Bass Pro Shops is continually bringing in new and entertaining displays to make its stores not only a shopping location, but also an outdoor gallery of interesting historical relics. The outdoor gear-marketing giant is in the process of relocating a new captivating array of outdoor history next to its national headquarters.
This past week, Bass Pro Shops announced that the Archery Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. (AHF) has moved from Angola, Ind. to its new home in Springfield, Mo. The AHF will be located at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in an area designated by Bass Pro Shops for use by the non-profit Wonders of Wildlife Zooquarium, claim the nation's top outdoor retailer.
The Bass Pro Shops store is the number one tourist attraction in the state of Missouri.
"The AHF was founded in 1971 as a way to recognize outstanding members of the archery community," said executive director Donald L. Clark. "Through a nominating and voting process, the electorate inducts members from the following categories: bow hunter, coach competitor to the sport, educator and influence on the sport."
The AHF's first induction was held at the Fred Bear Museum at the Bear Archery Company in Grayling, Mich. in 1972. All future AHF inductions will take place in Springfield.
The original inductees in 1972 and in other past years have included - Fred Bear along with other notable North American archers.
"The vision, dedication and passion Johnny Morris and the people at Bass Pro Shops have for creating the premier presentation of America's sporting heritage unites us in an ideal partnership to showcase archery's past, present and future," said AHF president Dave Staples.
"The AHF looks forward to working with the Bass Pro Shops team and the Wonders of Wildlife Zooquarium in the promulgation of archery, bow hunting and all of the shooting sports."
The new site for the AHF at Bass Pro Shops will also include displays of Hall member's memorabilia, trophy mounts, archery archives, and a research library devoted to the sport, people and industry of archery.
"We are thrilled with this wonderful addition to America's premier fish and wildlife museum," said Wonders of Wildlife Zooquarium interim director Max Peterson. "The Archery Hall of Fame and Museum will mirror our mission which is to educate, inform and entertain our visitors as well as help them appreciate our heritage of hunting and fishing."
Visitors will be able to touch, see, hear, and experience archery history and walk away with a better understanding of modern man's timeless romance with the bow and arrow. They will also discover how these ancient implements of primitive sustenance and warfare gradually evolved into the 21st century archery tackle that so successfully blends tradition with technological progress.
"It's important to recognize the people who made outstanding contributions to the sport of archery and for people to learn more about the history behind it," said Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris. "All of us at Bass Pro Shops are proud that with the recent move of the Fred Bear Museum and this move of the Archery Hall of Fame and Museum to our store. We will be able to partner these two significant elements of archery history together in the Wonders of Wildlife Zooquarium and help pass on this great outdoor tradition to future generations."
A special ribbon-cutting and grand-opening ceremony will be held to commemorate the opening of the Archery Hall of Fame and Museum and the Fred Bear Museum some time in early 2004. Details will be released at a later date.
Bass Pro Shops is currently building its first New York store in Auburn. The grand-opening date for the Fingerlakes Mall store has been scheduled for Thurs., June 10.
The Auburn store will feature its own museum and outdoor artifact's section that should be a big hit and area of interest to visitors.
Along the tournament trail
Ray Scheide, 33, of Russellville, Ark., capped off a record-setting week on Lake Okeechobee last Saturday with a $100,000 win at the $6.8 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour season opener presented by EverStart Batteries.
The FLW Tour rookie caught 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 1 ounce in the two-day final round to win his first pro title and 200 Land O,Lakes Angler of the Year points by 13 pounds over runner-up Chris McCall of Jasper, Tex.
"This has been a dream of mine forever," said Scheide, who advanced to the finals as the No. 7 seed after landing 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 5 ounces during first two days of competition.
Scheide caught his bass Wednesday and Thursday under clear, calm conditions by flipping a black-and-blue Terminator rattling creature bait through gaps in a 1/4-mile stretch of hyacinth mats floating in Pelican Bay.
When the wind picked up and the temperature dropped Friday, Scheide switched to a compact black-and-blue Gambler Cricket paired with a Bass Pro Shop's 1 1/2-ounce tungsten weight to more easily punch through the matted hyacinths as they became more compacted.
"I knew that when the wind picked up and it turned cold that the fish would move to the thickest cover they could find," he said. "All of that vegetation holds heat, and the fish move right up into it."
Rounding out the top five pros were McCall (10 bass, 23 pounds, 1 ounce, $35,000); Castrol pro David Dudley of Manteo, N.C. (10 bass, 22 pounds, 11 ounces, $20,000); Shinichi Fukae of Osaka, Japan (10 bass, 20 pounds, 7 ounces, $16,000); and Kellogg,s pro Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa. (10 bass, 19 pounds, 7 ounces, $14,000).
Robert Kimbrough of Vero Beach, Fla. claimed the co-angler crown and $15,000 Friday with three bass weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce that he caught while fishing behind McCall. Lake Okeechobee lived up to its world-class reputation, as anglers brought more bass to the scale this year than in any previous FLW Tour stop on the massive lake.
A total of 3,209 bass weighing 6,429 pounds, 11 ounces were weighed in by the expanded field of 200 pros and 200 co-anglers, smashing the previous record of 2,568 bass weighing 4,862 pounds, 7 ounces set in 2002 by a field of 175 pros and 175 co-anglers. Over 99 percent of the fish were released alive.
The tournament's biggest bass was caught by Team Yamaha angler Dean Rojas of Grand Saline, Tex., who landed a 10-pound behemoth Thursday to win $750 and the day,s Snickers Big-Bass Award in the Pro Division. Rojas earned another $1,000 from Snickers for catching the heaviest bass in either division over the first two days of competition, and he stands to win an additional $5,000 in August if the fish holds up as the heaviest bass of the regular season.
The FLW Pro tour will visit New York on Lake Champlain near Plattsburgh, June 23-26. Coverage of every FLW Tour event will be broadcast to 65 million Outdoor Life Network subscribers on the FLW Outdoors television program every Sunday at 1 p.m. and every Thursday at 5 p.m.
A Lake Okeechobee preview featuring bass-fishing legend Hank Parker will air Feb. 8 and Feb. 12 and fishing fans can watch the tournament weigh-in Feb. 15 and Feb. 19. Tournament veteran Larry Nixon will host a tournament wrap-up show Feb. 22 and Feb. 26.
Tri-County Winter Trap League results
A total of 108 shooters of the Tri-County Winter Trap League participated at the Otisco Club, but many may have felt they were shooting in Alaska. Once again, the elements took their toll on the equipment and shooters.
There were a few good scores but several shooters decided to stay home and keep warm. Camillus won the shoot with 240 birds and keeps the lead. Falcons came in second with 230, Weedsport scored 228 and Otisco registered 223.
Total points to date show Camillus with 26.5, Weedsport 22.5, Falcons 19.5, and Otisco 11.5. 25s shot for the day were: David Comroe, Roger Jorgensen, Len Kallfelz and Urb Womer of Camillus along with Mike Greathouse and Tom Martin of Weedsport.
The third round will start this week at the Weedsport range. For further information call Don Wells at 252-6208.
"Dedicated to the Great Outdoors, forever wild, clean & free!"
GEORGE'S TIP OF
THE WEEK
If you forget and leave the charge inside of your black powder gun, you will cause all sorts of problems if you double load it. Try marking your ramrod with two marks or scratches. Put one where it will show the gun empty when inserted and the other with a full load.
Fiorille, an outdoors communicator, is The Citizen's outdoors columnist. He can be reached at lakecountry@hotmail.com
The Bass Pro Shops store is the number one tourist attraction in the state of Missouri.
"The AHF was founded in 1971 as a way to recognize outstanding members of the archery community," said executive director Donald L. Clark. "Through a nominating and voting process, the electorate inducts members from the following categories: bow hunter, coach competitor to the sport, educator and influence on the sport."
The AHF's first induction was held at the Fred Bear Museum at the Bear Archery Company in Grayling, Mich. in 1972. All future AHF inductions will take place in Springfield.
The original inductees in 1972 and in other past years have included - Fred Bear along with other notable North American archers.
"The vision, dedication and passion Johnny Morris and the people at Bass Pro Shops have for creating the premier presentation of America's sporting heritage unites us in an ideal partnership to showcase archery's past, present and future," said AHF president Dave Staples.
"The AHF looks forward to working with the Bass Pro Shops team and the Wonders of Wildlife Zooquarium in the promulgation of archery, bow hunting and all of the shooting sports."
The new site for the AHF at Bass Pro Shops will also include displays of Hall member's memorabilia, trophy mounts, archery archives, and a research library devoted to the sport, people and industry of archery.
"We are thrilled with this wonderful addition to America's premier fish and wildlife museum," said Wonders of Wildlife Zooquarium interim director Max Peterson. "The Archery Hall of Fame and Museum will mirror our mission which is to educate, inform and entertain our visitors as well as help them appreciate our heritage of hunting and fishing."
Visitors will be able to touch, see, hear, and experience archery history and walk away with a better understanding of modern man's timeless romance with the bow and arrow. They will also discover how these ancient implements of primitive sustenance and warfare gradually evolved into the 21st century archery tackle that so successfully blends tradition with technological progress.
"It's important to recognize the people who made outstanding contributions to the sport of archery and for people to learn more about the history behind it," said Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris. "All of us at Bass Pro Shops are proud that with the recent move of the Fred Bear Museum and this move of the Archery Hall of Fame and Museum to our store. We will be able to partner these two significant elements of archery history together in the Wonders of Wildlife Zooquarium and help pass on this great outdoor tradition to future generations."
A special ribbon-cutting and grand-opening ceremony will be held to commemorate the opening of the Archery Hall of Fame and Museum and the Fred Bear Museum some time in early 2004. Details will be released at a later date.
Bass Pro Shops is currently building its first New York store in Auburn. The grand-opening date for the Fingerlakes Mall store has been scheduled for Thurs., June 10.
The Auburn store will feature its own museum and outdoor artifact's section that should be a big hit and area of interest to visitors.
Along the tournament trail
Ray Scheide, 33, of Russellville, Ark., capped off a record-setting week on Lake Okeechobee last Saturday with a $100,000 win at the $6.8 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour season opener presented by EverStart Batteries.
The FLW Tour rookie caught 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 1 ounce in the two-day final round to win his first pro title and 200 Land O,Lakes Angler of the Year points by 13 pounds over runner-up Chris McCall of Jasper, Tex.
"This has been a dream of mine forever," said Scheide, who advanced to the finals as the No. 7 seed after landing 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 5 ounces during first two days of competition.
Scheide caught his bass Wednesday and Thursday under clear, calm conditions by flipping a black-and-blue Terminator rattling creature bait through gaps in a 1/4-mile stretch of hyacinth mats floating in Pelican Bay.
When the wind picked up and the temperature dropped Friday, Scheide switched to a compact black-and-blue Gambler Cricket paired with a Bass Pro Shop's 1 1/2-ounce tungsten weight to more easily punch through the matted hyacinths as they became more compacted.
"I knew that when the wind picked up and it turned cold that the fish would move to the thickest cover they could find," he said. "All of that vegetation holds heat, and the fish move right up into it."
Rounding out the top five pros were McCall (10 bass, 23 pounds, 1 ounce, $35,000); Castrol pro David Dudley of Manteo, N.C. (10 bass, 22 pounds, 11 ounces, $20,000); Shinichi Fukae of Osaka, Japan (10 bass, 20 pounds, 7 ounces, $16,000); and Kellogg,s pro Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa. (10 bass, 19 pounds, 7 ounces, $14,000).
Robert Kimbrough of Vero Beach, Fla. claimed the co-angler crown and $15,000 Friday with three bass weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce that he caught while fishing behind McCall. Lake Okeechobee lived up to its world-class reputation, as anglers brought more bass to the scale this year than in any previous FLW Tour stop on the massive lake.
A total of 3,209 bass weighing 6,429 pounds, 11 ounces were weighed in by the expanded field of 200 pros and 200 co-anglers, smashing the previous record of 2,568 bass weighing 4,862 pounds, 7 ounces set in 2002 by a field of 175 pros and 175 co-anglers. Over 99 percent of the fish were released alive.
The tournament's biggest bass was caught by Team Yamaha angler Dean Rojas of Grand Saline, Tex., who landed a 10-pound behemoth Thursday to win $750 and the day,s Snickers Big-Bass Award in the Pro Division. Rojas earned another $1,000 from Snickers for catching the heaviest bass in either division over the first two days of competition, and he stands to win an additional $5,000 in August if the fish holds up as the heaviest bass of the regular season.
The FLW Pro tour will visit New York on Lake Champlain near Plattsburgh, June 23-26. Coverage of every FLW Tour event will be broadcast to 65 million Outdoor Life Network subscribers on the FLW Outdoors television program every Sunday at 1 p.m. and every Thursday at 5 p.m.
A Lake Okeechobee preview featuring bass-fishing legend Hank Parker will air Feb. 8 and Feb. 12 and fishing fans can watch the tournament weigh-in Feb. 15 and Feb. 19. Tournament veteran Larry Nixon will host a tournament wrap-up show Feb. 22 and Feb. 26.
Tri-County Winter Trap League results
A total of 108 shooters of the Tri-County Winter Trap League participated at the Otisco Club, but many may have felt they were shooting in Alaska. Once again, the elements took their toll on the equipment and shooters.
There were a few good scores but several shooters decided to stay home and keep warm. Camillus won the shoot with 240 birds and keeps the lead. Falcons came in second with 230, Weedsport scored 228 and Otisco registered 223.
Total points to date show Camillus with 26.5, Weedsport 22.5, Falcons 19.5, and Otisco 11.5. 25s shot for the day were: David Comroe, Roger Jorgensen, Len Kallfelz and Urb Womer of Camillus along with Mike Greathouse and Tom Martin of Weedsport.
The third round will start this week at the Weedsport range. For further information call Don Wells at 252-6208.
"Dedicated to the Great Outdoors, forever wild, clean & free!"
GEORGE'S TIP OF
THE WEEK
If you forget and leave the charge inside of your black powder gun, you will cause all sorts of problems if you double load it. Try marking your ramrod with two marks or scratches. Put one where it will show the gun empty when inserted and the other with a full load.
Fiorille, an outdoors communicator, is The Citizen's outdoors columnist. He can be reached at lakecountry@hotmail.com
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