Here are my Top 5:
1) Kevin VanDam - 7 BASS Angler or the Year titles, 2001 FLW Angler of the Year, 4 time Bassmaster Classic Champ, over 5.5 million in winnings, 20 BASS wins, and 21 Classic Apperances. I think it would be hard to argue this one.
2) Roland Martin - 9 BASS Angler of the Year titles, 19 BASS wins, 25 Classic Appearances
3) Rick Clunn - 4 Classic Wins, 17 BASS Wins, and 1 BASS Angler of the Year Title
4) Bill Dance - 3 Angler of the Year Awards, 23 National Bass Fishing Wins, 7 BASS Wins, 8 Classic Appearances
5) Gary Klein - 29 Bassmaster Classic appearances, 12 Classic top 5's, and 2 Angler of the Year Awards.
Most important to Kayak Fishing (These are not necessarily the "best" just the most important):
1) Hank Parker - He might not have developed a kayak or invented anything new for it, but he has been the face of bass fishing from a kayak for a long time. He was the first I can remember to have a TV Show fishing from a Kayak.
2) Chad Hoover - Wilderness Systems Pro-Staff Director, co-owner of Hook1 Kayak Fishing Gear, founder of KayakBassFishing.com, author of The Definitive Guide to Kayak Bass Fishing, and now Kayak Fishing TV Show host of Knot Right Kayak Fishing. He has been a large part of the recent growth of the sport
3) Drew Gregory - Kayak Fishing Pro, Tournament Founder, and Fishing Kayak Designer at Jackson Kayak, Drew has his own signature kayak, the Jackson Coosa, and has helped to develop the Cuda, and Big Tuna. He has also helped to promote River Fishing through his website riverbassin.com.
4) Luther Cifers - Kayak Fishing innovator, he is the founder of YakAttack. YakAttack designs and manufactures products for kayak safety and kayak fishing. If you need an accessory to make bass fishing from your kayak a little easier, I bet YakAttack has it.
5) Heck there are so many good anglers and innovators that I don't know who to choose for the final spot in the top 5...what are your thoughts? Should it be a writer/blogger/magazine editor, a professional angler, an innovator, or something else. Who would you choose?
Very good choices Pat. That 5th spot is tough for sure. A few names that come to mind are Jim Sammons (has had the only kayak fishing show for a long time), Paul Lebowitz (headman for Kayak Angler Magazine), and Kayak Kevin. A top-10 or 20 would be just about impossible!
ReplyDeleteI thought about each of those that you mentioned, and they all could fit in (and deservedly so.) I wanted to choose someone that was more Bass Fishing specific though. Any thoughts on that?
DeleteWell, I would argue Luther Cifers isn't necessarily related to bass fishing, but I do agree he deserves to be considered. I am not sure if a clear cut #5 exists yet. There are some older guys who helped the sport grow, there are tourney guys, media guys, young guns, etc. Jeff Little would certainly be in the conversation for #5. He is doing it all right now (except tournaments). Although he hasn't quite reached the level of the other guys on your list in terms of notoriety, I think he is closer than anyone else out there right now.
ReplyDeleteYour right, Luther Cifers isn't bass fishing. I debated for a while if he should be on the list, but I felt it necessary to include him anyway. That is partly why I wanted to keep spot 5 for a bass fishing guy. I thought about Jeff Little too, he could be included. I think a top 10 list might have been easier. There are so many important figures, but its hard to pick the 5 most important.
ReplyDeleteIf you had to put your foot down and pick #5 (bass fishing related) who would you pick?
ReplyDeleteOh geeze...this is why I didn't do it...the two I was really debating between for the 5 spot were Jim Sammons and Jeff Little. I think I would go with Jeff simply because he is Bass fishing specific. He has done some good things with his Instructional Videos and created Confidence Baits (which to me are river specific baits.) Who would you choose?
ReplyDeleteIf #5 goes to a bass fisher, I also vote Jeff. Otherwise I vote Jim with Paul L. being 6th, Kayak Kevin 7th, and Jeff 8th.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis. I really wanted to stick with the bass fishing angle. That's why Jeff would slide in at number two.
DeleteWhat about Morgan Promnitz the Director of the Hobie Kayak Fishing?
ReplyDeleteI also thought about Hobie Alter, but I feel the most prominent person, the one who has been the most influential on bringing anglers to the sport of Kayak Fishing has been Hank Parker.
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