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A: The defending champion (Brandon Perkins), the regular season tournament winners, and the top 40 anglers in the Progressive Angler of the Year race.

A: Kentucky declared the spotted bass to be its state fish by a joint resolution of the Kentucky General Assembly on February 27, 1956.

A: Billy Westmoreland. Both of his giant smallmouths came from Dale Hollow Lake.

A: Owen F. Smith’s 10-08 from the Wheeler Dam tailwater in Alabama in 1950.

A: David Zimmerlee caught a 20-15 from Lake Miramar in California in 1973.

A: Fritz Friebel caught a 20-2 in 1923 that was generally recognized as the world record before George Perry.

A: Grover Cleveland.

A: The general consensus that Skeeter, led by Holmes Thurmond, invented the bass boat.

A: James and Fred Clements, Jesse and Logan Millsaps, J Todd and Landon Tucker, Kenneth and Boo Woods.

A: Jason and Dustin Williamson.

A: Keith Carson (2021) and Gary Adkins (2022)

A: Timmy Reams

A: Ryan Satterfield ended Day 2 of the 2023 event on Wright Patman Lake in 6th place.

A: Nick Brown ended Day 1 of the 2024 event on Lake of the Ozarks in 18th place.

A: Patrick Walters with 3.37 pounds per bass.

A: Richard Cooper and Timmy Reams.

A: Micropterus salmoides, which was formerly the name of the northern largemouth bass (now identified as Micropterus nigricans).

A: Isaac Peavyhouse.

A: Todd Goade and Jesse Millsaps are tied with 23 consecutive limits.

A: Lake Murray in South Carolina, December 11-13.

A: Nick Brown won the Chompers/NPFL Stop #5 on Lake of the Ozarks presented by Bait-Wrx in 2024 yet only weighed in 13 of a possible 15 bass.

A: The Delaware record smallmouth, caught in 1983, weight 4 pounds, 15.5 ounces, and is the lightest of all the state record smallmouth bass. It is less than a half ounce lighter than the Hawaii record.

A: The North Dakota record largemouth, caught in 1983, weight 8 pounds, 8 ounces, and is the lightest of all the state record largemouth bass.

A: Three — Idaho, Indiana, and Iowa.

A: Four — Connecticut, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Rhode Island.

A: Texas maintains state records for 10 different species of the Micropterus genus, including Alabama, Guadalupe, Guadalupe X Smallmouth, Guadalupe X Spotted, Largemouth, Largemouth X Smallmouth, Largemouth X Spotted, Smallmouth, Smallmouth X Spotted, and Spotted.

A: Forty-seven states have an official record for smallmouth bass. The only states that do not are Alaska, Florida, and Louisiana.

A: In 1947, Shakespeare began producing the first fiberglass fishing rods, the “Howald Glastik Wonderod.” Arthur Howald was an avid angler who broke the top of his favorite fly rod. Because replacement tips were nearly impossible to obtain during World War II, he made a tip out of glass fibre and later experimented with rods made entirely of fiberglass.

A: The Snag Proof Frog. It was created by Harry Ehlers, who worked as an advertising executive with Solo Marx (Totes). He saw a boot mold being dipped in plastic and got the idea to make a lure using the same method.

A: George H.W. Bush was inducted in 2016.

A: Denny Brauer in 1998.

A: NPFL pro Louis Fernandes of Santa Maria, California is the Bass Warrior. His passion for and dedication to the sport are contagious!

A: James A. Henshall. M.D., published More About the Black Bass in 1889. He also wrote the first book about bass fishing — Book of the Black Bass (1881).

A: 239 individual anglers have competed in NPFL events.

A: 125 anglers competed in Stop 1 of the 2024 season on Logan Martin Lake in Alabama.

A: Logan Martin Lake in Alabama was the site of Stop 1 in the 2024 season and covers just 17,000 surface acres.

A: Nick Creme marketed the first soft plastic worm — the Creme Wiggle Worm —in 1949, two years before G.H. Harris patented the foot-controlled electric trolling motor.

A: Junior Samples.

A: The Plastics Research and Development Company (PRADCO) was formed in 1961 and originally made a variety of plastic components for refrigerators and kitchen cabinets. The founder, George Perrin, was an avid angler who was spurred by the success of the Rapala Floating Minnow to get into the fishing market. His plastic version of the Floating Minnow was called the “Rebel.”

A: John D. Kreisser (1869-1926) patented the K&K Animated Minnow — the first swimbait — 1907. He had been making variations of the lure for several years before that.

A: James Parker (“Jesse”) Shannon (1878-1931) designed the first spinnerbait — the Shannon Twin Spinner in 1915.

A: Homer Circle, Rick Clunn, Bill Dance, Roland Martin, Bobby Murray, Larry Nixon, Ray Scott, and Forrest Wood.

A: Gary Adkins was 57 years, 11 months, and 11 days old when he won the 2024 stop at Saginaw Bay in Michigan.

A: John Soukup won the first NPFL event on Lake Eufaula (AL) in March of 2021.

A: Hunter Baughman, Richard Cooper, Louis Fernandes, and Timmy Reams.

A: Timmy Reams has weighed in 855 pounds, 9 ounces of bass through four events of the 2024 season. He has fished every NPFL event.

A: In 1973 Fenwick (now a subsidiary of Pure Fishing) introduced the first all-graphite fishing rod, the HMG (high modulus graphite).

A: The Bass Caster’s Association conducted the first ever catch-and-release bass tournament on Lake Seminole on March 3-4, 1972. One hundred thirty-six contestants weighed in 1,583 pounds of bass, and 1,311 pounds (83%) were released alive. A week later, B.A.S.S. held its first catch-and-release tournament on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Florida.

A: In 1972, the Gladding Corporation introduced the “Safari” spinnerbait. In advertising of that time, they said “Our new Safari has a hitch. SO WHAT!” It was billed as “a totally new and unique tangle-free line hitch. It will not tangle with your line during casting or retrieving.”

A: The death of Marilyn Monroe.

A: The “little green box” was the nickname for the Lowrance Fish-Lo-K-Tor, the first transistorized, portable sportfishing sonar for the recreational market. It retailed for $150 when introduced in 1957.

A: “Bronzeback” is a nickname for smallmouth bass, but until the 1970s the term “bronzeback” was commonly used for largemouth, smallmouth or any of the bass species.

A: California’s Dee Thomas invented Flippin’ in the early 1970s. It was developed as an alternative to “tule dipping” when that method was outlawed on several California tournament circuits. Tule dipping did not involve a reel, and the rod or pole used was often 14 feet long or longer.

A: Pickwick Lake and Saginaw Bay have each hosted three NPFL events.

A: A field of 116 anglers weighed in 1,681 bass at the 2022 NPFL tournament on Lake Hartwell.

A: On November 8, 2003, the only known Giant Haskell Minnow was sold for $101,200 by Lang’s Sporting Auctions at the Boxborough Woods Holiday Inn in Boxborough, Massachusetts.

A: Creme Lure Company introduced the Wiggle Worm in 1949.

A: Denny Brauer in 1998.

A: South Carolina tournament pro Todd Auten is generally credited as being the first angler to replace the skirt on a buzzbait with a soft plastic lure.

A: Florida’s “uncertified” record largemouth dates back to 1923. Georgia’s state record also has a share of the all-tackle world record and was caught by George Perry in 1932.

A: Jesse Shannon designed the Shannon Twin Spinner in 1915 and patented the lure in 1919.

A: Keith Carson won the first AOY title in 2021.

A: Ed Frederich founded the Western Bass Club in 1938 in Seattle, Washington.

A: Edward (“Ned”) Kehde is a fishing writer and University of Kansas archivist who fished with many of the pioneers of finesse fishing, including Chuck Woods, Drew Reese, and Guido Hibdon.

A: Jesse Wise caught a 10-pound, 9-ounce largemouth on Day 3 of the 2024 NPFL Championship on Lake Amistad in Texas.

A: Fred Young of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, began carving and developing the “Big O” in in 1967 after a workplace injury put him in a full body cast. The lure was named for his 6-foot-6 brother, Odis, who helped him field test the designs.

A: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas all recognize a member of the Micropterus genus as their official state fish.

A: Tennessee. From 1988 until 2005, the largemouth was Tennessee’s state fish. In 2005, the largemouth was replaced by the smallmouth.

A: James A. Henshall. M.D., published Book of the Black Bass in 1881. He also wrote the second book about bass fishing — More About the Black Bass (1889).

A: The K&K Animated Minnow was patented by John D. Kreisser on June 25, 1907.

A: Brandon Perkins totaled 71 pounds, 8 ounces on his way to winning the first NPFL Championship on Lake Amistad in 2023.

A: Quentin Capo posted a limit weighing 30 pounds on the second day of the Santee Cooper event in 2023.

A: Gary Adkins was 55 years, 9 months, and 11 days old when he won the 2022 stop at Saginaw Bay in Michigan.

A: Will Harkins was 22 years, 3 months, and 25 days old when he won the 2024 season opener on Logan Martin Lake in Alabama.

A: Patrick Walters, 10. Walters has fished 13 NPFL events, so he’s been in the Top 10 an astounding 77% of the time!