Original Caption: Ronnie Young with a stringer of Lake Graham bass. March 1986, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Sometimes even we get surprised when researching the history of the sport of bass fishing.  Such is the case with this week’s Throwback Thursday historical photo.  I was browsing through a Texas newspaper report on Lake Graham and Lake Eddleman which featured professional bass angler Ronnie Young of Wichita Falls, TX, just an hour’s drive from the lakes.

The thing was, I couldn’t recall ever hearing of Ronnie, so I had some more digging to do – and sure enough, I found him on the Bassmaster website.

Ronnie had fished the BASS tour since 1975, first in the All American that year, and then a few events every year up until 1981 when he joined the tour full time.  He competed in a total of 57 events, cashing checks in nearly half of those events (26) and making three Classic appearances, 1982, 83, and 86.

However, the reason his name probably escaped my recognition was he had just two confirmed events where he finished in the top 10, a 4th place in the 1982 Classic, and a 10th place in the 1984 St. Johns Invitational.  His final tournament on tour was listed as the 1989 Texas Invitational.  In total, he amassed just over $28,000 in career winnings.

As for his advice on Lake Graham, Young liked the lower end of the lake in the winter, often fishing with a grub or a bone-colored crankbait.  As the water warms up through the year, he’d move up lake into the more stained sections and fish the humps and creek channels that wind their way through the timber.  One word of caution though – he says the old scrub oaks are thick enough, and hard enough, that you risk tearing your boat up getting into those areas.