Strike King News

April 20, 2005

Ray Murski to be Inducted into Hall of Fame

Strike King Lure Company is proud to announce that Ray Murski, part owner and Chairman of the Company, will be inducted into the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in May at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, TX and into the Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame in Pittsburg, PA in conjunction with the 2005 Bassmasters Classic in July.

Mr. Murski has been selling fishing tackle, hunting equipment and other outdoor recreational products since 1966. He is the owner of the prestigious Bliss-Murski Rep Group of Dallas, TX. which currently has 100-sales representatives and support personnel representing major hunting and fishing tackle companies in 30 states and territories. Murski competed in the first B.A.S.S. tournament in 1967 and for the next five years, Murski fished the BASS circuit with a great deal of success. He never finished out of the money, and in 1972 when he quit fishing professionally, he was 9th on BASS' All-Time Money Winning List. His heart has always remained in the fishing business. In 1995, he bought Strike King Lure Company from Charles Spence, and today Strike King is a leading lure company.

Murski is a member (lifetime, founding or otherwise), serves or has served on the boards of, and donated countless time, energy and resources to no, less than 16 organizations, including a current term with the industry’s American Sportfishing Association. These efforts have made contributions to, among other things, landowners' stewardship of wildlife and fisheries conservation work, habitat improvement for wildlife, construction and renovation to fish hatcheries and youth participation in fishing and hunting. Murski says, "I'm most proud of the fact that I've given an opportunity to over 50,000 Texas youngsters to have their first outdoor experience, whether they were fishing, hunting, boating or camping."

Ray Murski is one of those rare men who has made giving back to the sports that have given him so much one of the primary callings in his life. Murski works as diligently for the non-profit organizations' boards he serves on as he does for the businesses he runs. In his own quiet way, he's helped to mold, shape and move bass fishing to the place of prominence that it is in the world of fishing today.