Today’s Friday Finale historical photo is a great shot dating back to 1988 of Guido Hibdon and his son, Dion, that appeared in that year’s Classic Report press guide. Guido won both the 1980 and 1981 Missouri Invitational/West events and had been fishing the Bassmaster tour ever since. In the story, Guido said, “I worried a lot those first few years, because I have seen guys lose their homes and everything else while trying to make a living from tournament fishing.”
As such, he had planned for his son to attend college after graduating, but Dion had other thoughts, wanting to join the Bassmaster tour with his mother and father for a year, which is exactly what happened. The family traveled the country with a two-story trailer carrying their twin Rangers outfitted with Johnson Outboards. The double-decker arrangement garnered a lot of attention at the time, as only a handful of professional anglers had a similar setup (Linda England and Fredda Lee were another).
On tour, Guido fished 163 BASS events, making 10 Classics, winning the 1988 event. He also secured wins in the 1989 Maryland Top 100 event and the 1991 Florida Invitational.
Dion first joined the tour in 1985, fishing nearly identical 168 events and qualifying for 8 Classics. His sole win on the Bassmaster tour was at the 1997 Bassmaster Classic.
