The lakes of northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania will serve as my reminders of the life of good man and gifted angler Bob Mullen of Hubbard.

Mullen, 92, passed away last week, leaving loving family and friends and a legacy of contributions in the bass fishing community. He had an uncommon passion for fishing and for the people with whom he shared his joy.

I met Mullen in 1980 or thereabouts while working on a feature story about bass fishing for Ohio Fisherman magazine. In search of information for my article, I visited the Bass Pro Shops store owned by Don Thompson on Mahoning Avenue in Austintown, guessing that if I were to find a bass expert, it almost certainly would be there.

When I walked in, I was greeted by store employee Dale Mullen, Bob’s son. He enthusiastically pitched the fish-catching attributes of the array of lures, rods, reels and accessories geared to bass anglers and spun tales of great fishing at Berlin and other local reservoirs. I was mesmerized by the racks and shelves of products and impressed by Dale’s knowledge. We soon agreed to meet at Berlin to fish and make photographs to illustrate my article.

That was the day the door opened for me to have my first experience with high-level bass fishing. Bob Mullen and chip-off-the-block Dale from that day forward had a huge influence on my own interests in fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass.

I soon learned Bob and Dale were regarded as formidable competitors in bass tournament competition around Warren, Youngstown and Sharon, Pa. They were eager to share their knowledge, which at that point was light-years beyond anything I knew about finding and catching bass. But equally as important was their pure joy in pursuing their sport.

Bob, in particular, projected an almost professorial authority about bass fishing. His smiling eyes, easy grin and ability to communicate about lures, presentations, electronics and fish location projected bass confidence.

I soaked it all in and fell head-over-heels in love with the game. The influence of Bob and Dale was so significant that I decided to join a bass club and I teamed up with friends in buddy-style bass tournaments for more than 40 years.

I embraced the Mullens’ knowledge for color and context for several bass-centric magazine articles over the next couple of years, including Bassmaster, Bassin’ and Ohio Fisherman.

Bob’s obituary, published April 30, says he was an accomplished fisherman. That’s an understatement. He was better than most thanks to keen instincts and an obvious knack for the sport. His professionalism gained the attention of a variety of outdoor brands, who welcomed Bob as an ambassador for their products.

In my book “The Common Angler,” published in 2021, I acknowledged Bob and Dale for their influence in my own fishing career. They both graciously attended a book signing party and I was humbled to receive a gift from Bob that afternoon. It was a circa-1985 Lowrance ball cap, no doubt fresh from the box in which it had resided for more than three decades.

That hat is more than a sunshade. It’s my personal souvenir, an everlasting reminder of my association with Bob.

Bob’s association with Lowrance electronics made a lasting impression on me. My first fish-finder was a Lowrance flasher and every sonar and GPS unit on every boat ever since has been a Lowrance product.

Bob, of course, was not a one-trick angler. He was the patriarch of a fine family, a long-time sheet metal worker for Youngstown Local 33, and a talented artist and craftsman.

To know Bob Mullen was to respect him. He was kind and competitive, jolly and intense, and displayed a childlike glee for every bass he caught. I’ve met innumerable anglers over the decades, but Bob stands out as one rock-solid reason I am still immersed in the sport and even writing this weekly column.

Rest in peace, Bob. Thank you for all you did. Enjoy the fishing in heaven, but please leave a few bass for those of us who will follow you up there.

Jack Wollitz has written this fishing column for Vindicator readers since 1988 and more recently for Tribune Chronicle readers. Contact him at jackbbaass@gmail.com.