Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Ray Scott has died

Ray has been a friend for many years. He is an iconic American, named by Field and Stream magazine as one of the top 50 most influential men in the outdoor industry.
Loved his stories, loved his personality, loved spending time with him. Our condolences to his family and friends.

https://www.bassmaster.com/ray-scott/news/ray-scott-the-father-of-modern-bass-fishing-has-died/

2007, Arlington Texas.

It was the first Pond Boss Conference, and I was there trying to learn a little. Ray Scott had a booth, and I was already a member of BASS and a subscriber to the magazine, so I stopped by to look at some fishing rods he had for sell. We talked for a minute or two, and he pointed at me and said "Have we met before, you sure look familiar". Proudly I told him that yes, I had fished a few BASS tourneys, and before I could finish, he put his arm around me and acted like we were long lost cousins, and asked me how things were going. A few minutes later, he looked around, and told me he would sell me two rods for the price of one, but don't tell anybody. Without hesitation, I pulled money out of my pocket and bought two ultralight spinning rods. On the way back home, it dawned on me that with the thousands of people he had met in his life, there was no way he knew who I was. I just laughed to myself, and rigged the rods up when I got home. A few years later, I looked at his website, and guess what? He rods he sold me were the same price as the great deal I got. At no point did that upset me. In fact, I thought it was one of the greatest sales pitches I had ever heard. He sold himself, he sold his product, and he made me happy, all at the same time. His personality was bigger than life, and he will be missed.

15 years later, here are those two rods, and I believe, the original Mitchel reels I put on them. I've got 2 store racks full of conventional rods, and a closet full of fly rods, and I'm comfortable saying these two rods have caught more fish for me than all the other rods combined. These two rods wound up being worth far more than I paid for them, and I still fish with them weekly.

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