Who's the best pro angler right now? 2025
Hawkeye21 reply :
This debate started up on Facebook group page and it's been interesting. It's not about the greatest ever but who is the best at this moment, based on the last few years. another site world rankings has Jordan Lee first, Edwin Evers second and Bryan Thrift in third right now. I think that's pretty fair to say at the moment. The one person is arguing that Thrift is the greatest angler in the world right now. What are your thoughts?
Tennessee Boy reply :
By what standard?
I probably harp on this too much but I think the BPT is a different sport than the rest of the tournament world. The BPT test an angler’s ability to catch large numbers of bass around the spawn. The anglers that can do that will rise to the top on that tour but it’s a very different type of fishing compared to what they had to do to get there. Time will tell but I would go with Jordan Lee on the BPT.
WRB reply :
The pro that wins the tournament. KVD has won 25 to date.
Tom
Hawkeye21 reply :
On 3/23/2019 at 12:33 AM, Tennessee Boy said:By what standard?
I probably harp on this too much but I think the BPT is a different sport than the rest of the tournament world. The BPT test an angler’s ability to catch large numbers of bass around the spawn. The anglers that can do that will rise to the top on that tour but it’s a very different type of fishing compared to what they had to do to get there. Time will tell but I would go with Jordan Lee on the BPT.
Based on performances against the level of competition they're in. I think Lee deserves to be at the top right now with back to back Classic wins and how well he's been competing against the best in the BPT.
Overall I don't think it matters too much since they are not all competing in the same events against each other.
Team9nine reply :
Wheeler, Thrift, J Lee ... more or less in that order, though there’s wiggle room there 
rowyourboat reply :
Jason Christie & Edwin Evers would be my top 2
NHBull reply :
It's hard to argue against Lee, but I would never bet against KVD and for that reason the later
Daniel Abram reply :
I like mike iaconelli. But a up coming guy to watch is mark Daniel's jr
newriverfisherman1953 reply :
Nobody is THE best angler. You can name a dozen or so guys who are at the top but there are times that they all struggle and get beat. The top guys are there because they can flat out fish. We all have our favorites. I say they are all tied as the best. Way too hard to narrow it down to one single guy.
Catt reply :
Consistency!
Hack Attack is pretty consistent ????
Jleebesaw reply :
On 3/23/2019 at 12:33 AM, Tennessee Boy said:By what standard?
I probably harp on this too much but I think the BPT is a different sport than the rest of the tournament world. The BPT test an angler’s ability to catch large numbers of bass around the spawn. The anglers that can do that will rise to the top on that tour but it’s a very different type of fishing compared to what they had to do to get there. Time will tell but I would go with Jordan Lee on the BPT.
You realize the spawn doesnt last through the entire tour, right?
Glaucus reply :
I feel like ranking pro bass fishermen is a lot harder and not the same as ranking NFL QBs or something.
I really like Brian Latimer but he isn't the best.
jbsoonerfan reply :
Impossible to answer. This isn't as simple as saying Tom Brady is the best QB in the NFL. 
Glaucus reply :
On 3/23/2019 at 11:12 AM, jbsoonerfan said:Impossible to answer. This isn't as simple as saying Tom Brady is the best QB in the NFL.
Well he's not
J.Vincent reply :
Currently Jacob Wheeler or Mark Daniels Jr have both been fishing well.....but my answer is Ott Defoe
jbsoonerfan reply :
On 3/23/2019 at 11:24 AM, Glaucus said:Well he's not
Yea, okay. I won't argue with you though and make this go off topic.
Dwbassin reply :
You see lee consistently finishing up there or winning and Evers. Lee is the next KVD. Evers is putting his name up with the all time greats though
CroakHunter reply :
Wheeler.
Spankey reply :
I like Ike and Greg Hackney but will not rate them the best, hard to ever bet against KVD.
As some one already posted it's tough to rate like a quarterback ratings in the NFL.
Brad Reid reply :
No, to anyone but KVD, now or in the past.
I saw some startling current statistics on how very much he dominates over a very wide statistical array. We sometimes focus too much on the Classic, even there of course he has dominated along with Clunn, but Van Dam is way, way ahead of the next angler even over the past 7 years through much of 2018.
Read this article from just 9 months ago or so. If anyone is sitting on the fence, not certain, if this doesn't change your mind, nothing will.
Brad
GOAT
Does that link not work to KVD stats?
http://www.another site.com/news_article/9287/stats-support-vandamÂ’s-mlf-prowess#.XJYasyhKg2w
Tennessee Boy reply :
On 3/23/2019 at 9:12 AM, Jleebesaw said:You realize the spawn doesnt last through the entire tour, right?
I said “around the spawn”. The schedule on their website runs from February 12th in Texas through June 5th in Oklahoma. Tell me what I’m missing.
JT Bagwell reply :
On 3/23/2019 at 8:50 PM, Tennessee Boy said:I said “around the spawn”. The schedule on their website runs from February 12th in Texas through June 5th in Oklahoma. Tell me what I’m missing.
I am following what you are saying based on the information that you have. They just haven't released the rest of the tournament dates/locations. For some reason they are just releasing them one at a time, which I find a little odd.
Brew City Bass reply :
On 3/23/2019 at 11:00 AM, Glaucus said:I feel like ranking pro bass fishermen is a lot harder and not the same as ranking NFL QBs or something.
I really like Brian Latimer but he isn't the best.
I agree. The only way you could actually rank them is by counting tourney wins and money made.
Fishing has so many variables it allows people to be amazing at different things, and trash at others. Some pros do amazing at some lakes, and others fall apart at the same lake. It's just not a stats sport, so it's hard to even name anyone who isn't actually #1 in career wins.
On 3/23/2019 at 5:58 PM, Spankey said:I like Ike and Greg Hackney but will not rate them the best, hard to ever bet against KVD.
As some one already posted it's tough to rate like a quarterback ratings in the NFL.
Legit question here. What do you like about Ike? I liked him when I was 16 and I thought his childish antics were a hoot, but now I'm a bit older and just find his breakdowns and cussing 'n swearing at events pretty white trash.
Don't get me wrong, I love his enthusiasm for the sport and he's definitely helped grow it. I respect what he's done, but at the same time, I feel he's probably offended or pushed away a few people for being the a-hole he can be.
Spankey reply :
I agree with what you are saying. I like him just for being different. I do enjoy watching him fish and enjoy it more when he's fishing well. His Ike Live Show is pretty funny. He is who he is.
I don't idolize any athletes or bass pros but that's not to say there are ones out there that I don't like in their fields.
I'm not getting sucked in on an Ike argument. I don't care that much to do that. Or truly judge people I have my own faults and quirks.
Though Ike and Greg Hackney may be on different ends of the spectrum they are probably the only ones touring I would really want to fish with. Put Mark Zona right in there also but he's not touring.
jbsoonerfan reply :
On 3/23/2019 at 10:10 PM, JT Bagwell said:I am following what you are saying based on the information that you have. They just haven't released the rest of the tournament dates/locations. For some reason they are just releasing them one at a time, which I find a little odd.
Here's the full schedule for dates, but not locations.
Hower08 reply :
You would have to look at it like football. Rushing yards etc......
Break it down into
limits weighed in,
big bass of tourney,
# of tourneys won and
# of top 10 or 15 finishes for the season
That would tell you who the most consistent angler is which in turn should truly equal the best. Or just look at AOY standings although I believe this is about how they score for it. Which is how it pretty much gets scored in any club I have fished
Brad Reid reply :
My links didn't work in a prior post, not sure why but quoting from it now . . . and I put VanDam stats and info in bold print.
I must say, I was shocked to see how dominant KVD has been, even since his last Classic victory.
Here, summarizing KVD from that source from 2012 to last year:
The man with more B.A.S.S. victories (25) and career earnings than anyone has also proven over the past seven years that regardless of the format he's competing under, he’s a force to be reckoned with.
A another site analysis of the results of every Major League Fishing Summit and Challenge Cup events held since the organization launched in 2012 revealed that VanDam is just as dominant in the every-fish-counts-catch-weigh-release format as he has been in traditional tournament setups, perhaps even more so.
With the completion of the 2018 Challenge Cup held in Natchez, Miss., and Vidalia, La., won by (you guessed it) VanDam, MLF has held 13 Cup events. Each event has three stages to it – Elimination Round, Sudden Death and Championship. That’s 39 possible rounds of competition.
Despite missing one event due to a scheduling conflict, VanDam has competed in 32 of the 36 rounds he’s been eligible for, posting a series-best 10 first-place finishes, meaning every time he hits the water for a round of Cup competition there's a 31 percent chance he's going to prevail. He is the only MLF angler to advance to the Sudden Death round in each Cup event he’s competed at and his three Cup titles also lead all competitors.
That consistency has allowed him to pile up some astonishing statistics. Here’s a sampling:
> His 531 total fish are far and away tops among Cup anglers. Aaron Martens is 2nd with 400 and Martens has competed in all 13 Cups.
> VanDam’s 930.1875 pounds is also first among Cup anglers. Martens’ 702.625 is the next best total.
> VanDam far exceeds the average production during a given round of Cup competition. He averages a series-leading 16.59 fish and 29.07 pounds each time he puts on an MLF jersey for a Cup event. The series averages are 11.43 fish and 20.05 pounds. The average weight of a bass caught in Cup competition has been 1.754 pounds and VanDam is nearly even with 1.752.
> VanDam has qualified for the Championship Round at eight of the 12 Cup events he’s been at. Only three other anglers (Martens with seven, Brent Ehrler with six and Edwin Evers with five) have made it to at least five final rounds.
> He’s caught 40 or more pounds in nine different rounds and has recorded three of the top four individual round weight totals in Cup competition. His two best single-round weights have come in Championship rounds.
> VanDam’s weight total at the 2014 Summit Cup (190.5625 pounds) is more than 40 pounds better than the next best single-event total (Martens had 147.625 at the ’17 Summit Cup).
> VanDam is one of two anglers to crack the 40-pound mark in all three rounds at a single event. He and Greg Hackney both did it at the 2014 Summit Cup at Alpena, Mich. Here’s the kicker: VanDam also did it at the 2012 Challenge Cup at Lake Amistad, MLF's inaugural event.
> VanDam is the only competitor who’s caught 40 fish in a single round, logging an even 40 during the Championship round of the 2016 Summit Cup at La Crosse, Wis.
> He’s one of six competitors in the 30/50 Club, those who’ve caught 30 fish in a single round and amassed 50 pounds in a single round. The others are: Mike Iaconelli, Ott DeFoe, Todd Faircloth, Martens and Ehrler.
Here’s a rundown of the top 5 anglers in several key statistical categories for the MLF Cups (min. 13 rounds):
Total Fish Weighed
1. Kevin VanDam: 531
2. Aaron Martens: 400
3. Edwin Evers: 345
4. Brent Ehrler: 326
5. Greg Hackney: 303
Fish Per Round
1. VanDam: 16.59
2 (tie). Martens: 13.79
2 (tie). Mike Iaconelli: 13.79
4. Evers: 12.78
5. Hackney: 12.63
Total Weight
1. VanDam: 930.1875 pounds
2. Martens: 702.625
3. Ehrler: 623.0615
4. Hackney: 587.6875
5. Evers: 565.51
Weight Per Round
1. VanDam: 29.07 pounds
2. Hackney: 24.49
3. Jacob Wheeler: 24.37
4. Martens: 24.23
5. Iaconelli: 24.21
Highest Per-Fish Average Weight
1. Wheeler: 2.031 pounds
2. Ish Monroe: 2.0104
3. Jason Quinn: 1.946
4. Greg Hackney: 1.9396
5. Kelly Jordon: 1.918
Biggest Individual Fish
1. 8-05 (Bobby Lane – 2015 Challenge Cup)
2. 8-02 (Kelly Jordon – 2014 Challenge Cup)
3. 7-09 (Shaw Grigsby – 2016 Challenge Cup)
4. 7-06 (Takahiro Omori – 2013 Challenge Cup)
5. 7-05 (Boyd Duckett – 2016 Challenge Cup)
Most Fish Caught – Single Round
1. 40 (VanDam – 2016 Summit Cup – Championship)
2 (tie). 39 (VanDam – 2014 Summit Cup – Championship)
2 (tie). 39 (Evers – 2017 Summit Cup – Elimination)
4. 37 (Martens – 2017 Summit Cup – Elimination)
5. 34 (Iaconelli – 2017 Summit Cup – Elimination)
Highest Weight – Single Round
1. 88.00 pounds (Martens – 2017 Summit Cup – Elimination)
2. 82.4375 (VanDam – 2014 Summit Cup – Championship)
3. 74.5625 (VanDam – 2016 Summit Cup – Championship)
4. 66.9375 (VanDam – 2014 Summit Cup – Elimination)
5. 62.125 (Ehrler – 2014 Summit Cup – Elimination)
A better question might have been who is the second best.
Brad
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