(Lee Bailey, Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Famer, is also one of the nation’s most recognized pro bass fishermen)
“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 Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame on March 7, 2026.
Lee Bailey, Jr., is a pro angler who 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 lifetime’s 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, 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 equipped with a drop-out floor hatch so that my tour boat could be driven in and out. Let me tell you, it was downright 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, and a website designer for pro anglers and manufacturers alike. Lee was the official CT River bass fishing guide for Riverfront Recapture, an organization revitalizing the CT River with walkways and parks. I would do many casting contests for kids and seminars for all Riverfront Recapture venues.
My pro career began in 1996, when I secured 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 to run contests for anglers of all ages. With Black Velvet, we made a big splash at the sports shows for decades.
Lee Bailey became a lure designer early in his career.
Lee Bailey came up with 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 and tight, with 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 fishermen who followed me throughout my career. The exposure I gave 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 worldwide could qualify for this most prestigious trail. With 10 regular season tournaments and payouts of 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 sports 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 when I didn’t have much money. However, doing this significantly increased my marketing capabilities and value.
Lee, a Fishing Hall of Famer, helped set up many environmental and fishing programs
My growing reputation and devotion to fishing led me to serve on many boards of directors to support environmental and fishing programs. I helped set up many ways to teach our young anglers the skills of casting, locating, and catching fish. This is just the beginning of what I have done, being dedicated to our youth and the sport of fishing. My many articles, books, designs, and photos have been featured in numerous publications, including BASSMASTER, B.A.S.S. Times, In-Fisherman, and Fishing Tackle Retailer.
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 the most exposure to experienced bass anglers in 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 for the top 50 boats held at Foxwoods Resort & Casino. One of the biggest draws to the Bass Challenge tour was that, 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 as I did. 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 my passion to teach tips and techniques to bass fishermen of all levels. I accomplished this with my TV show, show appearances on my pond, and the hog trough. As a key speaker, I spent a lot of time giving seminars at 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 for 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 and 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 affected by those tides. I wrote this book with clear, concise text that showcases the very latest innovations in lures and draws on over 30 years of knowledge, suitable for catching trophy bass on current systems. This was another success for me, and it sold out in just 6 months.
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 in the sport of fishing are for you.
I was one of those young boys who dreamed of being a pro bass angler. This led me to spend every waking moment reading every bass magazine from cover to cover, over and over again. Throughout my high school years, I fished at a small lake in CT where my grandparents lived. This allowed me 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 that I started winning local tournaments. I then started earning the respect of anglers throughout Connecticut. At this time, I realized that doing all the shows and winning tournaments gave me something to offer companies to retain sponsors. All my early sponsors were products only, even at this. I was demonstrating their products at sports shows and tackle shops. In my second year competing at the club level, I secured 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 sewn on them to promote your sponsors. My first one had only 8. From then on, I hand-painted my sponsors on a tournament uniform and really stood out from the crowd. It took a while, but then they came out with printed shirts featuring designs and logos. WOW, where did time go? I am so honored to have competed back in the days when Bassmaster was the only pro circuit out there.
My growing bass fishing competitive career
At this stage of my growing competitive bass fishing 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 earn a berth in the Bassmaster Classic (the Super Bowl I would become a pro bass competitor and qualify for 3 Bassmaster Classics.
I qualified for the CT state team in my third year of bass tournament fishing, and I qualified five times total before I went full-time pro. What an achievement! As a growing tournament competitor, I needed 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.
Catch The Dream
