Where’d Don Mead Go

In today’s Friday Finale historical photo, we have a newspaper clipping featuring Don Mead of Hollister, Missouri.  Don is another of those anglers that had his moment in the spotlight of professional bass fishing, qualifying and fishing in the 1973 Bassmaster Classic as a then 29-year-old construction worker.  The event would get him a good mention and picture in the April 1974 issue of Fishing Facts magazine when then editor Spence Petros drew him as a member of the media reporting on the event.  In total, the Bassmaster website lists Don as having fished 12 events between 1972-1975, cashing checks in half of those events.

But that wasn’t the only organization Don fished at the time.  He won the Missouri State title in 1974, and fished a few Project: Sports, Inc (PSI) tournaments around that same time.  It was one of those events, the April PSI event on Table Rock Lake that today’s historical picture came from.

Don led wire-to-wire during the event’s 3 days, pocketing the win along with $1,000 for his efforts.  There were a total of 64 entrants in that tournament, and other big names finishing in the Top 10 included Elroy Krueger (2nd), Jimmy Houston (5th), Charlie Campbell (6th), and Ricky Green (10th).

The story write-up mentioned that Don used a Deep Jim and a Rabble Rouser (crankbaits) in crawfish color.  He cranked them down hard, then slowed the retrieve speed and occasionally stopped the retrieve, which was often when his bites would come.

The last mention of him I could find was a January 1976 newspaper mention after he won a local Branson Bassmasters event.  Perhaps one of our readers will remember Don or be able to fill us in on what happened to him after such a promising start.