Bass Fishing Hall of Fame 2025: Three Inductees Announced

Honoring Randy Hopper, Craig Lamb, and William Shakespeare Jr. for Their Lasting Impact on Bass Fishing

The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame announces its 2025 inductees: Randy Hopper, Craig Lamb, and William Shakespeare Jr. Each has made incredible contributions to bass fishing and helped shape the sport. | Bass Fishing Hall of Fame

2025 Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 inductees have been announced. These three additions to the Hall of Fame have made lasting and meaningful impressions on our favorite sport in the form of boat building innovation, media coverage, tournament organization and ground-breaking tackle and lure invention— Randy Hopper, Craig Lamb, and William Shakespeare Jr.

This group was selected from a list of 20, very worthy nominees, voted on by the Hall of Fame’s 30-member Selection Panel and any living Hall of Fame inductees. The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame now stands at 103 fishing legends honored.

Randy Hopper: A Pioneer in Bass Boat Innovation

Having worked his way up from laborer to President and CEO of Ranger Boats — and now to co-founder and CEO of Vexus Boats Co. — Hopper embodies the great American success story. | Vexus Boats

Randy Hopper has spent over 50 years shaping the bass boat industry, leaving an indelible mark on modern boat design and features which influenced the course of tournament fishing.

Craig Lamb: A Career That Shaped Bass Fishing Competition and Media

Lamb has worked nearly 400 fishing derbies by now, including 42 Bassmaster Classics and many of the most momentous events in sportfishing. | B.A.S.S.

Craig Lamb’s four-decade career behind the scenes at B.A.S.S. has helped shape the core structure of competitive bass fishing while continuously growing and advancing media coverage.

William Shakespeare Jr.: The Inventor Who Revolutionized Fishing Gear

Level-wind baitcast reels of today owe their original design to William Shakespeare Jr., who in 1896 invented the ground-breaking feature that enables anglers to evenly wind their fishing line on the spool. That practical feature undeniably did more for the fledgling sport of bass fishing than any other invention of its time. | Shakespeare Company

William Shakespeare Jr., whose contributions date back to the late 1800s, revolutionized all of fishing with his level-wind reel which spread line evenly across the spool for easier casting, and his innovative lures, and the first fiberglass fishing rods, which offered greatly improved performance over the standard rod materials of the time, bamboo and steel.

Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Trivia

As an interesting side note, I noticed that this year’s class does not include someone who primarily earned their notoriety as a professional bass tournament angler. While that fact in no way makes this any less worthy of a group, it just seemed to me like there’s usually a tournament guy in the mix. And then, because I know better than to trust my memory, I went back through the years to see how often this has happened. In fact, this is only the second annual class without a professional competitive angler—2025 and 2021. Again, only mentioning it as a bit of Bass Fishing Hall of Fame trivia.

It Takes a Dedicated Staff at the Bass Fishing HOF

“It’s special to see the exceptional interest so many of the current Hall of Fame inductees have shown in selecting the new members of their club,” said Bass Fishing HOF Board president John Mazurkiewicz. “I can’t thank our Board and our nominations committee led by Neil Paul for all the volunteer hours they put in in administrating the process.

“I’ll look forward to our events during Celebrate Bass Fishing Week honoring Randy, Craig and Mr. Shakespeare, and also where we’ll be giving special recognition to those members of the Hall’s first induction class at the induction dinner.”

Celebrating 25 Years of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame

The official Class of 2025 induction ceremony and banquet will occur later this year during Celebrate Bass Fishing Week, highlighting the Hall’s 25th anniversary. The induction banquet is September 25th at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri.

For more information, or to attend the induction banquet, visit BassfishingHOF.com