Flipping Pioneer Dee Thomas Has Passed

The California tournament angler we know as "Dee" Thomas (left), who is renowned for refining the flipping technique and spreading it eastward in the 1970s, has died at the age of 85. Despite being on bottled oxygen for well over a decade, as the result of lung cancer, Thomas continued to fish seriously and competitively, even after the disease was diagnosed as inoperable.

Among his many accolades was membership in the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, and the California Outdoors Hall of Fame. He won the 1975 Bassmaster Arkansas Invitational on Bull Shoals, competed in the 1975 Bassmaster Classic on North Carolina's Currituck Sound and the 1996 Red Man (now BFL) All-American in Arkansas.

Despite all those achievements, Dee is best known for revolutionizing the sport by taking the technique then know as "tule dipping" and transforming it into the flipping and pitching techniques that now are standard. As such, his influence extended not only to mentees like Gary Klein and Hank Parker, but also to the Hall of Fame careers of anglers, including Denny Brauer and Tommy Biffle.

While Thomas elected to stay primarily in the West, his influence was felt on the national stage through others' success. After returning to California, he tutored his friend Dave Gliebe on the technique, and Gliebe used it to win B.A.S.S. invitationals on Toledo Bend and the Kissimmee Chain in 1977 and 1978, respectively. Gliebe also qualified for three consecutive Bassmaster Classics.

Thomas' most profound long-term influence, though, came in the form of Gary Klein, who went on to become a 30-time Classic qualifier and a co-founder of Major League Fishing. At the time of their first meeting at Lake Oroville, Klein was a confident and impressionable 15-year-old.

"I was a cocky kid and walked up to him and pretty much told him that one day I'd be as good as him," Klein recalled. "He looked me in the eyes, gave me a big bear hug, and said, 'Bring it on.'"

Beyond his family, tournament fishing, and mentoring (and occasionally hectoring) younger anglers, Thomas had few other interests. He was a passionate dog owner who, in later years, said that the only reason he was staying alive was for his pets.

While Thomas had his own extended family, Klein was proud to say that they "developed a father/son relationship." Klein made it a goal to educate others about his mentor's legacy, since "a lot of anglers who have a flipping stick on their decks never have heard the name Dee Thomas."

Dee's wife, Terry, his partner of more than 40 years, passed away in 2016. Between them, they had five children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

(Adapted from a special to BassFan from Pete Robbins. To read his entire tribute, click on this link: https://www.bassfan.com/news_article/10551/flipping-pioneer-thomas-dies-at-85.