Ray Scott remembers the first time he saw an electric motor mounted on the front end of a fishing boat.

Scott, 69, founded Bass Anglers Sportsman Society and popularized the concept of bass fishing tournaments.

As far as anyone knows, the first bass tournament was organized in 1955 by Waco outdoor writer Earl Golding. It was held at Texas’ Lake Whitney. In 1967, Scott adapted Golding’s idea of a simple competition for trophies and bragging rights and turned it into a full-blown national sport.

High profile tournaments revolutionized bass fishing and accelerated the evolution of fishing boats.

“We were in a motel parking lot at our first tournament in 1967,” Scott said. “There were a number of boats in the parking lot, and they were mostly junk. Everybody who used an electric motor in those days had the motor mounted on the stern of the boat. They sat on top of the outboard and operated the electric motor with their feet and tried not to fall off the outboard.”

In the motel parking lot, somebody spied an offbeat bass fishing rig with an electric motor mounted on the bow. The anglers were standing around, debating why anyone would mount a motor on the wrong end of a boat when the owner walked up. He was Stan Sloan of Nashville, Tenn.

Scott asked Sloan why he had the electric motor mounted on the bow. “Because,” Sloan said, “it’s easier to pull a chain than to push a chain.”

Sloan won the tournament, and bow-mounted electric motors became the norm.

Today, you can easily pay $40,000 for a top-end bass rig with all the bells and whistles.

Based on shows Scott has already attended, he expects boat sales to be off slightly this year because of the sluggish economy.

The boating industry has survived America’s economic roller coaster for a long time and should continue to prosper.

In a 2002 survey conducted by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, Americans voted fishing and boating the top leisure activities for spending quality time with their families.

In that same poll, 87 percent stated a belief that boating and fishing have a positive impact on family relationships.