JIM BROWN

After he developed the program that opened nine long-closed San Diego city lakes to the public, he set rules that helped create the best trophy bass fishing in America. His advocacy for public access elsewhere includes helping open the Owens River Gorge and the Haiwee reservoirs.

Brown is an avid, accomplished angler who has fished lakes across Southern California and an expert turkey hunter who has ventured throughout Southern California and beyond. He has used that expertise to also create a series of youth fishing programs, including one in which off-duty police officers served as fishing guides for at-risk youth, and creation of Chollas Lake as a “kids only” fishing hole. He pioneered the first catch-and-release warm water fishery in America to protect northern strain largemouth bass, expanded a waterfowl hunting program and a hunting program for turkeys that included a blind for hunters confined to wheelchairs. He is the co-founder of San Diego Trout. As co-founder and co-host of the “All Outdoors Radio Network,” many have followed Brown’s travels and adventures throughout his career.

The retired manager of the San Diego City Lakes Program fought for public recreational access

by Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune

To understand why Jim Brown will be inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame on Saturday in Sacramento, imagine the fancy footwork of Fred Astaire mixed with the determination of marathoner Meb Keflezighi.

Brown, the retired manager of the San Diego City Lakes Program, championed public access to recreational opportunities. Where he found walls, he patiently and persistently built doors. When he encountered tired or outdated resistance, he partnered rather than pound fists.

Bureaucrats responded more effectively to bridge-building than bellowing, he reasoned — so he shook hands instead of shoulders.

“I found ways to build relationships with people who might have been opposed to ideas initially,” said Brown, a Tierrasanta resident who turns 73 on Sunday. “If someone said Fish and Game wouldn’t allow me to do something, I’d make them a partner.

“That’s how we started the turkey-hunting program at Lake Sutherland, which might be the only program of its kind on city-owned land.”

This Astaire figured out when to lead … and when to follow. This Keflezighi understood some races required sustained focus and effort, not sprints. That unique combination inspired friends Bruce Bochy, the former Padres and Giants manager, and Poway’s Kevin McNamara to nominate Brown for the hall.

Brown will enter with a class that includes fearless climber Alex Honnold, the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo.” Although Brown’s contributions lack Honnold’s cinematic splash, the commitment to ensuring the public shared in San Diego County’s outdoor riches became a dogged climb of its own.

In eighth grade at an outdoors career conference, the Roosevelt Junior High student joined others asked about what job path they might consider. Some said wardens. Others said rangers. Brown pointed to county lakes manager Orville P. Ball.

The less dangerous tobacco seems to teens, the more they use it. Learn about the tobacco industry's latest tricks.

“I said, ‘I want Mr. Ball’s job,’ ” he said. “It was greeted with laughter, but 14 years later I had it.”

At age 15, Brown faced off with the city’s water department about decisions that damaged spawning fish and the false denials that followed. He later forced the hand of that same department, opening Lake Hodges to the public after two decades of closure.

Openings at Barrett Lake and Upper Otay followed.

While shepherding the city’s lakes from 1974 to 2003, Brown launched a program that began in Barrio Logan, collaborating with police to introduce kids in the city to fishing. He wrote a longtime outdoors column in the San Diego Tribune and connected with others by co-hosting a radio show on KCBQ called “The All-Outdoors Radio Network.”

Brown also taught outdoors-related courses as an adjunct professor at San Diego State and the former United States International University.

There’s no one in San Diego I know better than Brown, to be fully transparent. He befriended me without reservation or conditions upon my Union-Tribune arrival. Those same traits and tools, I discovered, helped him to navigate tangled red tape to the recreational benefit of thousands upon thousands across the county.

The number of people Brown has taught fly-fishing techniques to alone staggers. Trust me, there’s no more patient pursuit.

“I really appreciate the recognition,” Brown said of the hall induction. “It’s more like something given to a utility player, who can do quite a bit rather than the guy who hits the most home runs or something.

“The reality is, I feel that I’m in there because there’s a whole bunch of different things on different platforms that I’ve done.”

Humble framing from someone entrusted to oversee and foster, at its zenith, the largest municipally operated reservoir recreation program in the country.

At boat ramps across San Diego County, fishing guides and others lament how the program has wilted without Brown’s visionary, sleeves-rolled leadership. Some talk about the fisherman and game-bird hunter with reverence, like a celebrity dressed in camo.

The road Brown followed seemed somewhat inevitable for a kid who claims he learned to read by thumbing through Field & Stream, Outdoor Life and Sports Afield. A few days a week, he would wander to the National History Museum in Balboa Park to soak up information on every animal he could.

An unquenchable fascination with the outdoors fueled advocacy as an adult. Countless scores benefited.

“My approach was, if it’s a public resource, I should find a way to give the public access to it,” Brown said.

Slick, steady footwork indeed.

KENT BROWN

From his seminars, clinics and radio and television shows, he is known across the Western U.S. as one of America’s great ambassadors for the outdoors and fishing. He is a bass tournament champion, and his techniques and public appeal have helped advance the skills for finesse fishing and targeting large fish with swimbaits. In the process, he has fished virtually every bass lake in the Western U.S., a scope of achievement matched by few. Yet, beyond his own accomplishments, Brown has helped organize high school and college angling events, and is master of ceremonies at the largest high school events in California, and several others.

Despite his own accomplishments, his public focus is not on himself, but connecting with each person to help them catch more fish. That success had made him a must-see presenter at the aquarium tank at the International Sportsmen’s Exposition for 30 years, the longest run of thousands of presenters at ISE. He is also the host of ISE’s bass fishing program at all shows across the Western U.S., has been a featured presenter at virtually every sports show in the West beginning with his very first seminar in the early 1980s at the Cow Palace Boat Show. With 77% of the vote, he was this year’s top vote-getter.

TERRY KNIGHT

He is the consummate woodsman, an expert hunter and fisherman in many areas, yet has also reached thousands with his writing, seminars and free skill clinics. As a master outdoorsman, he has guided trips for bass fishing, turkey hunting, deer hunting and pig hunting, as well as nature walks and history tours. The late Rick Copeland (Class of 2008) recognized Knight as the rare talent who was capable of instructing even the most skilled, veteran hunters, and brought him in to teach at seminars hosted by Wilderness Unlimited. Knight is also a historian who has long studied the natural history of California and occasionally gives talks about it, with a specialty of his home water, Clear Lake, Mount Konocti and the surrounding area.

For more than 30 years, Knight has been a staff writer for ESPN Outdoors, Fishing and Hunting News, Western Outdoors, Bay Nature Magazine, Wilderness, Unlimited plus a number of newspapers, and currently writes a twice-weekly column for the Lake County Record Bee and the Ukiah Daily Journal. He has broken the barrier and is able to connect to the nonhunting/nonfishing public by writing about wildlife behavior, the environment, nature and, in turn, how it can affect fish and wildlife.

TOM MATTUSCH

Tom Mattusch, Princeton-by-the-Sea, is a master fisherman, hunter, boat captain, with a lifetime of teaching new anglers on the water, world travels of his own, as a leader with ties to many national fishing, hunting and conservation organizations, and county harbor commissioner.

As an outdoorsman, Tom Mattusch has been passionate about fishing and hunting all his life. As owner/operator of the Huli Cat out of Pillar Point Harbor, he has introduced and mentored thousands to saltwater fishing over thousands of days on the water. He has hunted over 20 states and 9 foreign countries.  Tom joined Safari Club International and has held many positions at the state and national level. Tom was a competition freediver sharing his passion with others. As a bluewater spearfisherman, he spearfished the Channel Islands for yellowtail and white sea bass, and the Revilla Gigedo Islands for tuna and wahoo.

Yet Tom Mattusch has made even bigger marks representing fishermen and hunters, preserving and defending rights to hunt and fish. Participating in the MLPA process, he fought to keep as much open for recreational angling and diving as possible. Coastside Fishing Club, the archetype for an internet-based organization with clout, was formed around his dining room table with the purpose to bring fishermen together and give them political strength and voice in California. For over ten years, he has gone back to Washington DC discussing hunting and conservation issues with elected representatives. Tom is a Life member of Safari Club International, CRPA, NRA, CCA and a member of number single specie organizations.  Tom has spent many days before the Fish & Game Commission speaking up for fishing and hunting opportunities and in Sacramento. He’s also a San Mateo County Harbor Commissioner. With his vessel Huli Cat, Tom also participates in a number of scientific research trips. Having seen anglers get steamrolled by ‘best available science’, he dedicated time to filling gaps in fishery information working towards better opportunities off California.

SHAUN WHITE

Shaun White, San Diego, “The Flying Tomato,” is world re-known as a snowboarder and is the inspiration for millions of young people around the world to take up winter sports. Yet his success has come after overcoming a congenital heart defect, where he survived two open heart surgeries by the age of 1.

He is best known for taking the winter Olympics by storm in 2006, when he won the gold medal in the snowboard halfpipe. He then also won the gold medal in the same event in 2010 and 2018. White has also participated in the Winter X Games, where he has won a medal every year since 2002. Including all winter X Games competitions through 2013, his medal count stands at 18 (13 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze), among which is the first quadruple win streak by a male athlete in one discipline, the snowboard slopestyle.

White’s dynamic performances and charismatic personality has made him the hero of a generation. White also has his own character in the video game Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder, as well as the video games Shaun White Snowboarding and Shaun White Skateboarding. In recent years, he cut short his famous long, flowing red locks, saying it had become a stereotype. A famous quote: “Some people attach snowboards to their feet. Very few attach them to their souls.”

KIT CARSON

Posthumorous

Kit Carson, was a legendary American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer.

In the 1840s, Carson was hired as a guide by John C. Frémont, whose expeditions covered much of California, Oregon, and the Great Basin area. Frémont mapped and wrote reports and commentaries on the Oregon Trail to assist and encourage westward-bound pioneers, and Carson achieved national fame through those accounts. Under Frémont's command, Carson participated in the conquest of California from Mexico at the beginning of the Mexican–American War. Later in the war, Carson was a scout and courier who was celebrated for his rescue mission after the Battle of San Pasqual and for his coast-to-coast journey from California to Washington, DC to deliver news of the conflict in California to the government.

He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime – that helped inspire millions into the wilderness across the Western U.S. -- by biographies and news articles, and exaggerated versions of his exploits were the subject of dime novels. His understated, quiet nature belied confirmed reports of his fearlessness, combat skills, tenacity, and profound effect on the westward expansion of the United States. Although he was famous for much of his life, historians in later years have written that Kit Carson did not like, want, or even fully understand the celebrity that he experienced during his life.

During the late nineteenth century, Kit Carson became a legendary symbol of America's frontier experience, which influenced twentieth century erection of statues and monuments, public events and celebrations, imagery by Hollywood, and the naming of geographical places. 

EMILY HARRINGTON

Emily Harrington, Truckee, is one of the most successful and versatile professional climbers in the world. She also has inspired countless thousands through appearances on national television shows and national media, where she shared her story of overcoming hardship with the support of her dad, and then bonding amid the outdoor experience.

This past November, Harrington became the first woman to free climb ‘Golden Gate’ on El Capitan in under 24 hours, making her the 4th woman in history to free climb El Capitan in a day. If elected, she would be the second Hall of Fame member to have summited Mt. Everest. She’s a five-time US National Champion, has completed numerous first female ascents of 5.14 routes, and made a complete ski descent of Cho Oyu - the world’s 6th tallest peak. 

She also gained national attention that has inspired families across America. After she had a near-death fall at El Capitan, and her father, Tim, 64, faced high-altitude edema issues, the father-daughter team supported each other to climb 18,996-foot Mount Cayambe in Ecuador. The story landed them on television shows across America and inspired parent-child connections in the outdoors to bond and move forward under hardship.

Emily called this her greatest personal victory: Surviving the fall at El Capitan and then climbing Cayambe with her dad. “We’ll always be connected for life.”

Emily satisfies the two requirements of all Hall of Fame members: A paramount scope of adventure – she is among the world’s preeminent climbers; and has inspired thousands to take part in the outdoor experience, especially parents and their children.

ROYAL ROBBINS

Posthumous

Royal Robbins was a leader in what is known as the Golden Age of Yosemite rock climbing. He was at the forefront of a trend called “clean climbing,” in which he used only removable nuts to hang his climbing rope for protection while making an ascent of Nutcracker, a classic Yosemite route, in 1967.

This became the first ascent of its kind in the United States, and started a revolution and ongoing debate over how much mechanical and safety equipment a climber should use. The standard was to pound or drill pitons into the granite. Once set, they could be used by climbers over and over. In Mr. Robbins’ mind, a climber should have left nothing behind.

In 1947, at age 12, Robbins was a fatherless train-hopper on his way to a life of crime. After being released from juvenile detention, Robbins realized he was hanging with the wrong crowd. So he found a new outlet for his time: the Boy Scouts.

At age 14, he became a Boy Scout and found a different sort of adventure. “The Scouts got me off the streets of Los Angeles,” he said. “Into the out of doors. Into the mountains. Out into the good stuff.”

A year into his Scouting tenure, Robbins was invited to join Scouts from 35 other troops on a backpacking trip in Yosemite National Park. “That trip was the first time I ever tried rock climbing,” he said, as reported in the September 2005 issue of Boys’ Life magazine. “I liked the thrill of being up high and doing challenging stuff. In hiking, I was average. But in climbing, I had a little something else.”

Though many today recognize the Royal Robbins name from the travel and outdoor apparel company, Robbins first achieved fame as a rock climber.

In 1969, he became the first to solo climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

He changed the culture of climbing to better protect the natural features of the rock — so the mountain would remain intact for the next climber.

PAIGE PEARCE-GORE

Movers & Shakers

A world-renowned competitive archer, Pearce-Gore is a youth outdoors instructor who has networked with the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundatrion. She won her first international competition in Turkey at age 13 and now, at 22, holds state, national and world titles.

Pearce-Gore has recorded the highest score marked by a woman in the history of the sport. She won the Western Classic, the largest outdoor 3D target competition in the world, last year for the fifth time overall and fourth in a row.

Using archery to travel the world, she has ventured to China, Columbia, Turkey, Germany and El Salvador.

She has parlayed her success, poise and ability to connect to others to become the led instructor at the Kids Outdoor Sports Camp, which runs in four sessions in Northern California. in turn, that inspired an invitation from the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation to its annual event in Washington, in late 2017.

JAY SORENSON

Posthumous

The original owner of Jolly's Bait Shop on Pacific Avenue in Stockton, many considered Sorensen to be the ‘best bait fisherman’ in the San Joaquin River Delta.

Sorensen operated a fishing guide service on the Delta for more than 40 years. “He served as a mentor to generations of Delta anglers.” Sorensen was probably most well-known for founding the California Striped Bass Association in 1974.

“He was the first to sound the alarm about the deteriorating Delta ecology and fisheries,” said Roger Mammon, president of the CSBA West Delta Chapter and secretary of the Restore the Delta Board. “He no longer saw striped bass spawning in the San Joaquin River as they had for decades.”

The striped bass population began declining after the State Water Project went on line in conjunction with the Federal Central Valley Project.

Sorensen then rallied his fishing friends and founded the California Striped Bass Association to advocate for restoration of the fishery. The association expanded and currently has five active chapters. “It is the oldest continuously operating fresh water fishing organization in the state,” Mammon said.

Sorensen guided thousands of people fishing for striped bass and other species on the San Joaquin River, including celebrities, sports figures and even politicians. The nickname “Jolly” came from his penchant for humor and joke telling,

In explaining his reason for the founding of CSBA, Sorensen told Hurley in an interview, “We became very concerned that the huge spawning runs in the San Joaquin River disappeared almost overnight in the early ’70s, since you used to be able to go out on the river at night and watch the small males bumping the females on the surface for acres. The surface of the river was white from all of the milt.”

Besides fighting for the restoration of striped bass and his beloved Delta, Sorensen was also an outdoor writer. He authored the “Let’s Go Fishing” in the Rio Vista Herald for more than 40 years, as well as writing for other publications, including the Fish Sniffer magazine. In 2015, the Bay/Delta Yachtsman awarded Sorensen the Hal Schell Award.

Sorensen had many memorable sayings. One of the most notable was, “The Delta is my Sistine Chapel. There are no two sunsets alike on the Delta.” Another saying showed his deep understanding of California fish and water politics: “The San Joaquin River flows by gravity for its first 100 miles, but it flows by politics for the remainder of its journey to the ocean.”

PAUL BONDERSON JR

Paul Bonderson, Jr., chairman and past president of Ducks Unlimited protected wetlands, waterfowl and California’s hunting and conservation heritage.

The Sunol tech millionaire started a crusade to raise $1 billion to create wetlands habitat to benefit waterfowl and wildlife. He put several million of his dollars into his passion and has seen the results.

“I want to help create something for the next generation,” Bonderson said. “Just in California, we’ve lost more than 90 percent of our historic wetlands” to draining and conversion to farmlands in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, and to levees, infill and construction in the bay and delta.

“I know that protecting and creating wetlands really works to produce more birds,” he said. “I’ve done it myself on some of my own land.” At his 2,500-acre ranch in the Butte Sink near Colusa, Bonderson said that he and his sons have converted 1,500 acres from rice fields to wetlands.

Bonderson envisions a network of volunteers to fund and carry out the vision of restoring wetlands across North America. Part of the vision, he said, is to educate the public on how protecting wetlands habitat also provides homes for more than 200 species of birds, along with dozens of species of wildlife and endangered species.

NED MACKAY

MacKay is one of California’s greatest ambassadors to parklands. As a 15-year member of the volunteer Trail Safety Patrol, he has spent more than 7,500 hours providing assistance of any kind to those in need, ranging from guiding them to safety, directions, water or interpretive information about parks.

He is best known at the East Bay Regional Park District, where he is one of a handful to have hiked all of the district’s 65 parks. MacKay has also participated in hikes of all levels, from easy strolls to ambitious backpacking trips across Yosemite National Park and much of the Sierra Nevada, and beyond across the western U.S. With a group of friends, he has rafted rivers in California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Arizona and Alaska.

His outreach to the public includes writing stories in many newspapers that detail park programs and natural history. While MacKay’s scope of travel ranges far, his accomplishments in the outdoors come second to him: He seeks always to help anybody in need, and in turn, he has shared his love for nature and wild places with thousands.

JUSTIN LICHTER

In the past 15 years, Justin Lichter has hiked more than 35,000 miles. Lichter has hiked the Triple Crown — the Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail and Appalachian Trail. He also swam unsupported around Lake Tahoe without a wetsuit.

His expeditions span the globe: Lichter developed a route from the southern Rocky Mountains to Las Vegas, traversed Iceland on foot, hiked solo and unsupported 1,800 miles through Ethiopia and Kenya (where his trip ended when he was stalked by lions), and traversed the Himalayas from Nepal to the India/Pakistan border. As a resident of Truckee, he works in the public arena as a ski patroller, coming to the aid and assistance of Tahoe skiers.

He and Shawn Forry were the first hikers to complete the 2,660-mile Pacific Crest Trail in winter, completed in 132 days, faster than many complete the trail in summer.

Justin Lichter and Shawn Forry

SHAWN FORRY

Justin Lichter and Shawn Forry

Shawn Forry and Justin Lichter became the first hikers in history to complete the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail during winter. They faced Arctic-like conditions in the High Sierra, including extreme winds, and overcame frostbite while traversing in snowshoes, skis and boots with crampons.

Utilizing ultra-light techniques, they covered more than 20 miles per day and went more than 1,700 miles without seeing another person on the trail. They completed the trek in 132 days, faster than many complete the trail in summer. He has hiked more than 20,000 miles through 26 states and seven countries, and his legendary status among hikers has inspired others around the world. For more than a decade,

Forry has been the program director for Outward Bound California, where he has inspired confidence and leadership and developed character in youth. Attempting something for the first time requires a lot of flexibility, problem solving, determination and stubbornness.

CHRIS KORICK

Chris Korich is considered the greatest casting coach in the world. His life achievement came in 2016 when he mentored McCormick, the youngest world champion in the history of any world sporting event, according to Korich and others who researched it. Korich has also won 12 gold medals for the U.S. in his career.

Korich is the coach of casting clubs in San Francisco and Oakland that have dominated casting competition in all phases in national and world competitions. He is sought out by casters from throughout the world, which overshadows his own abilities as a national and world-class medalist in both accuracy and distance casting for over 40 years.

Korich has also worked behind the scenes with tackle designers and major manufacturers, testing and refining products for anglers worldwide. As Korich’s friend Fred Reicker of San Leandro wrote: “I know that Korich shares with his father (a former baseball coach) a philosophy about coaching; that is: Enable your players/students to achieve their potential; experience with joy your God-given abilities; relish competition and test what you’ve got; and take loss gracefully, knowing that you have not been diminished as a person.”

PAXSON OFFIELD

Posthumous

A pioneer in the pursuit of big-game saltwater fishing off Catalina Island and a leader in the protection of billfish and white seabass of Southern California and endangered plants at Catalina. Paxson “Packy” Offield was a beloved member of the Tuna Club of Santa Catalina Island and known as a conservationist who made a difference.

His involvement in the research of reproductive problems facing the Bald Eagle population at Catalina Island led to their survival and made national news. Working with the San Diego Zoological Society, he was instrumental in funding the successful effort to save the California condor from the brink of extinction. This family interest, heralding back to his great grandparents’ world famous aviary in Avalon, took him to far-away places. As Chairman of the Peregrine Fund, the President of Panama personally presented him with the Comendador Award, one of the nation’s highest civilian awards, for helping save their national bird, the Harpy’s Eagle, from the brink of extinction.

Packy joined the Tuna Club in 1987 and was extremely proud of his membership. His contributions to the Tuna Club and his commitment to ethical angling and good sportsmanship never waived. As an angler, he earned his qualifying button in 1988 and his Silver Fame Medal in 1990. He earned his Gold Fame Medal in 1994, Tag and Release Pin in 1997, with four buttons total. He was selected Angler of The Year in 2003 and 2004, and held several Tuna Club Records, with two still standing for a 3 thread white seabass and a 3-thread albacore.

The Paxson Offield Center for Billfish Studies opened in 2000 with cutting- edge technology. His quest to understand more about the mysterious behavior of the world’s billfish populations inspired his working with anglers and scientists to accumulate more sound scientific research on marlin behavior. By placing archival tags in the fish, information was transmitted to satellites when they surfaced, then downloaded for scientific analysis. There was an immediate source of new information about their habits and migrations due to his work. The Center coordinates the most innovative data collection program in existence. Placing hundreds of satellite tags in 16 locations around the world and counting is a historic accomplishment. Even the trial and error work involved in developing reliable satellite tags was a major scientific achievement.

Some of Packy’s other angling and conservation acknowledgements include the Rybovich Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 for his long- standing contributions to the Billfish Foundation, of which he also served as a Past Chairman. The Billfish Foundation acknowledged that his efforts brought attention to the billfishes decline before the International Treaty Management Organizations for the first time. Paxson’s induction into the International Game Fish Association’s Hall of Fame was most befitting as a reflection of what he has done for the sport of angling in general. As Chairman of the organization, he has provided excellent leadership during changing times. He was the driving force behind the Great Marlin Race, encouraging anglers to participate in placing tags and advancing research on his beloved billfish.

LARRY GREENE

Posthumous

To thousands of California anglers, 4:55 a.m. Monday through Saturday was a special time.  That's because for nearly 20 years the late Larry Greene's extremely popular “Fisherman's Forecast” radio show was broadcast through KCBS 740-AM out of San Francisco. 

 The highly informative program covered fishing reports for much of California and southern Oregon.  If fish were biting anywhere along that 1,000 mile axis, Larry let you know exactly what was going on.  Anyone who ever heard that show can never forget its parting line: “That's the 'Fisherman's Forecast'; I'm Larry Greene.”

 Larry's passion for sharing the joy of fishing went beyond radio.  His angling knowledge was made available through numerous books, countless magazine articles in regional and national publications, as a mentor, and as an instructor where he taught introductory and advanced fishing classes for over 10  years at Skyline Community College in San Bruno.

 And for close to 20 years Larry was Master of Ceremonies for the annual International Sportsmen's Exposition in San Mateo where he introduced featured seminar speakers to their audiences, and served as a de facto “Ambassador of Fishing” as he patrolled the show's aisles, conversing freely with exhibitors,  celebrities, and “Average Joe” show attendees alike.

 A champion of fisheries conservation, Larry was a huge supporter of the efforts in establishing United Anglers of California.

 Larry's angling expertise was garnered from almost 50 years of fishing practically every mile of both fresh and saltwater environs in California, plus adventures in several US states.

Larry died in 2002 when on special assignment for KCBS-TV2 as a cameraman off the coast of Iran when the U.S. Navy helicopter he was riding in crashed. Greene was covering U.S. servicemen serving in the Middle East.

ROGER THOMAS

San Francisco's Roger Thomas has spent more than 10,000 days on the ocean chasing salmon, albacore and whales on his boat the Salty Lady — and who crusaded for salmon and water interests for 40 years — was named on 60 percent of the ballots and will also be inducted.

HANS FLORINE

Climbing Yosemite’s El Capitan in record time wasn’t enough for Hans Florine to get voted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame.

Five years later, after Florine used his stature to help disabled athletes, children and families participate in the outdoors — as well as set a new speed record for El Cap and climbed the epic nose route for the 100th time — Florine was the top vote getter for this year’s HOF class.

Florine, of Walnut Creek, was named on 70 percent of the ballots of past winners and industry leaders and will be inducted Jan. 23 at the Sacramento International Sportsmen’s Exposition at Cal Expo.

ROY WEATHERBY

Stoked by a fascination in ballistics and firearms, Weatherby’s experiments in his Los Angeles garage in the 1940s led to creation of the Mark V action rifle for Weatherby Firearms. It is still considered the world’s strongest bolt-action rifle, and the name Weatherby is world famous among hunters.

His early ballistic experiments proved that lightweight bullets traveling at high speeds perform better than heavier bullets fired at low velocity, which revolutionized the gun industry. Weatherby developed several high-speed cartridges, all of which are still popular and bear his name, such as the .300 Weatherby Magnum. To test his creations, Weatherby hunted from the Arctic Circle to Africa.

He also devoted his life to wildlife conservation. In 1956, he created the Weatherby Hunting and Conservation Award, which recognizes efforts to educate the non-hunting public about the beneficial role of ethical sport hunting, especially its contributions to wildlife conservation.

His foundation, the Weatherby Foundation, has sponsored more than 1 million people in events in 19 states that emphasize a combination of shooting along with wildlife conservation and education.