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Catching 60's, 70's or even bigger should not be a consideration. Some of the best there has ever been never caught a 50. Woolner didn't, Gibbs didn't, DePietro never did either. It's what they contributed as a whole rather than the singular event of catching a dream bass. Sure hard work and time on the water will get you a big one but don't forget the luck factor.
Woolner was the sage laureate of our sport. Gibbs the creator/innovator. DiPietro was the guy behind the counter giving the straight up as to where, when and how. How about Old Man Mac Reed, I learned more from him about the beach than anyone I ever met. Leo Perry of Cherry Valley Ma. who was directly responsible for the development of the Reverse Atom after fashioning a squid plug out of a mahogany dust brush handle on the beach and that spawned other squid plug imitations and who in one morning on the Canal in the fifties caught upwards of 40 BASS, 80% of which were over 30 pounds on a homade swimming plug of his.
There are countless others who made contributions but the better were always willing to share and developed certain techniques. There has to be parameters met that include a certain someone in the HOF not just the taking of a few big fish, they would have had to have had a direct inpact on the evolution of the sport. Just my two cents.
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