Best Bass Angler of all time 2025
earthworm77 reply :
The recent series in Bassmaster has me thinking a bit. What should really qualify an angler to be known as the best of all time. I thought there were a couple of guys who shouldn't have made the top ten and a couple that were omitted that should have made it. Not to pick any favorites here, I was thinking about qualifications.
Look at a guy like Clunn. Resume is self explanitory, 4 Classic titles. No doubt in my mind the #1 pick. After him however, it becomes a little unclear.
I look at a guy like Larry Nixon who has won a Classic and 4 mega bucks titles and is a down right threat almost everytime out on the water. I don't know if he should be a #2 but he could be.
How about Denny B?? The first million dollar winner on the circuit. That sounds impressive but consider a couple of things. There were guys before him that won way more, they just had smaller payouts. So does he make the list because of the economic boom for bass fishing? He's got a classic.
How about Rolo. This guy boggles the mind. He was so dominant in the early days of the sport winning an unprecedented 9 AOY's. He is perhaps the most consistant angler of all time. But consider this....he hasn't won an AOY since 1985...20 years. He has won a few tournaments in between but could his success be attributed to simply being way ahead of the learning curve prior to 1985? His lack of consistency after 1985 suggests that the competition simply caught up to him. I think he belongs in the top 10 but maybe not so close to the top.
KVD is one of the anglers who I do not think should be on this list. He is a fantastic angler but he will forge his own place here within the next ten years. It is simply too early for him to be considered. He has had a great career thus far but I expect him to really become a dominant force in the future as he a Ike shoot it out. He is the next generation.
Bill Dance....here is a guy who has been the face of bass fishing for many years. I think he was given too many accolades in this competition. He has done a lot for the sport but that doesn't qualify him to be in the running for best bass abgler of all time. He won in the early days of B.A.S.S. but his absence from tournament fishing in favor of TV and self promotion tells me he might not have been among the best.
Maybe it is just me. I think Clunn, Nixon, Parker, Davis and Daves are my top 5.
I could think of at least a few names who are very diserving of this acknowledgement such as Stacy King, Charlie Campbell, Hank Parker, Paul Elias, Ken Cook etc. There are so many names, so many guys who won a Classic, AOY title, MegaBucks etc.
dodgeguy reply :
roland martin all the way!!! ;D
Rattlinrogue reply :
Everyone has an opinion.Who really knows who is the Greatest?Just because some talking heads at ESPN says it,doesn't neccessarily make it true.I have a lot of favorites,and they'll still be my favorites after the "Greatest" is named.
SBM-RL reply :
It seems like in every sport there is just an obvious best of all time like MJ or Gretzkey u cant really argue at all there not but fishing its so hard to rate guys but here is my top ten
Rick Clunn
Larry Nixon
Roland Martin
Denny Brauer
Mark Davis
Hank Parker
Kevin Vandam
Jay Yelas
Bill Dance
Jimmy Houston
SBM-RL reply :
in that order
5bass reply :
ew,I dont think Roalnd is #1.Like you said,he hasnt done a whole lot since the mid-80's.Sure there was lots of people bass fishing the Tour then but how many had the top notch sponsors and could hire guides and pre-fish a tournament for 2 weeks?And when I think of Roland Martin I think of Richard Petty......he had the best sponsor and the most money behind him so he had the fastest car and won tons of races.What Dale Earnhardt (R.I.P.) did was tie Petty's title record and he did it with the competition being at its highest level once NASCAR equalled the playing field with the cars.I think what Earnhardt did and the time frame he did it in is way more impressive than Richard Petty's accolades.I feel like Clunn has the "mojo" when it comes to being #1 and what he has accomplished is more impressive than Roland because he is still competing at a very high level to this day and the competition gets stiffer all the time.And he's still hangin' tough.I vote Clunn #1.
Sorry to get off on the NASCAR tangent,just making a comparison.I do still think Petty is a great driver and Roland is still a great fisherman,but they arent #1 in my book.
5bass reply :
And ESPN should rename the Greatest Angler Debate to be the Greatest Bass Angler debate.
If it was just for greatest "angler",either one of the Lindner brothers would be #1.No question about it.
Chris reply :
I guess what I would look at is who lead the field when they where in their prime and who is still winning tournaments today.
Low_Budget_Hooker reply :
I'm gonna have to go with whichever one has smiled the most in his/her lifetime.
crank it reply :
Yeh If you talk about the greastest angler the linder bros would take it hands down look what they have done for fishing in general they are great multi species anglers not just bass anglers.
Pa Angler reply :
Let us not forget as well as 9 AOY'S for Roland he also had 19 Tour wins, 19 or 20 second places as well and won three tournaments in a row. It's hard to compare eras because rules change in everthing including NASCAR he did what was leagal. Doesn't the FLW still allow the use of Guides? I thought they did. I would have to agree that Martin and Clunn deserve to be on the top there's know one near what those two have done and if you look at all catagories Martin is the MAN. Roland's last win was in 1993 if I remember correctly he retired in 1992 and then came back to win that one in 1993.
Isn't Roland like 10yrs older then Clunn? Roland's in his 70'S and was around 60 when he last won.
How old was Clunn when he last won?
Chow
Tha Pa Angler
dodgeguy reply :
roland has a win more recent than that and i forgot what year it was.he also has finished high in the classic recently.he's not done yet!!! ;D
Chris reply :
Clunn 102 top 10's 17 wins classics 4 qualified for 28 classics and 6 Flw championships age 58 pro 32 years
Martin 94 top 10's 19 wins age 65 pro 35 years
Chris reply :
Clunn career earnings 2.5 million
Martin career earnings 1.5 million
BassMaster reply :
BILL DANCE DUDE..... HIS SHOWS ARE SO INFORMATIVE UNLIKE ROLAND MARTIN'S SHOWS WHICH HAVE A TON OF SHORT INFOMERCIALS IN THEM!
roadwarrior reply :
I agree with fivebasslimit, Lindner brothers without a doubt.
Best Bass Anglers:
1. Rick Clunn
2. Roland Martin
3. Bill Dance
Low_Budget_Hooker reply :
Just for the record, Bill Dance's ENTIRE SHOW is an info-mercial. Granted, it's for my beloved strike-king lures but still....
Pa Angler reply :
When Roland started fishing there was no real money in Pro fishing, if you take all of his accomplisments and calculated them in todays market he would be the top money winner of all time. He also was a spokesman for B.A.S.S. in it's early years he was a primary figure in B.A.S.S.'S success to where it's at today.
Chow
The Pa Angler
Pa Angler reply :
MY TOP FIVE
Roland Martin
Rick Clunn
Lary Nixon
Denny Brauer
Kevin VanDam
Chow
The Pa Angler
Pa Angler reply :
According to Bassmaster's website for Angler of the year debate info:
Clunn 58 Years Old
1 AOY
4 Classics
14 Wins
13 2nd's
11 3rd's
97 Top 10's
148 Top 20's
150 Top 50's
28 Times in Classic
213 Times in money
Roland 65 Years Old
9 AOY"S
0 Classics
19 Wins
19 2nd's
6 3rd's
92 Top 10's
132 Top 20's
191 Top 50's
25 Times in Classic
185 Times in Money
I know that there's a big debate about which carries more weight Classics or AOY"S when the Pros were asked this past year what they thought had more most of them said AOY because it took more to win it not as the classic is who's hot for a one day event an angler has to be on their game all year to win an AOY Skeet Reese agreed on the debate show and was mentioned by other Anglers
on Basscenter.
I gotta say it's real close you could even say it's a tie good thing we the people vote but you know that Clunn works for ESPN and the fix is not out of the question we the people don't have access to the ballot results or electronic missed votes as it were.
Chow
The Pa Angler
Nick_Barr reply :
competitive angling:
1# Clunn
2# Denny Brauer (Before Back Injury)
3# Mark Davis (amazing ability to find fish on new water
Overall:
Linder Brothers
Tenka reply :
QuoteJust for the record, Bill Dance's ENTIRE SHOW is an info-mercial. Granted, it's for my beloved strike-king lures but still....
Bill Dance uses al ot of different makers in his shows, not just Strike King. ShawnGrisby(One more Cast), on the otherhand, i have seen like 15 episodes, and haven't seen anything NOT made by StrikeKing,
Cephkiller reply :
Shaw's the biggest corporate sellout EVER! I like Strike King products and he makes me want to NOT buy them! How about admitting that something else just might work once in a while? I know SK pays for the show, but just acknowledge that there are other baits for Pete's sake.
snide reply :
BILL DANCE,
Not just as a tournement guy, but a all around promoter and producer of quality entertainment.
If I ever had someone whom I thought was the staple of bass fishing as we know it today atleast as long as I can remember Bill Dance's name comes up time and time again.
PS: I believe he could still compete today, I will take knowledge over youth everytime.
earthworm77 reply :
This is the problem I have with this debate.....it should be based on angling and angling only. Who cares if a guy promotes his sport or sponsors better or has a TV show. Who is the best bass fisherman? Why didn't they include Doug Hannon, the Linder's, the late Bill Murphy..the guys who are really catching the big fish.
Snide, I don't doubt that Dance is a knowledgable angler but consider all of his shows are fished on those private farm ponds...if I had the access, I'd look pretty good too!
d.k reply :
Roland Martin
kbj3579 reply :
I think they should take Clun and Martin and put them on an undisclosed lake they have never been to. Give them 8 hours a day for 3 days and let them fish to determine the winner. Great TV ratings!!!!
5bass reply :
QuoteI think they should take Clun and Martin and put them on an undisclosed lake they have never been to. Give them 8 hours a day for 3 days and let them fish to determine the winner. Great TV ratings!!!!
Thats a great idea really,the only drawback would be that all of their past accomplishments that everyone is raving and arguing about would be thrown out the window in a matter of speaking with a one-on-one tournament like that.Now if it ends in a tie....a fish-off is the obvious answer.
And if a fish-off was to take place,I want to be Clunn's on-boat observer all 3 days. 
Max-in-Mn reply :
"Why didn't they include Doug Hannon"
I agree, I've actually "learned" the most from his videos and I think he is an absolute genius.
Jeff_NHBA reply :
Best Anglers - Linder Brothers.
Best Bass Angler - Rick Clunn.
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