Thomas Jefferson Influenced Modern Day Bass Fishing without Ever Catching a Bass by Ken Duke

Thomas Jefferson portrait

T h J o e m ff a e s rson

nev S e tor r y b c y K au EN gh D t U a KE bass:

W

hen you think about the people who have had the biggest impact on the sport

of bass fishing, the mind naturally goes to the sport’s greatest innovators —

the anglers who developed the tackle, techniques and organizations that we

connect with every day to participate in the sport we love. Or maybe you think of the tournament pros and

television fishermen who grab

headlines and have their pho-

tos on tackle packaging.

Truth is, not everyone who

has impacted our sport has

actually caught a bass … or

even seen one. Nevertheless,

their power, foresight or

entrepreneurial spirit put them in

a position to influence bass and

bass fishing — often far more

significantly than the big names

we think of when we consider

the movers and shakers of the

sport.

If there’s a thread running

through the lives and decisions

of these bass-less men who

left their mark on bass fishing,

it’s that they had little or no

idea that what they were doing

would one day help to create the

Thomas Jefferson 3rd President of

modern sportfishing industry.

the United States (1801 – 1809)

This series will shine a light

on what they did for bass fishing.

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