Lee Bailey Pro Angler
(inductee into the International Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame and 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 is being inducted into the International Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame on March 6, 2026.
Lee Bailey Pro Angler is the designer of the legendary “Cavirton™” Buzzbait and the new revamped Baby Buzzbait™. “I am a retired Bassmaster Elite series and FLW professional angler.” One of the Nations most publicized and prominent tournament anglers. I founded and completely managed the renowned Foxwoods Bass Challenge Tour. The largest and most professional run bass tournament circuit ever in the history of bass tournament fishing in the Northeast. I am now residing in Nokomis, Florida”.
I will show you in detail all the aspects of my career from the club level all the way to Qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic (the super bowl of bass fishing). In this portfolio you will see the many things I have been blessed to accomplish along my great career.
I believe this portfolio will show you what I have done for the sport of fishing and the outdoors.
Lee Bailey Pro Bass Angler
As a professional bass
angler I have
accomplished so much in
a short number of years.
“Some say a lifetime
worth of accomplish-
ments”. One of those was the first to
ever bring non-industry
sponsors into the sport of
Competitive bass fishing.
Sponsored By Foxwoods Resort & Casino (and many industry sponsors) allowed me to make a big splash my first season as a fulltime Touring Pro. I showed up at my first ever Bassmaster event displaying my complete pro tour rig with a color coordinated custom 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 downright amazing. My sponsors could not pay enough for all the exposure that I was actually giving them. Right from the get-go.
Lee is a renowned lure designer.
I am an Inductee into the International Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame. A Bassmaster Champion, 3-time Bassmaster Classic Contender, 2-time FLW tour Championship contender, TV producer and host to mention just a few. I became the tournament Organizer, promoter and website designer for pro anglers and manufactures alike. I became the official Connecticut 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.
My pro career started in 1996
The beginning of 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 the beginning of my organizing and promoting of big payout bass fishing tournaments in New England.
My promotional platform was great
They enabled me to build a 12ft x 50ft casting pond in which we taught kids casting, ran casting contests and performed seminars for all angling ages. With Black Velvet we made a big splash at the sport shows with this pond for decades. I sold sponsorships to the casting pond to pay for.
Lectures and seminars became a standard for Lee Bailey Pro Angler. 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. Growing my marketing capabilities and value tremendously.
Lee Bailey Jr made it to the big show
Making it to the big show was one of my ultimate childhood goals. When I was blessed to qualify for my first Bassmaster Classic in my first year as a fulltime pro it was an amazing time for me, my family, fans and of course my sponsors. It turned out to be an even bigger career boost then I ever imagined. Competing in over 200 pro events all over the country and overseas. The exposure I was able to give my sponsors and fans were mind boggling.
These events gave me some of the most recognized credentials ever as If this wasn’t enough, Lee Bailey Pro Angler qualified for the very first Bassmaster Elite Series event. This was the top dog of tournament fishing. Only the top 100 anglers worldwide could qualify for this most prestigious Bassmaster trail. Starting with 10 regular season tournaments and payouts over $400,000. Paying $100,000 to first place and $10,000 at 50th place. This was the place to prove yourself and increase your exposure as one of the top 100 anglers in the world. Increasing your exposure 10-fold. At this time, I grew a huge fan base qualifying for 3 Bassmaster Classics and 2 FLW championships. My fans included a large number of kids and adult fisherman. They grew to an astonishing level, and they followed me throughout my career and still to this day.
Lee developed the Baby Buzzbait™, out of necessity
I became a lure designer early in my career with my first being the (Cavitron Buzzbait). My design capabilities and the need for a better buzzbait led me to become a renowned lure designer. The new Baby Buzzbait™ was designed to be a new different buzzer than the Cavitron. The stealth head design was my first gliding jig head design. It ended up becoming the body used on the Cavitron buzzbait. The buzzbait was brought to fruition 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 recently took this further with the design of the “Baby Buzzbait™” “The Most Compact Buzzbait ever” on the market. It is small, tight and has a unique gurgle from the scientifically advanced prop.
Many written articles featured in numerous publications
My growing reputation and devotion to fishing brought me to sit on many boards 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. The Foxwoods Bass Challenge Tour was declared the most professional run bass tournament in the Northeast.
Largest payouts and exposure 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 at that time. 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 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 to. My TV show aired weekly for many years. I did this while still competing on the Bassmaster 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.
Lee Bailey Pro Angler had big dreams!
I was one of those young boys who dreamed of being a professional bass angler. It was this desire that 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 Connecticut where my grandparents lived. This gave me the opportunity to be on the water every weekend and throughout my summer break. At first, I fished out of a small 12-foot aluminum boat with a small transom mount trolling motor. It was only a dream that I would actually be one of those guys 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. As it would be I proved myself as a competitor and gained everyone’s respect. Well not to brag in my first year ever competing in club tournaments I won the angler of the year title.
Earn the respect of anglers
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 sport shows for my product sponsors and winning tournaments gave me something to offer companies to retain sponsorships. All my early on
sponsors were products only. Even with 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 very first ever sponsor. I knew even though there was no money involved this needed to be done right.
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.
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 fishermen. I am a full-time professional fishing guide specializing in bass fishing with artificial lures. I provide a once in a lifetime Florida Bass fishing trip.
Thanks for taking your time to browse through this portfolio of my life and career as a
Professional Bass Pro Angler.