Legendary Bass Pro Fisherman Harold Allen Dies Today at 81

Gunny456

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7:04p, 6/26/26

AG

Harold Allen, a legendary B.A.S.S. pioneer whose career began in the mid 1970's passed away today after a prolonged illness. Harold was a member of the then known "Hemphill Gang" of pro fisherman made up of Tommy Martin, Larry Nixon, John Hall and John Torian. Harold's legendary career began in 1974. He fished in over 264 tournaments over 4 decades and qualified for 15 Bassmaster Classic's. 114 times he finished in the money and earned 38 top 10 finishes.
In 2015 he was inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.
Long before GPS mapping and forward facing sonar changed tournament fishing, Allen relied on on his vast knowledge, instinct, experience, paper maps and thousands of hours on the water to find fish in productive water and structure.
Many pro anglers credit Harold with helping to popularize deep water worm fishing throughout the south.
Harold and I were friends for a long while as he used and ran our products for many years. Like myself, he loved fast boats and we spent many an hour together talking of how to set up our boats and engines to run fast.
He was our guest at the ranch on some whitetail hunts as he loved the shooting sports as well.
I will miss him. The bass fishing world is a lesser place without him for sure. God Speed Harold Allen!

TAMU Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences

Boat racing is like a beautiful woman.......expensive, high maintenance, but well worth the fun!

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SanAntoneAg

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7:08p, 6/26/26

AG

I remember reading about him in BASS magazine.

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Junction71

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9:43p, 6/26/26

AG

I remember all those names back in the 1970's when I was a young TPWD Biologist in the Jasper Inland Fisheries Office. Several of them would, on occasion, stop by to visit.

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87Flyfisher

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10:18p, 6/26/26

AG

My condolences my friend . I learned a lot from articles by guys like him and Larry Nixon on how to find big Bass without Live Scope and "electronics" was just a flashing orange circle that showed you the depth and maybe some trees directly under the boat.

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DG96

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12:03a, 6/27/26

AG

I went on a few fishing trips with Harold when I was a kid. He was a hell of a boat driver, a bit on the crazy side for sure.
I always enjoyed seeing him at the boat shows and listening to his stories.

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Hwy30East

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9:34a, 6/27/26

Sorry for the loss of your friend Gunny. I never actually met Harold, but I was pretty much born and raised on Toledo Bend, so I was a huge fan of his, and the Hemphill gang. Those guys could really fish. The bass fishing world is definitely a lesser place without him.

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S.A. Aggie

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1:14p, 6/29/26

AG

Sounds like a great guy. Sorry for your loss Gunny.

88Warrior

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In reply to Gunny456 • 2:42p, 6/29/26

Gunny456 said:
Harold Allen, a legendary B.A.S.S. pioneer whose career began in the mid 1970's passed away today after a prolonged illness. Harold was a member of the then known "Hemphill Gang" of pro fisherman made up of Tommy Martin, Larry Nixon, John Hall and John Torian. Harold's legendary career began in 1974. He fished in over 264 tournaments over 4 decades and qualified for 15 Bassmaster Classic's. 114 times he finished in the money and earned 38 top 10 finishes.
In 2015 he was inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.
Long before GPS mapping and forward facing sonar changed tournament fishing, Allen relied on on his vast knowledge, instinct, experience, paper maps and thousands of hours on the water to find fish in productive water and structure.
Many pro anglers credit Harold with helping to popularize deep water worm fishing throughout the south.
Harold and I were friends for a long while as he used and ran our products for many years. Like myself, he loved fast boats and we spent many an hour together talking of how to set up our boats and engines to run fast.
He was our guest at the ranch on some whitetail hunts as he loved the shooting sports as well.
I will miss him. The bass fishing world is a lesser place without him for sure. God Speed Harold Allen!

Was he in that group of early Raycraft users??

Gunny456

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In reply to 88Warrior • 5:47p, 6/29/26

AG

No sir. All those guys ran Skeeter Boats in the 1970's.
Skeeter had assembled a legendary group running their boats in the 1970's. Older aficionados of the sport of bass fishing will recognize these legends. Skeeter had truly assembled the "Who's Who" of bass fishing in those days. Here are some of those names:

Harold Allen
Bo Dowden
Dave Gleibe
John Fox
Larry Nixon
Rick Clunn
Tommy Martin
Elroy Krueger
Ricky Green
John Torian
John Hall
David Wharton

They were truly pioneers of the sport of bass fishing. The first Skeeter was built in 1948.
Back in the 1970's speed sold product and Skeeter was known for its legendary fast boats> All of the guys above all loved the thrill of the high performance boats.
I have an older Skeeter brochure that was from back in the early-mid 70's that had a group picture of all those guys listed above running Skeeter boats.
Good times!

TAMU Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences

Boat racing is like a beautiful woman.......expensive, high maintenance, but well worth the fun!

88Warrior

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In reply to Gunny456 • 7:51p, 6/29/26

Gunny456 said:
No sir. All those guys ran Skeeter Boats in the 1970's.
Skeeter had assembled a legendary group running their boats in the 1970's. Older aficionados of the sport of bass fishing will recognize these legends. Skeeter had truly assembled the "Who's Who" of bass fishing in those days. Here are some of those names:

Harold Allen
Bo Dowden
Dave Gleibe
John Fox
Larry Nixon
Rick Clunn
Tommy Martin
Elroy Krueger
Ricky Green
John Torian
John Hall
David Wharton

They were truly pioneers of the sport of bass fishing. The first Skeeter was built in 1948.
Back in the 1970's speed sold product and Skeeter was known for its legendary fast boats> All of the guys above all loved the thrill of the high performance boats.
I have an older Skeeter brochure that was from back in the early-mid 70's that had a group picture of all those guys listed above running Skeeter boats.
Good times!

My mistake…as a kid growing up in the 70's I remember being at the boat ramp on Rayburn and Toledo and it seemed every other boat getting launched was a Raycraft…probably just the local weekend fisherman taking a break from the refineries and sawmills…Thanks for the info!