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/

Travel well, Ray.

Sorry to see that. He was a giant in popularizing bass fishing.

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.

Ray - enjoy heaven's fertile big fish waters.

RIP - watched him all of the time - RIP and God Bless

Enjoyed your story, Al. Through the spectrum of personalities, one's like Ray's though not rare are uncommon. They touch a lot people and will be remembered. May he rest in peace and his loved one's find joy in his memory as they deal with their sorrow.

I loved his story of the first "they don't count unless they're alive" bass tournament, and the tough old fisherman trying to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on a LMB.

A different side of Ray - one not noted enough.

At the first Pond Boss Conference I brought 2 paintings like this shown at the Mod's booth.




One was an auction/drawing item. One was drawn and the one you see in the booth was (not for sale). We also had a contribution jar where money from George's flies and other donated items went. All of the money was for college scholarships. Ray liked the pic in the Booth. I explained the history behind the pic and said it's not for sale, but you can have it because you will be showing it to other fishermen etc. that come through your house. He said thank you and ask how much the pic was worth. I told him that there were none for sale. He pulled out his wallet and took out a number of one-hundred-dollar bills and put them in the donation jar and said don't tell anyone. Now that Ray is gone the story should be told. I would bet that there are hundreds of stories of his kindness and graciousness just like this one.

A lifetime event was fishing from Campbell's Cabins with Bob, Ray, Johnny Morris, Bill Dance and the crew.