If you ever run out of fishing stories, don’t worry. Don Berry is sure to have plenty. “I grew up around every farmer’s pond in Advance (in southeast Missouri), and my dad allowed me to drive his pickup on the gravel roads and I climbed every fence I could to get to a pond and… Read more »
News
Sport: Fishing
Brandon Butler
Brandon Butler grew up inspired by outdoor media like Bill Dance Outdoors, Midwest Outdoors, In-Fisherman, and was fortunate to have family who took him fishing and hunting. Later in life, he found a calling as a outdoors communicator who has extensively covered fishing, hunting and conservation. So, when Butler moved to Missouri in 2010, little… Read more »
Charlie Campbell
Charlie Campbell was born on March 5, 1933. He graduated in 1951 from Ava High School, where he excelled in basketball, baseball, track and tennis. In 1977, Charlie took his talents to work for John L. Morris of Bass Pro Shops, Inc. He helped design the Bass Tracker boat, field tested all of the company’s… Read more »
Rick Clunn
In 1976, in his third season on the professional bass fishing circuit, Rick Clunn would cast out his line and hope for the best, for anything really – a nibble even. After all, he was running out of fishing stories. And time. “In the reality of it, I wanted something to break pretty quickly,” Clunn… Read more »
Ernie Daughtery
Ernie Daughtery, president of the Central Pro-Am Association, has brought rapid but stable growth to the Central Pro-Am since assuming the leadership responsibilities in January 1990. He entered the fishing tackle wholesale and retail sales arena in 1987. In 1989, Ernie accepted a position as Tournament Director and Vice President of Marketing with the Central… Read more »
Jack Emmitt
Jack Emmitt moved to Springfield, MO in 1961 to attend Soutwest Missouri State University and shortly thereafter took a job in a sporting goods store. Some 50 years later, the Tennessee native has landed game fish from all across the Western Hemisphere. Jack was the first Fishing Department Manager at Bass Pro Shops in 1981… Read more »
Rick Emmitt
Growing up in the Ozarks, Rick Emmitt usually could be found by a lake or river, with a fishing rod in hand. And all these years later, well, nothing has really changed. “I remember catching a 5-pound largemouth at age 10 on a Mann’s jelly worm and a Zebco 33 reel,” Emmitt recalled. “It was… Read more »
Harold Ensley
Harold Ensley – The Sportsman’s Friend. A minnow bucket would hold the television shows that have lasted 4 years, much less 4 decades. 1994 marks Harold Ensley’s 41st consecutive year on television, a feat few have matched. Beginning in 1953 and for the next 21 years, Ensley’s weekly, half-hour, outdoor program was seen 52 weeks… Read more »
Edwin Evers
He wasn’t about to pack it in, go home and call it a career even though many would have understood. He had come too far for that. This was in 2002, when Missouri native and professional angler Edwin Evers, with his wallet thin, felt the real world tugging on his line far more than the… Read more »
Kansas City Corporate Challenge
When the United States boycotted the Moscow Summer Olympics in 1980, the man who cared deeply for public parks and recreation in Kansas City’s largest counties sprung into action. No, Leon Younger didn’t save the Games. Instead, he called several businesses and created what he called the Corporate Olympics, with Kansas City-area businesses entering employees… Read more »
Stacey King
Weekend anglers who know of Stacey King’s success certainly ooh and ahh. For others? Well, there may be some understandable envy. And, for both camps, their reactions are for the very same reason. After all, King certainly will never run out of fishing stories. “After college, I worked at Sears & Roebuck, and there were… Read more »
Mike McClelland
He grew up on Table Rock Lake in the 1970s, spending time at his aunt Joleen and uncle Richard’s resort near Kimberling City, with his uncle serving as a fishing guide and his grandfather casting lines, too. For Mike McClelland, having a rod and reel in hand has been natural ever since, with he and… Read more »
Lynn Reeves
Growing up in Springfield, he developed a love for the outdoors thanks to a Boy Scout troop through First Baptist Church. And, because his older brothers loved to fish, guess who tagged along? Lynn Reeves still cherishes those days of heading off to Table Rock Lake, Stockton Lake, Truman Lake or the nearby James River… Read more »
J.P. Sell
He had grown up fishing with his grandfather and then with his mom before eventually helping others fall in love with the sport, too. J.P. Sell remembers when he went all in. For years, he tripled as a propane dealer, competitive angler and volunteer eager to help disabled kids learn how to fish. In 2012,… Read more »
Virgil Ward
It’s no wonder Virgil Ward was admired across the country. He never ran out of fishing stories. How could he? The Amsterdam, Mo., native turned his passion for fishing into a lifelong career and remained humble even as he became a household name across the country. Fortunately, Ward shared all of his neat tips and… Read more »
2016 Class Wynn Awards
CLASS OF 2016 (Inaugural Class) Marjorie (DeMarino) Bankovich — Missouri State University Monique (Willcut) Begley — Camdenton High School Angie (Bullock) Homeyer — Springfield Catholic High School Angela (Beckett) Johnson — Monett High School Julie Martin –– Springfield angler Kerry (Speaker) North — Lebanon High School/University of Missouri Jamie Vest — Stoutland High School/Missouri State… Read more »