Harvey Naslund, left, hand picked Mike Kennedy, center, to be his replacement when he left as director of WON BASS the first time.
“Then the tunnel hulls came in and they were ripped to shreds, transoms broken, the bows peeling off on both of them. “Mike Folkestad came in with 24 pounds. The next day Folkestad fought his way back through the narrows with 21 pounds and won the tournament. “The night of the awards ceremony, and here’s what changed everything, we got him on the microphone and he said, ‘I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my Ranger.’”
According to Folkestad, the Ranger he fished on Clear Lake was the first true bass boat he ever bought. “I bought it at Leach’s Sporting Goods,” said Mike. “I bought a Ranger because it was the best bass fishing boat on the market.” Folkestad’s catch of more than 45 pounds of bass in two days set a record that lasted many years and easily shattered the weight Naslund had rashly proclaimed. That night, when Naslund ordered fish for dinner, Lee arranged it with the kitchen staff that Harvey received a beautifully plated dish of fish with all the sauce and trimmings. “It wasn’t until he dug in and ate a mouth- ful of raw bass, scales and all, that he knew he’d been had,” said Lee. The catch changed the history of Western bass fishing forever. “Don Lee was on the plane 3 or 4 days later and got the Ranger line, I went back 3 or 4 months later and got Ranger as a sponsor.” After the win, Folkestad was signed to the Ranger pro staff and never had to buy a Ranger again, getting a brand new model every year on a memo bill. Of course, that was just the start and a tes- tament to the dedication to Western bass fish- ing on the part of Lee, Naslund and Wood.
“It wasn’t like I was the only one out West trying to get the Ranger line, there were nine of us,” said Lee. “But I was the only one who went to Flippin, Arkansas and called on Forrest and Nina and that made the difference. And believe me, at that time it wasn’t that easy to get to Flippin. “But I cheated, I had Billy Murray, the winner of first Bassmaster Classic and the twin brother of Bobby Murray, drive me,” admitted Lee. “They both worked for Cordell at the time and we had Cordell. Their mother was a professional quarter horse rider and they are both expert riders themselves.” Don Lee and Associates helped Gary Marshall open up North Hollywood Marine as a Ranger dealer. One of the best mechanics in the industry, Marshall was born with one arm, but still manages to play golf to an 8 hand- icap and once hit two holes in one in one year. “Gary was one of the hardest working dealers in we ever had and was soon the num- ber one Ranger dealer in the country,” said Lee. “The next year Fred Ward in Phoenix was the number one Ranger dealer in the coun- try. Unfortunately North Hollywood Marine was in a bad part of town and bad luck and dishonest employees put Gary out of business. He was the first to use a computer to let you design the Ranger of your choice.”
16 SILVER EAGLES _ July 2011