Legendary angler Mann dead at 72

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Tom Mann, a legendary bass tournament fisherman and lure inventor from Eufaula, Ala., died Friday after complications from heart surgery in Birmingham last week. He was 72.

Funeral services were held yesterday at Calvary Baptist Church in Eufaula.

Mann was one of the most recognizable names in American bass fishing and in his state along with late Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and Bass Anglers Sportsman Society founder Ray Scott. He was one of the early stars of the BASS tour created by Scott.

Mann's Bait Company was known throughout the land and provided the stuff anglers' dreams are made of. Mann started the super-popular Jelly Worm, which was packaged in colors and carried matching names, such as grape, strawberry, blackberry and so on.

His electronic Humminbird depth finder was bought by tens of thousands of anglers, and the famed Little George tailspinner lure, named in honor of his boss, Gov. George Wallace, when Mann was an Alabama game warden, sold in the millions over the decades.

His company eventually was acquired by investors, and Mann moved on, building a tourist attraction near Lake Eufaula known as Tom Mann's Fish World. He also starred in his own cable TV fishing show and was a ready ambassador for fishing wherever he showed up.

Said Scott: "He was the ultimate giver, always helping people, very generous. Tom Mann was a country boy who loved his wife, Nancy Ann, and simply loved life. He was one of a kind, a genius if you ask me."

I knew Mann well. Once, when a Northern Virginia bass club asked me to emcee a special fishing show, I thought a big-name angler would help bring in the crowds. I asked Mann to help us and said we would pay for his airline ticket and accommodations. He simply said, "Where and when is it? I'll be there. You boys had better take the money you were going to spend on me and donate it to the Boy Scouts of America. I'll be checkin' on you."

It was classic Tom Mann, and, indeed, the people came and jammed the hall to the rafters.