Every year they have the trout stocking meetings around here, and every year, the bass fishermen raise sand about it. They don't care, that's what they are going to do.
I don't think Jerry's hardly that old to have had to have fished out of plywood boats. I know East Tennessee is sort of special in the bass boat world as is Arkansas, but Mac Crumbley's dad built the first fiberglass Norris Craft in 52 or 3. About 3 years later, Allison designed a pad V hull to put under it, and the rest is history. The first bass boat of course was a Skeeter back in the 40's. They started building fiberglass rigs about the same time Mac did.
When Bass started in 1968, it was about the same time that Ranger boats started. They were crude at the time, and 75 hp was a huge engine. By 1975, there was a host of builders. Astroglass, Pro Craft, Bass Cat, and more, and engines had grown to 115 hp and even 125 and 150's. Most of the boats of that time period were between 16' and 18' long and rated for 115 hp. When Merc put out the 150, there became a big market for stickers. People would hang a 150 on a 16' boat and put 115 stickers on it to get it "legal". I know, I had one. The early 80's saw the first 200's and slightly bigger more refined boats. The pad hull had spread from east Tennessee, and gone were the tri-hulled bass rigs. through the 80's boats kept getting longer and motors kept getting bigger. 250 hp were somewhat common, and there's nothing like the sound of a wound up Bridgeport Merc scooting a Bullet up the lake at 80+. Like muscle cars, the liability thing hit the tournament promoters. 18' became the standard bass rig which lasted till the middle 90's. 150 hp became the standard limit for tournaments. With the right jets though, a 150 can be turned into a 200, and it would take a thorough tech inspection to prove it. By the middle 90's boats in excess of 90 inch beams became real popular, and as more tournaments began to be held on the great lakes and coastal areas, 20' and 21' boats became more popular. 150 hp wasn't sufficient to push the new 2000lb bass boat hull which had ballooned from around 1200 lbs just 10 years ago. Most tournaments now allow up to 250 hp as long as you are legal on your coast guard plate. Oh, the East Tennessee Speed Triangle, many of them come strapped with a 300 hp Pro Max on them and will run 80+ with a tournament load, and just under 100 empty with just a driver.
Have boats changed the way the Bass Fishing game is played? Yes to an extent, but I don't think they are the major factor. Amoung other things that BASS has done, probably the most has been made of the "Rules of the Sport". When people go crappie fishing, the rules are, don't catch more than 60, and they have to be 10 inches long.
Bass Fishing on the other hand has a whole set of unwritten and written rules that have brought structure to a sport that would otherwise just be fishing. Things like "No Trolling", "No Live Bait", "C & R", and "Sportsmanship" have added a level of structure to a sport that would otherwise be no different IMO for the 2 zillion other species fishing. I've noticed some things are making their way into other fishing worlds. C&R and no trolling to name a few.
I think its the sttucture of the sport that keeps people slapping the water with that blade.
Skipper
