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December 2012
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Editor’s Note: This series is dedicated to those people who
penned the many articles we read in order to learn more about our
sport and become better anglers. Sure it may have been the anglers
who developed the techniques, lures and equipment we use today but
it was the writers’ job to make sure these bits of information got
to the masses. Without the writers to communicate this, the world
of bass fishing would be very different today.
Over the course of time there have been many writers who have
taught us through their words. Some of them have taught us the ways
and methods of other anglers, while others have taught us from
their own experiences. This installment
To me, Stan Fagerstrom is not only a mentor but one of my heroes
in the world of bass fishing. The first article I read by him was
published in 1975 in Western Bass Magazine. Ever since that time,
I’ve always looked for articles penned by Stan. He became one of my
teachers and I’m sure he was the same for many others.
Here is his story.
A War and The Daily NewsFagerstrom’s love of fishing began
at an early age in North Dakota. He remembers the first fish he
caught – during the Great Depression – a bullhead catfish on a bent
safety pin. In 1936 his family, after losing everything in the
Great Depression,
of The Writers focuses on a person who taught us from his own
experience – a lifelong love of bass fishing and casting. That
person is Stan Fagerstrom.
Because Stan Fagerstrom has been associated with bass fishing
for over 60 years, his experiences couldn’t be told in a single
piece. Therefore, we’ve split up his story into a series that
covers important parts of his life. We hope you enjoy reading about
one of bass fishing’s most accomplished ambassadors.
Fagerstrom has been writing about bass fishing since the
mid-40s. He’s been published in just about every magazine
associated with bass fishing since that time and has also been
conducting casting clinics or exhibitions over a good bit of the
world since the 50s. What makes this all the more amazing is he
started this career in an area of the country, the Pacific
Northwest, where early on folks often looked down their noses at
bass, even calling them “second cousins to a carp.” Though that
part of the country was primarily a salmon and steelhead haven,
Fagerstrom didn’t relent when it came to pursuing his passion and
introducing others to the black bass.
Recently I had the pleasure to meet with Stan at his home in
Arizona.
Page one
The Writers: Stan Fagerstrom - Part 1By Terry Battisti
PVT. Stan Fagerstrom after basic training at Camp Roberts,
California. Date 1943. Photo courtesy of Stan Fagerstrom.
Stan Fagerstrom on the cover of US Bass Magazine, circa
1988.
Merry ChristmasEveryone!
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Page two
Continued from Page 1
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moved to Longview, Washington with hopes of making a better
life.
By this time he’d been reading about bass fishing in the
sporting magazines of the time and found himself fascinated by what
he read about bass. His first major tackle purchase was his first
rod (made of metal) as well as a small spinner. He’d read about the
use of pork rind for bass so he fashioned a trailer out of pork fat
cut from a slab of bacon his mother had discarded.
Just as soon as he could, he went to a nearby lake, Lake
Sacajawea in the middle of town, and started casting the lure he’d
fashioned from shore. When a bass busted into his bait he said he
himself was “hooked” far more deeply than that fish.
By the time he’d finished elementary and junior high he couldn’t
get bass fishing out of his head. But it was in high school where
two paths crossed that would forever shape his life.
One of those paths was his on-going love for bass fishing. The
other was his ability to write. His first writing was for the
school newspaper – something he found he enjoyed – and by his
senior year he became editor. Unfortunately, there was also a war
going on, a big one if you remember, and he enlisted in the U.S.
Army.
“I enlisted in the U.S. Army on December 7, 1942, exactly one
year after Pearl Harbor,” he said. “I entered active service at
Fort Lewis in Washington State and took infantry basic training at
Camp Roberts, California. After basic training I served as an
instructor on a hand grenade range in Fort Ord, California. In 1944
I was shipped off to the South Pacific – eventually serving in the
jungles of New Guinea, what was then the Netherlands East Indies
(now Indonesia), the Mapia Islands and the Philippines. All of my
overseas combat service was with a rifle company of the 167th
Infantry Regiment of the 31st Infantry Division.
“My regiment was fighting on Mindanao Island when the war ended.
Though we didn’t know it at the time, we later learned that our
31st Division was to have played a role in the planned invasion of
Japan. Our division was to be combined with three other army
divisions to make up what would be known as the 8th army. On or
about the first of March, 1946 the newly formed 8th Army was to
have landed in or near Tokyo Bay as a part of what was to be called
Operation Downfall.
Stan and two friends who were waiting to be sent home in 1945
after the war. Photo courtesy of Stan Fagerstrom.
“I’d been sent to a field hospital in Mindanao shortly before
word reached us of the dropping of the first atomic bomb. You hear
a lot of stuff when you’re off fighting in some remote part of the
world and we weren’t unduly impressed. We weren’t sure what we were
hearing was the complete truth. We’d seen far too many Japanese
soldiers die or kill themselves rather than give up to entertain
ideas that the country might surrender. To say we were surprised
when Japan did give up is the understatement of all time.
“After I got back from the Pacific, courtesy of a hospital
plane, I was sent to Madigan General Hospital near Fort Lewis.
After a lengthy convalescent leave, I was finally discharged at
Fort Lewis, the same place where my military service had
started.
Stan Fagerstrom has written numerous poems over his life.
Throughout this series Stan shares some of the poems that are most
important to him. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I
have.
“I’d intended, after returning from the war, to enter the
University of Washington as a journalism student. That wasn’t to
happen. As
Stan Fagerstrom receives honors for combat in the Pacific
theater. Longview Daily News 1945 courtesy of Stan Fagerstrom.
Stan Fagerstrom receives honors for combat in the Pacific
theater. Longview Daily News 1945 courtesy of Stan Fagerstrom.
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Fagerstrom said it wasn’t long after he got along successfully
as a newspaper reporter that he began to consider taking a whack at
selling features to some of the outdoor magazines.
“I sent my first feature, it dealt with crappie fishing, to
Outdoor Life magazine. The editor of Outdoor Life at the time was a
man named William Rae. Here was another individual who was to have
a big impact on my writing endeavors. All of us were still using
manual typewriters in those early days. Even so, Rae would
sometimes take the time to send me two or three pages of single
spaced letters loaded with tips, ideas, constructive criticism and
suggestions. I’ve never met another like him.”
In Part Two, Stan will talk about
major impacts within the new bass fishing industry, the first
Bass Master Classic along with his relationships with Jason Lucas,
Homer Circle and Ray Scott.
Page three
Continued from Page 2
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mentioned, I’d done some sports writing for The Daily News in
Longview while I was still in high school and community college.
The city editor of the newspaper, as well as the publisher,
insisted they could teach me more about writing if I went to work
for them instead of going to the university. Besides that, Anita,
the high school sweetheart I’d married while in the army, and I had
an immediate need for some extra bucks.
“I began working full time for The Daily News in Longview in May
of 1946 as a general assignment reporter. Shortly after I started I
was also asked to do an outdoor column called ‘Nibbles and Bites.’
That’s where my writing career really got off the ground. The city
editor of The Daily News at the time was a man named Gordon
Quarnstrom. He was to have a tremendous impact with regard to my
writing. Those Daily News executives were correct at least to a
degree. I doubt there are many better training grounds for someone
to learn how to write than serving as a general assignment reporter
on a growing daily newspaper. You either learn how to write fast
and accurately about a variety of topics or you won’t have a
job.”
Stan’s Nibbles and Bites column from the Longview Daily News,
November 1958.
Cookin’ Your Catch
Heavenly Halibut
Original recipe makes 8 servings Change Servings
Ingredients:
Original recipe makes 8 servings Change Servings
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup butter, softened• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise• 2
tablespoons lemon juice• 3 tablespoons chopped green
onions• 1/4 teaspoon salt• 1 dash hot pepper sauce• 2 pounds
skinless halibut fil-
letsDirections:
1. Preheat the oven broiler. Grease a baking dish.
2. In a bowl, mix the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise, lemon
juice, green onions, salt, and hot pepper sauce.
3. Arrange the halibut fillets in the prepared baking dish.
4. Broil halibut fillets 8 minutes in the prepared oven, or
until eas-ily flaked with a fork. Spread with the Parmesan cheese
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Let’s Eat!!!www.mackslure.com
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Q: Are the pictures of the smile blades and Wedding Ring blades
actual size on your website?
A: Thank you for your question and interest in Mack’s Lure.
The sizes can appear differently on different monitors. However
the corresponding numbers relate to their size: 0.8 is 0.8 inches
from end to end when flat or about 3/4 of an inch across, 1.1 is
1.1 inches or about 1&1/8 inches, and so on for the Smile
Blades.
For the Wedding Ring hammered blades: The #2 is about 7/8 of an
inch in length, the #3 is 1 inch and the #5 is about 1 and 3/8
inches.
Questions of the
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Page four
From left to right are Ethan, Hunter and Dad Jeremy Binz. They
trolled Wishon Resovoir in California using chartreuse and pink
Wedding Ring® - Mini Pro. They hooked over 30 trout that day, and
kept a limit of 15.
Photo of the Month
www.mackslure.com
Merry Christmas
Happy Holidays