A WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH SALUTE TO TWO BASS'N GALS

Recently, Kathy Magers came out to support the women competing at a Women's Bass Tour event on Lake Fork. Magers is a former women's national bass champion, known for actively promoting family fishing as well as being instrumental in the creation of the Women's Bassmaster Tour with B.A.S.S. She was also a Bass'n Gal Women's National Champion. She has guided President George W. Bush and Regis Philbin, and been interviewed by Paula Zahn on "CBS This Morning". She even patented the design for the "EZ Rig" which she licensed to Strike King. She is part of the Class of 2002 in the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.

Recently Magers remembered her friend, Burma Thomas, another former Bass'n Gal National Champion. Burma toured with Bass'n Gal, the first womens tournament trail, and before retiring, she was the women's all time leading money winner. She earned the nickname

"Burnin'Burma Thomas." because she usually smoked the rest of the field. Burma died in 2020 in an auto accident, and her friend Kathy remembers her as a woman who blazed trails for women's fishing when women were overlooked as anglers and fishing consumers. She was a staunch advocate who helped pressure the fishing industry to bring products to the market to meet women's angling needs.

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Burma, from Scotsboro AL, began fishing professionally in 1976 when there were only tournaments for men. In her first men’s professional bass tournament she finished in sixth place. She fished women’s professional circuits from 1981 to 1997. During this time, she won 17 titles across the U.S.A and winning 17 fully rigged bass boats! She was named Angler of the Year three times, and won two Classic World Championships. Burma loved sharing fishing with others and taught fishing techniques at seminars across the country. We salute Burma and Kathy for everything they have done to shape women's fishing today!