Terry Battisti

Author: Terry Battisti

The Need for Speed

Posted by Terry Battisti | Sep 2, 2026 | Old Bass Boats |

For those of you who have a need for speed, here’s a blast from the past that might have you...

Bass Fishing Patches

Posted by Terry Battisti | Sep 1, 2026 | Memorabilia |

The first club I belonged to in southern California had its club patch and presented patches for 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-place tournament finishes as well as for AOY

Roland Martin’s First Bassmaster Season

Posted by Terry Battisti | Aug 31, 2026 | Videos |

Roland Martin’s first Bassmaster Season was filled with success and fired a salvo over the bow of the all who had ventured into competitive bass fishing before him

Bass Boats of 1964

Posted by Terry Battisti | Aug 26, 2026 | Old Bass Boats, Retro Ads |

Today we’re going to continue down the line of old bass boats, specifically the Bass Boats of...

Japan-Only Ranger Bass Boats

Posted by Terry Battisti | Aug 25, 2026 | Japan, Old Bass Boats |

On one of my first trips to Japan (2006) I was lucky enough to spend some time touring the local tackle shops and boat dealerships around Tokyo.

The Writers – Stan Fagerstrom Part 1

Posted by Terry Battisti | Aug 24, 2026 | The Writers |

Fagerstrom started writing about bass fishing in the mid-1940s. He was published in just about every magazine associated with bass fishing since that time and conducted casting clinics or exhibitions over a good bit of the world since the ‘50s

1984 Tide Craft

Posted by Terry Battisti | Aug 17, 2026 | Bass Boat Catalogs, Old Bass Boats |

What we’re looking at is a 1984 Model Year catalog from Minden, Louisiana boat manufacturer Tide Craft. Tide Craft was a maker of boats of all kinds including bass boats in the 70s through the 80s.

1968 Burke Flex-O Catalog

Posted by Terry Battisti | Aug 11, 2026 | Bass Tackle Catalogs, Burke, Tackle History |

But read the description and there’s no mention of Texas or rig. Instead, the rig is called the “self weedless worm with special Slide Sinker.” The Texas rig would not receive its name until just after the start of the 70s. Below that they were even selling the EK102 “Professional Series New ‘Slide Sinker’ Method Erthword Kit.”

1970s Tuner Gear Kits

Posted by Terry Battisti | Aug 10, 2026 | Tackle History |

This week I’m going to discuss what today would be called 1970s Tuner Gear Kits. These high-speed conversion gear kits allowed an angler to change out the old 3.75:1 gears in the ABU 5000 and 6000 reels and improve the ratio to near 5.0:1.

Minnow Lure Battles

Posted by Terry Battisti | Jul 30, 2026 | Retro Ads, Tackle History |

Even though the Floating Minnow was available in the States, stock was still low, keeping the price well above average. As with any open market, this opened the door for copycats. This is a short look into those early copycats and the baits they developed based on the Original Floating Rapala.