Jerry McKinnis' "Fishing Hole" to end forty-year run

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http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/fishing/news/story?id=2725482

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On the verge of retiring as a television personality, Jerry McKinnis, the host of The Fishin' Hole on ESPN, recently took a moment to lean back from his desk, cross his legs and reflect on the past 40 years.

"I am not anything fancy or special," he said. "And I never tried to be."

The sheer longevity of The Fishin' Hole, though, suggests McKinnis was doing something special. The show traces its roots to a five-minute fishing report McKinnis offered on Little Rock local news in 1963.

That spot blossomed into the hour-long Arkansas Sportsman Show, which had been syndicated for 13 years when McKinnis brought The Fishin' Hole to ESPN in 1981. Today the network's only longer-running show is SportsCenter.

But the current 10-episode season (airing Saturdays at 5 and 7 a.m.) will be the show's last.


I am broken hearted. Up early today, I turned on the program to find Ted Williams, Bobby Knight, and Jerry McKinnis salmon fishing on the Kola Penninsula in Russia. That's one of the episodes I have recorded on videotape somewhere in the archives, about 1992. Then, on a commercial break, heard the announcement that this would be the last season of Fishin' Hole. Without a doubt, that has been one of the finest examples of the outdoor genre in my lifetime, and I will miss it dearly. Thought it needed to be mentioned here.

[luckyleftyme2]

1. met him once

he came to maine several times and done his show. he fished for bass on the piscatquis
river. you can still catch and release 50 a day with no problem! these are small mouth
that avg 1-3 lbs.
best time june 15-july 15.
I met him at the fryburg fair he was announcer for the "woods- man" day events.
He's got a million dollar personality- you can't help but like him.