A F AIR S HOT and A G OOD T IME
CIRCUITS TO BECOME A SOLID PART OF THE A MERICAN OUTDOOR SCENE . M ANY OTHERS TRIED TO EMULATE THEIR SUCCESS . W HEN I RETURNED TO TOURNA - MENT BASS FISHING IN 1988, I WAS ASKED IN A WON BASS INTERVIEW WHY SO MANY CIRCUITS HAD FAILED . “O H SURE , IT SOUNDS EASY ; SCHEDULE A SLATE OF TOURNAMENTS , START A MAGAZINE , SELL A BUNCH OF SUBSCRIPTIONS AND IN NO TIME AT ALL BECOME ANOTHER R AY S COTT . W ELL IT DOESN ’ T WORK THAT WAY , NEVER WILL ,” WAS MY REPLY . W E WERE ABLE TO SUCCEED BECAUSE THE LATE B URT T WILEGAR HAD ALREADY ESTABLISHED A MAGAZINE AND A NEWSPAPER WITH A COMBINED CIRCULATION OF 200,000 READERS . B URT ONCE TOLD ME THAT HE FELT HIS MISSION IN THE OUTDOORS FIELD WAS TO PROVIDE OTHER PEOPLE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENJOY LIFE AND BETTER THEMSELVES . T HANK YOU , B URT , FOR MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO MAKE A LIVING IN THE FISHING AND HUNTING WORLD . I HAVE ALSO SAID MANY TIMES AND WILL SAY IT AGAIN , I WOULD HAVE NEVER LASTED THREE YEARS IN THE BASS FISHING WORLD WITHOUT THE HELP OF F ORREST AND N INA W OOD , FOUNDERS OF R ANGER B OATS . M ANY OTHERS IN THE FISHING INDUSTRY ALSO MADE IT POSSIBLE . T HANK YOU . T HE BIGGEST THANKS GOES TO YOU , THE FISHERMEN WHO HAD THE DESIRE AND THE WILL TO COMPETE . W HILE THE FOLKS MENTIONED ABOVE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE THE PAYOUTS AND RECOGNITION YOU DESERVED ,
WITHOUT YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SPEND YOUR
TIME AND MONEY ON THE WATER TESTING YOUR
SKILLS AGAINST THE BEST ANGLERS IN THE
WORLD , TOURNAMENT BASS FISHING WOULD
NOT EXIST AS WE KNOW IT .
L
ASTYEAR WE PAID TRIBUTE TO THE LEADERS IN THE FISHING INDUSTRY WHO THROUGH
THEIR HARD WORK AND PERSEVERANCE MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR BASS TOURNAMENT
A LL WE
CAN DO IS PROVIDE A FAIR SHOT
AND A GOOD TIME .
T HANK YOU ALL .
Harvey Naslund Silver Eagle
Harvey Naslund’s bass fishing career spanned the decades and touched many lives.
July 2011 _ SILVER EAGLES 3