Iconic anglers celebrate Fred Arbogast’s BFHOF induction

“This will be a very limited and special collection opportunity for anyone who is passionate about bass fishing or fishing lures,” said Bruce Stanton, the Vice President and General Manager for PRADCO’s fishing division and current Vice President and President-elect of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame (pictured above left with Kevin VanDam).

“I can’t think of another series where you’ll have lures with designs and autographs by the most famous bass fisherman of all time in Bill Dance, the best tournament angler of all time in KVD and one of the top current anglers in 2022 Bassmaster Classic champ Jason Christie.”

This initiative will also feature a rare occurrence –cooperation between two fierce competitors in the tackle category. While VanDam has long been sponsored by Strike King, he was given permission to lend his name and support to the effort to honor Arbogast’s memory and contributions to the sport.

“To me, this shows how the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame brings the industry together to promote the lifestyle of bass fishing. While we are in a very competitive business environment, I think it’s commendable that the team at Rather Outdoors and Strike King wanted to participate in this project for the Hall of Fame,” Stanton added.

“We really appreciate KVD and the management team at Strike King – Rocky Kalsow, the President of Rather Outdoors North America, and Ken Eubanks, the CEO of Rather Outdoors – getting on board. I can’t think of another project where the top tournament pro of all time would lend his signature and credibility to a competitor’s product to support a non-profit organisation.”

Released in 1939, the Jitterbug is unquestionably one of the most popular fishing lures of all-time, a testament to Arbogast’s creative vision. By attaching the cupped portion of two kitchen spoons to the end of a piece of a wooden broomstick, then placing hooks along the bottom, he was able to fashion one of the ultimate topwater baits because of its wobbling and plopping action.