What Our Sport, the Players, and Their Toys Looked Like 40 Years Ago

Who doesn't like to take an occasional stroll down memory lane? I took one today and have decided to share it with all of you.

The idea for this pictorial post came to me while I was reading an old Sports Illustrated (SI) article online earlier today. I'm going to withhold those details until a bit later, though.

How many of you have ever seen a 1976 Ranger classic, 16-foot, Bomber-style bass boat like this one? As rigged here, the boat had a 1976 Johnson, 70-hp outboard with tilt and trim and a 40-lb.-thrust Minn Kota trolling motor. The owner of this rig was asking $1,500 for it in July 2015.

Although I have no way of knowing for sure, it's entirely possible a 1976 Ford pickup similar to this one may have been used to tow this boat and/or others like it back and forth to the local fishing hole.

Graphite and graphite-boron composite rods, as reflected in this ad, were making their debut on tackle shelves around the countryside.

The first Lew's baitcasters were showing up, too. This ad is from an old Bass Pro Shops catalog.

1976 B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year was Jimmy Houston, fishing in just his second year of professional competition.

1976 Bassmaster Classic Champion was Rick Clunn. This Classic victory--his first--came on Lake Guntersville.

Clunn, however, had to share that 1976 spotlight with Ricky Green, the man holding the 8-lb. 9-oz. largemouth in this photo. This bass represented the Classic record for a long time. Green was inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame in 2005; he died May 11, 2014, at the age of 69. And in case you haven't noticed, a youthful Ray Scott is the man behind the mike in this photo.

In the 1960s and 1970s, when big-time competitive bass fishing was an emerging sport, the fashion for anglers was short-sleeved, snug-fitting coveralls that zipped up the front. Like now, the pros back then showcased their sponsors on their clothing but with bulky, embroidered patches that had to be sewn on. During the 2012 Bassmaster Classic, Tim Horton, 39, of Muscle Shoals, Ala., decided to pay tribute to the sport's early days by wearing one of these old suits, complete with patches, on stage.

(NEW) The lure that fast was becoming "all the buzz" in 1976 was this Harkin's Lunker Lure. There had been a number of surface-type spinner/buzzbaits made over the years, including Floyd's Buzzer and the Al Foss Shimmy Wiggler. However, the Lunker Lure had a new prop design (actually patented), and the bait was lightweight, which meant it would come to the surface quicker than any other buzzing-type bait before it. Not only that, but it made a nasty squeak when the prop started to wear--a noise that reportedly "drove the fish nuts." In fact, many anglers of that day would attach their Lunker Lures to the sideview mirrors of their vehicles and drive down the road, which made the props wear faster--and thus enhanced that awful squeak.

As I mentioned in the beginning, the idea for this post came while I was reading a feature-length article in a 1976 issue of SI earlier today. Here's the link for that article: http://www.si.com/vault/1976/04/26/618207/5760-casts-a-day-now-thats-plugging. "5,760 Casts a Day: Now That's Plugging" is an excellently written article by Roy Blount, Jr. Give it a read--I think you'll enjoy the journey down memory lane.