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Notable Behind The Scenes History of Bass on Hook

2021

After a long hiatus, Paul finally changed the website platform to a responsive one.

He had to make major changes to the content in keeping with Googles rules.

Paul also updated all the games.

2006

May 2006 -Bass on Hook decided to move to a dedicated server in January 2006 to handle the increasing traffic to our site.

Once again thank you for your patronage and we apologise for the minor details missed during the transfer.

2005

Weather for the World was introduced this year and has worked really well.

Update: The developers of this great open source project decided to discontinue it so we have removed it.

2004

Dave decided to step down and follow a new direction in 2004.

The store and fun and games sections were added this year along with the always favorite fishy crossword and search puzzles.

Also added was the Fishing Auction Network which was later removed due to server issues.

We hope to re-establish this sometime in the future.

2003 Update 2

BASS on HOOK was sold to Paul Smith.

Paul want's to keep BASS on HOOK in tact and keep the growth of the sites on a steady increase.

Dave will be staying on as the site Editor with an active part in the growth of all of the sites.

2003 Update

Upcoming to the site is a Field Testing program that will be starting in the Spring of 2003 after almost 2 years of preperation.

This section of the site will contain reviews on products that were sent to BASS on HOOK for field testing (Pending clearance of the new owners attornies).

Update: This endeavor has since been sidelined due to legal issues.

2003

The site currently (Spring 2003) contains articles from 16 different writers on a wide variety of topics.

Included are:

a Pro's Section for articles from top anglers
a New's & Articles section with current events and articles
a Q & A section where visitors can ask a specific angling question to a panel of professional anglers
a Braggn' Board section for visitors to post pictures of there catches to share with family and friends
a Message Board section where visitors can post General Fishing information, Fishing Reports or fishing item that they have for sale
a Awards section where visitors with sites can apply for the coveted BASS on HOOK website award and view past winners
direct access to the Fishy Links search engine to help track down a fishing site and much more

2002

This had to be the biggest year of growth for BASS on HOOK, we went to the next level with the links section and created the Fishy Links Search Engine and Database, no longer just a links section. This addition of an actual search engine for fishing sites only was seen as nessesity to the future growth of the site.

Fishy Links is accessable from within the BASS on HOOK site as well as having it's own URL of Fishy Links.

We also added the North American Fishing Guides (N.A.F.G.) website to our family of sites. The N.A.F.G. site is a listing service for Guides and Charters from the United States, Canada and Mexico and is free for visitors to use to help locate a guide or charter for thier next big fishing trip.

Last but not least is the addition of the Angler Ads Banner Exchange, a fishing only banner exchange that was added due to the main fact the non-fishing banner exchnages really don't help generate traffic or exposure for fishing sites.

2001

We added a fishing only searchable links section to the site.

1999

The site quickly became much more than that, after many requests from friends and online associates to find other information.

We then set out with a new goal, to create a vast fishing resource that would come to include articles on various types of fishing, tips from Professional anglers, guides and charters.

One thing that we were adimate about, was when we were creating the site was not to allow any non-fishing advertisements to be found anywhere whithin the sites, who really wants to see a mortgage rate ad while looking for spinnerbait techniques anyway.

The domain name of bassonhook.com became the new home for BASS on HOOK.

1998

BASS on HOOK was started by Dave Beilstein of Valley Springs California back in the spring of 1998.

The original site was supposed to be a private resource for Dave as he wanted a place to keep his favorite links to sites that he could easily tell his angling friends about if needed.

Paul Smith the new owner of Bass on Hook

I lived in the US for the first 12 years of my life in Pennsylvania first then Iowa.

Living in Spirit Lake, Iowa is the memory that I remember most.

Fishing East Okoboji Lake which was just down the block was my regular pastime when my parents allowed it.

I used to walk down to the bridge on hwy 71 that crossed over the lake to fish under it.

I remember catching bullheads, catfish and the occasional bass all the time at that spot under the bridge.

In the winter the bottom end of the lake would freeze over and my dad would drive onto the lake so we could do some ice fishing.

Here we caught bass, pike and walleye.

At first mom wasn't too keen on letting us drive on the lake but when Dad showed her how deep the ice was she came around.

We also used to camp and fish at Big Spirit Lake in the summer and I have fond memories of catching some nice bass and walleyes there.

Suddenly Life Takes A Turn

Unfortunately the economy changed for the worst and my father had a tough time making ends meet for a family of 6 and one on the way.

My mother's brother lived in British Columbia, Canada and promised to find my father a job if they decided to move there.

So we packed everything into our station wagon and moved to Vancouver Island, British Columbia Canada.

Leaving Iowa and heading to Canada was hard on me but I got over it and soon discovered how much fishing and hiking I could do in the mountains where we lived.

Over the years I've become a great outdoorsman and even though it has been a while since I hooked a bass or walleye, I have hooked some very large halibut, salmon and trout in my new neck of the woods.

I became a professional fishing guide and guided anglers in the Comox Valley, Nootka Sound and Rivers Inlet, British Columbia.

I no longer guide professionally but still fish, hike and camp when time permits.

I enjoy developing websites and have since focused on it full time and hopefully with your help I can make Bass on Hook an excellent source for you to use on bass fishing.

Thank you to all of you who have helped me along the way as without you it wouldn't have worked as well!