(Lee Bailey Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Famer is also one of the Nations most recognized pro bass fisherman)
“I am so honored and humbled to be included on the Hall of Fame wall with so many legends.” Lee Bailey Jr was inducted into the International Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame on March 7, 2026.
Lee Bailey, Jr., is a Pro Angler that began his illustrious career in the New England region.
As a professional bass angler I have accomplished so much in a short amount of years. “Some say a lifetimes worth of accomplishments”. I was the first to ever bring non-industry sponsors into the sport of Competitive bass fishing.
Right from the get go.
Lee Bailey Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Famer was sponsored By Foxwoods Resort & Casino (and many industry sponsors) allowed me to make a big splash my first season as a full time Touring Pro. I showed up at my first ever Bassmaster event displaying my complete pro tour rig with a color coordinated van pulling an enclosed trailer. Inside the trailer was my matching tour bass boat. The trailer would be opened up with a drop out floor hatch so that my tour boat could be driven in and out of it. Let me tell you it was down right amazing. My sponsors could never be upset about getting the exposure that I was giving them. Right from the get go.
Lee Bailey Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Famer makes the Big Show.
I am a Bassmaster Champion, 3-time Bassmaster Classic Qualifier, 2-time FLW tour Championship qualifier, TV producer and host, tournament organizer, promoter, a website designer for pro anglers and manufactures alike. I was the official CT River bass fishing guide for Riverfront Recapture. An organization that is revitalizing the CT river with walkways and parks. I would do many casting contests for kids and seminars for all Riverfront Recapture venues.
The beginning or my pro career started in 1996 when I landed Black Velvet Canadian Whisky as my title sponsor. They helped me develop my first pro tournament. This tournament kicked off my organizing and running of big payout bass fishing tournaments in New England. It also enabled me to build a 12ft x 50ft casting pond to teach kids casting and run contests for all angling ages. With Black Velvet we made a big splash at the sport shows with this for decades.
Lee Bailey became a lure designer early in his career.
Lee Bailey Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Famer became a lure designer early in my career (Cavitron Buzzbait / Baby Buzzbait and the stealth head) trying to make my favorite big bass lure (a buzzbait) become a more efficient lure. I accomplished that with the original Cavitron Buzzbait which is now a world renowned topwater lure. I took this further recently with the design of the “Baby Buzzbait (www.babybuzzbait.com) “The Most Compact Buzzbait” on the market, PERIOD. It is small, tight and has a unique gurgle from the scientifically advanced prop.
Making it to the big show was one of my ultimate childhood goals. When I qualified in my first year it was an amazing time for me, my family, friends and of coarse my sponsors.
I grew a huge fan base qualifying for 3 Classics
It turned out to be an even bigger career boost. I grew a huge fan base qualifying for 3 Classics and 2 FLW Championships, competing in over 200 pro events. Kids and adult fisherman that followed me throughout my career. The exposure I was able to give my sponsors and fans was mind boggling. These events gave me some of the biggest credentials ever, as did qualifying for the very first Bassmaster Elite Series. This was the top dog of tournament fishing. Only the top 100 anglers world wide could qualify for this most prestigious trail. With 10 regular season tournaments and payouts over $400,000. Paying $100,000 to first place and $10,000 at 50th place. Made it the place to prove yourself and increase your exposure 10 fold.
Lectures and seminars became a standard for me. Teaching bass fishing through the winter months at sport shows and clubs. My promotional platform was as good back then as it is today. I sold sponsorships to the casting pond to pay for it. This started out when I didn’t have much money. However, by doing this it grew my marketing capabilities and value tremendously.
Lee Fishing Hall of Famer helped set up many environmental and fishing programs
My growing reputation and devotion to fishing brought me to sit on many board of directors to help with the environment and fishing programs. I was able to help set up many ways to teach our young new anglers the skills of casting and learning how to locate and catch fish. This is just the beginning of what I have done being dedicated to our youth and the sport of fishing. My many written articles, books, designs and photos have been featured in numerous publications including BASSMASTER, B.A.S.S. Times, In-Fisherman and Fishing Tackle Retailer magazines.
Then came the Foxwoods Bass Challenge. The most professional and largest payout trail ever in the history of New England. I ran and produced the Foxwoods Bass Challenge tour for years.
Foxwoods Bass Challenge Tour
The Foxwoods Bass Challenge Tour was declared the most professional run bass tournament in the Northeast. We offered the largest payouts and exposure to the experienced bass anglers of the Northeast. I put together 4 tournaments plus a no entry fee classic each year These events drew enough anglers to fill the field (100 boats) in all events. This was never heard of in New England.
To finish this off there was a free classic dinner and awards ceremony to the top 50 boats held at Foxwoods Resort & Casino. One of the biggest draws to to the Bass Challenge tour was that thru my sponsors, We were able to give away a free fully rigged bass boat (Value $20,000) at each event and 2 bass boats (value $50,000) at the no-entry fee classic. This along with our professionalism and care for the environment we had the only live release boat in the northeast. Thanks again to my sponsors.
We also filmed each 2 day event for my weekly 1/2 hour TV show (Catch The Dream). It was my passion to give back to the New England bass anglers so that they might have a chance to go pro like I was able. My TV show aired weekly for many years. I did this while still competing on the Bassmasters Elite Series and running the Foxwoods Bass Challenge Tour. It was a passion of mine to teach tips and techniques for all levels of bass fisherman. I accomplished this with my TV show, sport show appearances on my pond and the hog trough. As a key speaker I was able to get a lot of time doing seminars at the sport shows and other bass fishing venues. I continued to teach fishing to an even bigger audience by writing three books.
My books have become a mainstay to fishermen of all expertise.
Lee Bailey Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Famer first book was a fishing guide book to the Connecticut River. I showed my personal spots on the river for anglers to find themselves in the right areas. See You On The River Connecticut River Map Guidebook is the most comprehensive compilation of maps, Lees Lures and River Fishing Factors I have ever put together. “I am excited to be able to bring all this information to my many fans and Connecticut River anglers”. This book was so popular that I had to do a second printing in which I added even more maps of the river and areas to fish. With my Lee’s Lures Section anglers also learned which lures that were proven to catch bass on the CT River.
Learn which lures that were proven to catch bass
My second book was titled Current Tactics. I wrote this to help anglers understand how to fish current and understand tidal rivers (which was my expertise). Novice as well as experienced anglers learned everything they needed to know to catch largemouth, smallmouth and Striped bass on current systems. Readers found in-depth coverage of river tides and how bass are effected by those tides. I wrote this book with clear, concise text that shows the very latest innovations in lures and over 30 years of knowledge suitable for catching trophy bass on current systems. This was another success for me and sold out in just 6 months time.
This brings me to my most recent book titled Strategies For Bass, a 228 page bound paperback. Strategies For Bass is the most comprehensive compilation of fishing techniques I have ever put together. The rapid rate at which the thirst for knowledge about bass behavior, techniques, tips and tricks from the pros has made compiling a comprehensive teaching and learning book on bass fishing a formidable challenge. I have accomplished this in “Strategies For Bass”.
My accomplishments to the sport of fishing together for you.
I was one of those young boys who dreamed of being a pro bass angler. This started me spending every waking moment reading every bass magazine from cover to cover over and over again. Through my high school years I was able to fish at a small lake in CT where my grandparents lived. This gave me the opportunity to be on the water every weekend and throughout my summer break. Fishing out of a small 12 foot aluminum boat with a small transom mount trolling motor I only dreamed of actually being in one of those nice bass boats competing in a professional Bassmaster Tournament.
It wasn’t until my early twenties that I joined my first bass club. Proving my commitment to becoming a touring pro I bought my first bass boat. Getting a 15 year mortgage bought me a brand new shiny 1985 Ranger Bass boat just like the ones the pros on Bassmaster were using. Not to say the least it brought me a lot of attention. I had to prove myself as a competitor to gain everyone’s respect. Well not to brag in my first year ever competing in club tournaments I won the angler of the year title.
All my early on sponsors were products only
It wasn’t long after that I started winning local tournaments. I then started earning the respect of anglers throughout Connecticut. At this time I realized doing all the shows and winning tournaments gave me something to offer companies to retain sponsors. All my early on sponsors were products only. Even at this. I was demonstrating their products at sport shows and tackle shops. My second year competing at the club level I came out with 8 sponsors. Stren fishing line was my first ever sponsor. I knew even though there was no money involved this needed to be done right.
I could not afford to have vinyl logos made so I hand painted the Stren logo down the side of my new Ranger bass boat. Back then you wore a vest with logo patches sewed on them to promote your sponsors. My first one had only 8. From then I hand painted my sponsors on a tournament uniform and really stood out from the crowd. It took awhile but then they came out with printed shirts with designs and logos on them. WOW where did time go. I am so honored to have been competing back in the days of Bassmaster being the only pro circuit out there.
My growing bass fishing competitive career
At this stage of my growing bass fishing competitive career there was one thing I needed to do. I had to make the CT Bassmaster Federation state team. Making it would qualify me for the Bassmaster Regionals where the top finishing angler would get a berth into the Bassmaster Classic (the super bowl of competitive bass fishing). Little did I know I would become that pro bass competitor and qualify for 3 Bassmaster Classics.
I qualified for the CT state team on my third year of bass tournament fishing and five times total before I went full time pro. What an achievement! As a growing tournament competitor their needed to be more. There was no doubt for me to grow now as a regional competitor that my sponsorships had to grow. This brought me to start running bass tournaments. My first ever tournament was a bass and pike event on the CT River. Once this was down in the books my sponsorships started to grow. As did the responsibilities to them and show promoters.
Lee Bailey Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Famer qualified for the CT state team on my third season
At this time while growing in the sport I spent a few years also as the President of the CT Bass Federation, became tournament director and editor of the CBF. I belonged to and started several bass clubs and even brought the first smallmouth bass club to Connecticut. So deep in this sport and the promotion of it that there wasn’t anything going on in CT bass fishing that was not at the forefront of my career.
I was married with two beautiful baby girls. They would travel with me to the local and regional tournaments and events. This went on well into their teenage years. All the competitors and promoters were close to them and watched them grow. At a lot of the venues my girls even helped with the running of them.
Now retired here in Florida where I am a resident in Nokomis. I continue to keep my nose in the industry. I have been writing for decades and continue to do so for my 3 websites, 3 Facebook pages and over three hundred Facebook groups. Reaching tens of thousands of fisherman.
Two things you have heard are “watch what you wish for” and “What If”. Well for me it was a dream come true and there are no “What If’s”. I have truly became one of the nations top professional competitors, TV host, promoter and tournament producer.
Thanks for taking your time to browse through this portfolio of my life as a Professional Bass angler.