but not sure if he had anything else to do with them besides that. His name was Irvin Kasaw if I spelled it right. Could be Kassaw. Called him uncle Irvin.

 

Back when I was a kid and we visited him in Birmingham, Alabama he used to take me bass fishing on Smith Lake reservoir.

 

I'd like to uncover his connections to B.A.S.S. one day if there are any.

 

And I miss old Ray Scott as well. Our ideas of catch and release were championed by him.

 

I still have one of his signature series spinning rods made by Kistler for him. Super light blank.

 

Some things I still do because of Ray Scott like use a reduced size guide train on spinning rods, and it seems in bass fishing everyone is going heavier- heavier rods, heavier lines, etc. and Ray Scott championed going to light tackle. So this is something I have done over the years myself in backing off the heavier tackle and going back towards lighter tackle.

 

His website is still up and running and we can still read some of his articles

 

https://www.rayscott.net/news/cr/

 

"Using black plastic tape, I positioned the reel on as a Tennessee handle, on a 7-foot custom-made Ray Scott Sportackle designed rod. Like the reel, the rod is "lightweight," about 2 ½ ounces, with a fast-taper tip, but a solid butt section for setting the hook and playing a larger bass.

 

This is a rod design I've spent many years in testing and improving, just as Fred Kemp has struggled with his spinning reel. As fundamentally different, as Fred's big spool, is my concept of the smaller the guides, the better the casting accuracy and distance.

 

The theory being that the faster the loops coming off the spool and the line slap on the blank are reduced or  totally eliminated, the less resistance and added distance on the cast. As a result, the first stripper guide located ahead of the spool is about the size of a dime as compared to a 50-cent piece diameter on the conventional spinning rods."

 

I think old Ray's Sportackle brand lasted only a couple of years and he did not sell very much tackle. But he tried like everyone else.

 

I think he got stuck with a bunch of rods and slowly sold them off years after his brand was long since shut down. I wish I could get a few of those rods today!

 

I still have the one rod he made with the Tennessee handle, but that U.S. reel was junk. It might have been a good idea, but let Shimano or Daiwa make it. A real reel company. I think that was the downfall of the reel he pushed for. It was made by people who never made reels before and it had problems right out of the starting gate.

 

I still have old Ray's signed books.

 

 

 

Almost 69 here and I too miss the old days of BASS. Somewhere in our 'spare/junk' room I found a box with some of the old BassMaster magazines. I told myself I was going to pull them out on a rainy day and read but....never have. I for one miss the days when the likes of Dance, Martin, Houston, and those guys fished.

I'm still a subscriber. Currently, reading the 100 Best Bass Lakes in the USA. It's a little different from the mid-nineties' publications.

Good Fishing 

I still pay for membership, but I think it’s mostly out of habit now. Bassmaster has gotten where it has less worthwhile reading content than the weekly Subway coupons in the mailbox. 
 

Would love to see a return to the 80’s/90’s.

9 hours ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

I have questions about old B.A.S.S. as well. One of my relatives was connected to early B.A.S.S. but I am not sure how. I know he fished connected to them, but not sure if he had anything else to do with them besides that. His name was Irvin Kasaw if I spelled it right. Could be Kassaw. Called him uncle Irvin.

 

Back when I was a kid and we visited him in Birmingham, Alabama he used to take me bass fishing on Smith Lake reservoir.

 

I'd like to uncover his connections to B.A.S.S. one day if there are any.

 

And I miss old Ray Scott as well. Our ideas of catch and release were championed by him.

 

I still have one of his signature series spinning rods made by Kistler for him. Super light blank.

 

Some things I still do because of Ray Scott like use a reduced size guide train on spinning rods, and it seems in bass fishing everyone is going heavier- heavier rods, heavier lines, etc. and Ray Scott championed going to light tackle. So this is something I have done over the years myself in backing off the heavier tackle and going back towards lighter tackle.

 

His website is still up and running and we can still read some of his articles

 

https://www.rayscott.net/news/cr/

 

"Using black plastic tape, I positioned the reel on as a Tennessee handle, on a 7-foot custom-made Ray Scott Sportackle designed rod. Like the reel, the rod is "lightweight," about 2 ½ ounces, with a fast-taper tip, but a solid butt section for setting the hook and playing a larger bass.

 

This is a rod design I've spent many years in testing and improving, just as Fred Kemp has struggled with his spinning reel. As fundamentally different, as Fred's big spool, is my concept of the smaller the guides, the better the casting accuracy and distance.

 

The theory being that the faster the loops coming off the spool and the line slap on the blank are reduced or  totally eliminated, the less resistance and added distance on the cast. As a result, the first stripper guide located ahead of the spool is about the size of a dime as compared to a 50-cent piece diameter on the conventional spinning rods."

 

I think old Ray's Sportackle brand lasted only a couple of years and he did not sell very much tackle. But he tried like everyone else.

 

I think he got stuck with a bunch of rods and slowly sold them off years after his brand was long since shut down. I wish I could get a few of those rods today!

 

I still have the one rod he made with the Tennessee handle, but that U.S. reel was junk. It might have been a good idea, but let Shimano or Daiwa make it. A real reel company. I think that was the downfall of the reel he pushed for. It was made by people who never made reels before and it had problems right out of the starting gate.

 

I still have old Ray's signed books.

 

 

 

I have 2 Ray Scott sport tackle rods that are used as much as I can......

I'm also a life member of B.A.S.S

Old man, look at my life. I’m a lot like you were.

@Swamp Girl I’m always puzzled 😂

I still receive a monthly edition of In-Fisherman.  I pay about 8 bucks for 13 editions each year.

 

They are based in Brainerd, MN and have a lot of articles that I can relate to here in the north.

I’ve been a long time subscriber to In-Fisherman, and look forward to each issue.  It does seem to favor northern fish, but seems to make sure to include excellent articles for the rest of us.  Game and Fish is also a good magazine.  I have no idea why I receive BASSMASTER, but have found it to be little more than a multi-page marketing brochure.  It goes from mailbox directly to recycling bin.

I would love a Harry and Charlie hat.  What was Harrys favorite lure? A 10 inch scuppernong Jelly worm? Or was it 12 inches?

Charter Life Member with B.A.S.S. since 1968 and lived through many changing in the organization. Ray Scott was inspirational with his vision of getting cheating out of derbies with his blind draw team concept. As far as Catch & Release Scott believed tournament bass harvesting didn’t impact the fisheries and was forced to accept C&R he didn’t indorse it.

Tom

62 here Been a member since the 70s. Seen the glory days for sure. Hopefully they kind of turn it around. They just sent out a questionnaire in to all members in our E Mail . There magazine was great back then . See what the future holds. But ya the world needs more Harry and Charlie 

On 7/12/2025 at 4:22 PM, ElGuapo928 said:

 

Would love to see a return to the 80’s/90’s.

Seems like EVERYTHING was better back then.

 

I for one like the “simpler” times.

I’m still a subscriber, have to be a member to qualify for the national kayak championship. I miss the adventures of Harry and Charlie in the Stump Jumper.  I still read the Day on the Water and skim through the rest before I put it in the recycling. I never save them for months like I use to with the older ones.

I’m a proud B.A.S.S. member and will be until they put me in a hole and chunk some dirt on me. I keep and old B.A.S.S. decal, told my wife to slap it on my casket. Pretty much joking with her, but if she does it’s okay by me. After I read my Bassmaster magazine, I take it to the barbershop for others to enjoy. Do the same thing with my In-Fisherman magazine.

At 76 I got heavily involved with bass fishing especially in thos early years.  I followed  most of the early ones, and knew almost everyone on the tour.  That ship has long sailed, and now don’t keep up on it!  It was an exciting time to be a bass fisherman.  Being A pro ment something then, and it took a lifetime of experience and respect to develop.  

The original B.A.S.S. was good for the most part. Being a Western bass angler the only chance you had to become a B.A.S.S. touring pro was to move to be more local as very few events were held outside of the Heartland. Kevin Van Dam was a 1st outsider from Michigan opening the door to a wider range of touring Pro’s. The early days at B.A.S.S. was a close knit of good o’ boys, those days as gone!

The 80’s-90’s was a prime bass fishing period not because B.A.S.S. 
Tom