Bill Dance was the leader in the 1977 Bassmaster Angler of the Year Race and the midway point of the season. Photo May/June 1977 issue of Bassmaster Magazine.

The 1976 season ended with Jimmy Houston winning the coveted Angler of the Year award and Rick Clunn won the first of his four Bassmaster Classics. In this installment of Season at a Glance: the 1977 Bassmaster Trail – Part One, we’ll see how things fared for the knowns and the newcomers. What would 1977 bring?

Typical of the prior five years, the tour started off with a trip to Florida and the St. Johns River. Five more events would call it a season capped off with the Bassmaster Classic – again touted as a mystery tournament in the March/April 1977 issue of Bassmaster. But as the season went on, B.A.S.S. headquarters realized they could get more fans if the announced the event early. As it turned out, they ended up announcing the event a week prior to the date here.

Here’s how the schedule looked for 1977.

  • Florida Invitational, January 19-21 – St Johns River
  • Louisiana Invitational, February 16-18 – Toledo Bend Reservoir
  • Virginia Invitational, March 16-18 – Gaston Lake
  • Arkansas Invitational, May 11-13 – Greers Ferry Reservoir
  • Alabama Invitational, June 15-17 – West Point Reservoir
  • New York Invitational, September 21-23 – St. Lawrence River
  • Bassmaster Classic, October 26-28 – To Be Announced October 24

St. Johns River – Goodwin Freezes Competition

January in Florida is hit or miss when it comes to the weather. And in 1977, the first Bassmaster event on the St. Johns River didn’t just miss the mark weather-wise, it was a freeze out. In fact, the participants could have easily mistaken Florida for any of the northern venues – like the frozen tundra of Minnesota – it was so cold.

A full field of 250 anglers woke up to an inch of snow on day one, followed by a severe cold front that dropped air temperatures down to 24 degrees with zero-degree wind chills.

Bassmaster pro Roger Moore led the first two days of the event by throwing a Norman Deep Baby N crankbait, but his fish ended up running out on the final day of competition. Steve Goodwin of Durham, NC won the event with a total of 12 bass weighing in at 45-03, five (for 21-11) of which he caught on the final day. He reportedly caught his fish on a 7-inch Flip Tail worm, black and brown, rigged with a pegged 1/4-ounce worm weight. His pegging method was what he credited with his win.

“In the cold water, the bass didn’t take the bait,” said Goodwin. “On some strikes they were so soft and light you couldn’t detect them.”

Steve Goodwin holds the check from his 1977 Florida Invitational win. Photo March/April 1977 issue of Bassmaster Magazine.

His pegging method consisted of tying off a paper matchstick to the line 12 inches above the hook with an overhand knot. This is what stopped the sinker from sliding down the line to the eye of the hook.

Roger Moore ended up in 2nd place with a total of 27-01 (11 fish) while Bill Dance finished in 3rd place with 12 fish for 24-11. 1975 Classic winner Jack Hains weighed in seven fish for 23-02 for 4th place, while H. J. Stevens hauled in 10 bass for 21-01, rounding out the top 5.

Over the course of three days the field brought 541 bass to the scales for a total of 1223-02 – not one angler caught a limit. Big fish of the event went to Garry Sperry of Kansas with a bass that weighed 10-10 and netted him a Ranger 155-A bass boat, SilverTrail trailer, Silvertrol trolling motor, Lowrance LFG-306 locator and a Fish-n-Temp, and other accessories.

The final results for the Florida Invitational are shown in the table below.

Bass Master Florida Invitational St. Johns River Scorecard – January 19-21, 1977
Place
Angler, State
Points
Weight, lbs-ozs
1
Stephen Goodwin, NC
100
45-03
2
Roger Moore, MO
99
27-01
3
Bill Dance, TN
98
24-11
4
Jack Hains, LA
97
23-02
5
H. J. Stevens, AR
96
21-01
6
Phil Greene, LA
95
20-05
7
Al Greene, GA
94
20-04
8
Harold Allen, TX
93
20-03
9
Manuel Spencer, FL
92
18-15
10
Joe Wagoner, NC
91
18-09
11
Gary Pendergrass, MO
80
18-05
12
Sam Chapmen, TN
79
17-11
13
Tom Mann, AL
78
17-02
14
John Powell, AL
77
16-13
15
Hugh Massey, KY
76
15-12
16
Larry Nixon, TX
75
15-03
17
Bill Beardon, GA
74
15-00
18
Joe Pryor, NC
73
14-09
19
Jerry Morrow, FL
32
14-01
20
Billy Westmorland, TN
71
13-13
21
Garry Sperry, KS
60
13-12
22
J. D. Skinner, AL
59
13-05
23
Billy Bowman, AL
58
13-04
24
Dave Gliebe, CA
57
13-03
25
Gary Wade, NC
56
12-14
26
Ray Bivin, KY
55
12-12
27
Emmett Chiles, AR
54
12-07
28
Shaw Grigsby, FL
53
12-07
29
Roland Martin, OK
52
12-02
30
Jim Rogers, MO
51
12-00
31
Jimmy Houston, OK
50
11-15
32
Willard Moore, LA
49
11-12
33
Frank Colyer, VA
48
11-07
34
Basil Bacon, MO
47
11-05
35
Don Shealy, NC
46
11-04
36
Terry Smith, FL
45
11-02
37
Jerry Rhoton, OK
44
10-15
38
O'Neil Mintz
43
10-14
39
Marshal Heisler, MO
42
10-13
40
Cliff Craft, GA
41
10-11
41
Bill Vanderford
40
10-08
42
Harol Wilhelm
39
10-02
43
Doug Odom, SC
38
10-02
44
J. B. Warren
37
10-01
45
G. B. James
36
10-00
46
Tom Cheney
35
9-14
47
Gene Howard
34
9-11
48
Bill Ward, MO
33
9-11
49
Ray Lloyd
32
9-07
50
D. C. Brown
31
9-02

Toledo Bend – Gliebe Flips Out

The second event of the ’77 season found the anglers heading to the Louisiana side of Toledo Bend Reservoir out of Zwolle, LA. Again, a full field of 250 anglers met for competition, hoping the weather would be better than it had been in January on the St. Johns River in Welaka, FL. The weather was considerably better but still cold by Louisiana standards as a front moved in prior to the event.

The cold front moved the fish off the spawning flats and onto the deeper drops, which baffled some of the anglers. Only 49 limits were caught over the three days of competition with a total of 2721 bass that weighed 5816-01.

California angler Dave Gliebe, unlocked the secret to catching the sluggish fish, though. A disciple of Dee Thomas, Gliebe was fishing his sixth Bassmaster event and utilizing the new flipping technique. His 20 bass over three days weighed in at 83-02.

Dave Gliebe won his thrid event in three months at the Bassmaster Louisiana Invitational in February 1977. Photo May/June 1977 issue of Bassmaster Magazine.

He found the fish along a “70-foot wide by 30-foot long weed-covered depression” located off a flat near the old Highway 1215. The depression contained timber and was covered with dead vegetation that had died in the recent cold weather and blown into the wood.

He fished a 5/8-ounce hand-tied hair jig tipped with a 4-inch plastic worm.

On the second day of competition, Gliebe and partner Don Mann managed 16 fish between them for a total of 85-10. Mann caught nine of those fish for a total of 49-02 and the largest single-day catch.

Second- and 3rd-place anglers, Paul Chamblee and Wade Reed, respectively, caught their fish on crankbaits. Chamblee weighed in 24 bass for 77-15 while Reed brought 29 bass to the scales for 76-10.

Big fish of the event was caught by Dean Gilbert, an 8-10, netting him a Ranger bass boat and accessories.

An interesting note was within that one-month timeframe, Gliebe had fished four national events, including the Florida Invitational on the St. Johns. Over that time period he won an American Bass Fisherman (ABF) event on Okeechobee with 95-03 (8-bass daily limit), an American Angler event on Sam Rayburn and then followed that up with the Toledo Bend win. In a month he pocketed over $43,000 in winnings.

Also of note was the flipping technique could not be ignored anymore. Dee Thomas introduced the system to the Eastern anglers with his win on Bull Shoals, but it wasn’t until Gliebe’s torrent of success in 1977 that anglers really took notice. In fact, Roland Martin and Al Lindner were both taught by Gliebe. Below is a cool picture of Gliebe, Martin and Lindner after the Toledo Bend tournament, Gliebe giving a little lesson to the big guns of the day.

Roland Martin and Al Lindner get a lesson in flipping from Californian Dave Gliebe. Photo Ron Lindner.

This was Larry Nixon’s first year on tour and he’d placed 16th at the first event in Florida. But, due to the fact he guided on Toledo Bend, He sat this event out. He could have fished the event if he obeyed the 2-week off-limits for the tournament but he weighed the options, lose three weeks of guiding (two weeks for the off-limits and one for the event) or ensure a paycheck for that time. Nixon chose the last option, and it turned out to be a wise decision.

The final results of the 1977 Louisiana Invitational are in the table below.

Bass Master Louisiana Invitational Toledo Bend Scorecard – February 16-18, 1977
Place
Angler, State
Points
Weight, lbs-ozs
1
Dave Gliebe, CA
100
83-02
2
Paul Chamblee, NC
99
77-15
3
Wade Reed, LA
98
76-10
4
Sonny Viola, LA
97
75-11
5
Cliff Craft, GA
96
66-14
6
Bobby Murray, AR
95
66-07
7
J. B. Warren, AR
94
60-13
8
Doug Odom, SC
93
60-08
9
Bill Dance, TN
92
59-14
10
George Mason, TX
91
59-08
11
Don Mann, AL
80
59-04
12
Kim Whitaker, AR
79
59-02
13
Norwood Harris, LA
78
59-01
14
Jim McKay, MS
77
58-14
15
Roland Martin, OK
76
58-12
16
Charles Campbell, MO
75
58-17
17
Bo Dowden, LA
74
57-15
18
James Dudley, VA
73
57-12
19
Gary Wade, NC
72
57-03
20
Al Lindner, MN
71
56-07
21
Rick Clunn, TX
60
56-02
22
Wesley Fredieu, LA
59
51-07
23
Phil Greene, TX
58
51-06
24
Harold Allen, TX
57
51-04
25
Elroy Kreueger, TX
56
50-04
26
Bill Ward, MO
55
50-01
27
Jimmy Houston, OK
54
47-14
28
Stephen Goodwin, NC
53
47-11
29
Pat Bourreaux LA
52
47-10
30
Ricky Green, AR
51
46-02
31
Tommy Martin, TX
50
43-10
32
Ronnie Young, TX
49
43-03
33
Don Shealy, NC
48
42-07
34
Glin Wells, TN
47
41-15
35
J. D. Skinner, AL
46
40-15
36
Jerry Brown, LA
45
40-04
37
Wayne Jackson, LA
44
40-04
38
Jim Noble, CO
43
40-02
39
Randy Fite, TX
42
39-10
40
Jim Rogers, MO
41
39-09
41
Teemie Landry
40
39-02
42
Jerry Patton
39
39-02
43
Rayo Breckenridge, AR
38
38-08
44
Jack Lee
37
38-02
45
Dick Davis
36
37-12
46
Emmett Chiles, AR
35
37-11
47
Roger Moore, MO
34
37-11
48
Jerry Rhoton, OK
33
37-10
49
Greg Ward, MO
32
35-13
50
W. G. Brotton
31
35-12

Lake Gaston – Lindner Banks on Submerged Brush

The third stop on the ’77 Bassmaster Trail was a first-time visit to Virginia’s Lake Gaston. The Trail had visited nearby Buggs Island three times prior (1974, ’75 and ’76). The reason to go to Gaston was at the time it was known as a big fish lake. This held true as 10 bass over 7 pounds were weighed over the course of three days.

Although there were several big fish weighed, not many fish were brought to the scales. The total for three days of competition was 2,063 bass that weighed 3,949-00. A total of 46 8-bass limits were caught by the field of 245 anglers

Al Lindner took top honors all the way around with a total of 20 fish that pushed the scales to 53-01. His day-1 total of 26-13 was anchored by big fish for the event, a 10-04 bass. Lindner caught all his fish for the event on the new Mister Twister Sintipede. He concentrated on docks that had cane poles on them. These deeper docks all had submerged brush piles around them that Lindner used to catch his fish off of.

Second place went to Bill Dance who weighed in 23 bass for 52-00. He reported catching his fish on a jig-n-eel, a Mann’s Jelly Worm and an Arbogast Mud Bug in 7 to 10 feet of water. Local angler Bobby Blankenship placed third with 44-05 (21 bass).

Al Linder and Ray Scott after Lindner’s win at the 1977 Virginia Invitational on Lake Gaston. Photo May/June 1977 issue of Bassmaster Magazine.

Ricky Green brought in 18 bass for a total of 43-14 for 4th place and Dr. Greg South, Lindner’s partner on day 1, rounded out the top 5 with 21 fish for 42-09.

In all Lindner took home nearly $18,000 for his win and big fish.

The final results for the Virginia Invitational are shown in the table below.

Bass Master Virginia Invitational Gaston Lake Scorecard – March 16-18, 1977
Place
Angler, State
Points
Weight, lbs-ozs
1
Al Lindner, MN
100
53-01
2
Bill Dance, TN
99
52-00
3
Robert Blankenship, VA
98
44-05
4
Ricky Green, AR
97
43-14
5
Greg South, VA
96
42-09
6
Jimmy Houston, OK
95
42-04
7
Jon Butler, TN
94
40-07
8
Larry Nixon, TX
93
40-03
9
Roger Moore, MO
92
40-00
10
Loyd McEntire, IN
91
38-13
11
Paul Chamblee, NC
80
38-01
12
Bill Ward, MO
79
37-11
13
Woo Daves, VA
78
36-07
14
Stephen Goodwin, NC
77
36-01
15
James Thomas, AL
76
35-00
16
Rick Clunn, TX
75
34-14
17
Dick Busby, VA
74
33-09
18
Wendel Riddle, IN
73
33-09
19
Jerry Rhoton, OK
72
33-07
20
Clayton Stanley, VA
71
33-05
21
Bill Horne, NC
60
32-01
22
James Ledbetter, NC
59
31-15
23
Bobby Murray, AR
58
31-13
24
James Parker, NC
57
31-08
25
Barry Figard, MD
56
31-08
26
Hubert Greene, NC
55
30-14
27
Jack Rich, NC
54
30-11
28
Jim Rogers, MO
53
30-10
29
Bob Duke, GA
52
30-07
30
Chic Aydelette, NC
51
30-04
31
Marvin Baker, TX
50
30-01
32
Monroe Tanner, LA
49
29-14
33
Gene Miller, AR
48
29-05
34
Danny Garrett, VA
47
29-04
35
Rayo Breckenridge, AR
46
29-00
36
John Powell, AL
45
28-03
37
Jack Hains, LA
44
28-01
38
Tommy Martin, TX
43
27-12
39
Larry Steele, AL
42
27-10
40
Jim Hunziker, VA
41
27-07

Angler of the year standings after the first three events had Bill Dance sitting comfortably in the lead with 304 points. Steve Goodwin, winner of the Florida Invitational held own the second spot with a distant 245 points. Roger Moore was close behind in 3rd place with 241 points. The top 30 for the Angler of the Year race is shown in the table below. Note, as I was calculating the AOY points, I noticed discrepancies in the Bassmaster Results. Specifically for Paul Chamblee, Ricky Green and Rick Clunn. It appears that BASS did not give them the 5-point credit for attending all three events to date as each of them was off by 5 points in the Bassmaster standings. The points in the parentheses are the points with the extra attendance points that I calculated. Let’s see if this falls out in the wash by the end of the year.

It also needs to be noted that the points system had been changed for the 1977 Trail season. 1st Place through 10th received 100 points for 1st, 99 points for 2nd on down to 10th place and 91 points. Eleventh place then received 80 points, 12th 79 points down to 20th which received 71 points. Then 21st place through 80th place received 60 points (21st place) 59 points (22nd place) on down to one point for 80th. Also anglers were awarded 5 show-up points for each event they fished. Talk about confusing.

1977 Bass Master Angler of the Year Race after Three Events
Place
Angler, State
Points
1
Bill Dance, TN
304
2
Stephen Goodwin, NC
245
3
Roger Moore, MO
241
4
Jimmy Houston, OK
214
5
Al Lindner, MN
209
6
Phil Greene, TX
201
7
Paul Chamblee, NC
189 (*194)
8
Jack Hains, LA
184
9
Bill Ward, MO
183
10
Larry Nixon, TX
178
11
Dave Gliebe, CA
172
12
H. J. Stevens, AR
165
13
Harold Allen, TX
165
14
Jerry Rhoton, OK
164
15
Bobby Murray, AR
163
16
Ricky Green, AR
158 (*163)
17
Jim Rogers, MO
160
18
Cliff Craft, GA
152
19
John Powell, AL
152
20
Rick Clunn, TX
145 (*150)
21
Doug Odom, SC
147
22
J. B. Warren, AR
146
23
Gary Wade, NC
143
24
Roland Martin, OK
143
25
J. D. Skinner, AL
135
26
Dick Busby, VA
133
27
James Thomas, AL
132
28
Tommy Martin, TX
130
29
Rayo Breckenridge, AR
128
30
Hugh Massey, KY
128