Do you have a favorite pro?

Weird question huh? Grown man having a favorite "pro fisherman" but do you?

Who is it and why?

I like Martens. He seems super chill and we are from the same general area in LA.

He was from the good side of the tracks me not so much but same hood. And he can flat catch em too!!

Gerald Swindle...mostly because he is hilarious and we are from the same general area.

the general aka larry nixon

After watching MLF this weekend my new favorite pro fisherman is James Watson... The guys a hoot... Dan

Clunn

I like Keith Combs, he's a good ol' East Texas boy and a nice guy. I also like James Watson. He's funny and doesn't take himself too seriously. My all time favorite would be the late David Wharton. He was a heckuva fisherman and a nice guy. He lived next to my grandparents for a time back when he was still guiding on Rayburn, before he joined the tour full time.

James Martin and Gerald Swindle are about the most entertaining anglers on TV I like Brent Chapman also

I liked him too but a buddy said he met him at a meet and greet and he was rude with him.

He said all the other pros were super cool but clunn was a jerk.

Probaly just a bad day... We all have them

Ike.. knew him when he was a kid. He consistently beat the adults. Attitude. yeah. skill yeah.

Texas pros.....Rich Dalby

Dan.. I was a judge for James Watson two years ago in the TTBC at Fork. While everyone was hammering them on deep divers he threw his frog because " I got here by throwing the frog and I will throw the frog." 2 day total around 20 lb. Winner total 110 lb.

Denny Bauer, because he like flipping.

I used to make a lot of the weigh-ins back in the 90's. I'd say 99% of the pros were super nice and would talk and sign autographs for all the fans. After a Mega Bucks weigh-in on Richland Chambers, Clunn was very standoffish with the fans. He did have a bad day so I just chalked it up to that. Guys like David Wharton, Randy Dearman, Jay Yelas, Woo Daves, Jim Bitter, Bud Pruitt, and many others would talk to the fans and signed lots of autographs. Jimmy Houston had the biggest crowd around him, and he talked and signed until the last fan was gone.

G-Man Swindle all day for humor. Hackney and Martens for sport.

We've been blessed to meet many pro's thru the last 30 years in the boat business, and just like this last weekend I was fortunate to get some one-on-one time with some really good ones. A-Mart, Lucas, young Elam, home boy Combs, Todd Faircloth- all were very respectful toward me and my staff. Great guys.
If I have to pick my favorites, hands down its (in no order)
Alton- He started with me just out of Baylor in 1990 and still calls his home dealership Fun n Sun. I love that he will share his faith and testimony with anyone, no matter how busy he is. I watched Alton Jr. grow up and admire the job Sr. did raising such a well mannered kid.
Bill Wilcox- The Iron Man of this sport. Nobody out works him. Nobody. But yet we've fished together as partners many times and he never shuns a question on or off the water from fans. I don't think I've ever seen him mad. ( but he's seen me mad) lol
Tommy Martin- Had many beers and steaks at Speedy's in Zapata after a day on the lake, and he is the easiest open book to talk to. Never comes off as a know it all or "I been doing this for 70 years blah blah" but yet HE HAS! The guy is genuine and you wouldn't even know he's won the Classic and qualified 20 times TWENTY. He always asked how YOU did on the water and what YOU like to fish. I respect the hell out of him, and frankly doubt I could cast toe to toe with him without sitting down and resting, and Im 20 plus years younger. Hes a machine.

Ike or swindle

Steve Kennedy. No sponsors and finished top five in the FW Cup throwing a Snagless Sally with a pork chunk trailer.

I don't have a favorite. I have been able to fish with several and thought they were all great guys. Haven't met one yet that wasn't a stand up guy. I do have one that I would like to fish with just once and that's Timmy Horton. To be able to pick his brain for a day would be awesome.

Swindle and Danny Bauer. One for fun and the other to learn.

Greg Hackney, Tim Horton, Paul Elias for fishing tips and techniques. Hackney--jig, Horton--crank bait, Elias--C-rig and cranking.

Zell Roland and Charley Hartley for "hanging in there" against the odds.

Kenyon Hill and Gerald Swindle, both are so funny to watch.

Swindle, listening to his wit is hypnotic...
KVD is The Man..he's a fishing machine.

I've marshalled for a few like Hartley, Vinson, and Menendez. They were great guys. I've gone to Bass University classes back in the day and met George Cochran, Denny Brauer, Jay Yelas, Alton Jones, Guido and Dion Hibdon. They were all approachable and good guys.

Denny was my favorite growing up because all I liked to do was pitch and flip. Too many guys out there now that I admire to name just one.
Call me crazy, but I think if i could choose to spend a day in the boat with just one, it would be Zona. Knows his stuff and he cracks me up.

Gary Kein. Nice personality and a good head.

Greg Hackney and this guy

Hands down my favorite pro is KVD!
He's the master of reaction bites. However, I do enjoy watching Gary Klein fish because he brings in the lunkers. And he's a Texan!

KJ, educational and great with the young kids.

Scott Martin- You could not meet a nicer guy! You can ask him anything and responds like you've known him forever.

Freddie Roumbanis, Andy Morgan, Brad Knight, Tom Reddington & Kvd.

Edwin evers

I don't really have 1 favorite, I just really enjoy watching these guys fish, I always learn, there are just some who annoy the daylights out of me for whatever reason, but most I enjoy. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be The Squirrel.

And this guy ^^^^^ is a MAJOR stick on the minor tours

Takahiro Omori
Pretty hard not to pull for a guy with this much brass.

"Heading to America
I saved up all my money ( $2,000) and carried one tackle box, a few rods and clothes with me and I made my first trip to the U.S. in 1992 to compete in the Texas B.A.S.S. invitational. I could not speak any English and didn’t know anyone there. I was 21 years old and everyone I talked to in Japan told me I was crazy and impossible to be successful. That kind of stuff even motivated me more. I was young and I had a nothing to lose. I started as a non-boater, and learned the ropes from the bottom up. It was really a struggle in the beginning without sponsors and I had to sleep inside an old truck most nights. Besides the difficulty of learning how to find and catch bass, I also needed to learn the language and culture. I had a no idea that there was this many outside fishing stuff involved to being as a tour pro. My only option was to catch some bass and win a tournament or go back to Japan as a loser."

Yep, Tak is a good guy

Justin Lucas, AMart, Faircloth, Ike and Palaniuk are my top 5. No particular order.

You fishin for brownie points ?

Re: "pro" Can the answer include ladies in platform shoes?

I've gotten a chance to spend a few days in the boat with a few as an observer. Fred Roumbanis was a lot of fun. Tommy Biffle despite the rep was a blast to spend a day with. I've met quite a few of these guys at seminars etc. You won't meet a nicer guy than Jimmy Houston. Gary Klein is nothing but class. Got a chance to meet and talk with Aaron Martens on Saturday at Fun-N-Sun and he was awesome to talk to. As far as favorites, for giving of their time and expertise, I choose two local guys. Brian Clark and Mike Kernan. Great representatives of the industry and the area.

I have been fortunate enough to meet and learn from a number of pros, and honestly, I have never met a single professional angler that disappointed me.

Every year, Bass Pro Shops puts on an event called the BPS Fishing University. Basically, it is a private ICast for BPS employees. They block out the Hilton in Destin, Florida and enact a one week school where a few people from each store/corporate folks/writers/etc meet and cover new spring items in a classroom format. For the Rapala class, Ott DeFoe takes everyone out to the pool and runs lures through the water.

Of course, this makes for some pretty hilarious photos. The staff at the Hilton were looking at us like we were aliens (and I suppose in many ways, we were).

Ott has always been a favorite of mine, and not just because he fishes in the Hilton swimming pool with his jersey on. Super nice guy and a true talent.

Heck pretty much all of them. Kernan, Brian Clark, Tony (local guys). they do what most of want to do.

Jimmy Houston is my all time favorite, but I also think a lot of Gary Klein. A true gentleman in the sport. I'm much more of a fan of the old school guys.
That said, I like Gerald Swindle and Ike of the new breed.

Greg Hackney, J.T. Kenney, John Cox, Clifford Pirch, KVD and Andy Montgomery

Josh Bertrand. The guy is a machine. And will let you use whatever he has, if what you have isn't working. He's not selfish, and still gets it done. Confident. He's also funny to fish with all day. Sense of humor wise. Haha. Another close choice is Matt Lee. Nice guy. Also, I'd add A-Mart, but I don't have any personal experience fishing with him...I just like his style of fishing.

Greg Hackney and Jason Christie. I have had a chance to talk a few times with John Murray in the last couple of months and he is a really good guy as well.

Swindle, just because he's a nut case. I like Brent Chapman as well. Super down to earth guy, great stick, and a local boy from around here.

SE Kansas grass grower

Jason Christie

G-Man and Mike kernan

I would have to say Hackney

Got to go old school. George Cochran. The cool thing is he was my net man on a guide trip with his son, David, on Lake Ouachita for stripers. Really nice guy and his son is equally nice and works hard to put you on fish. I have used David several times.

I'm a big zona fan, he's a hoot. I'll follow chapman and hackney too.

Edwin Evers and The hack attack are my favorites by far. They are both very versatile! I met Edwin at the bassmaster elite on lake lewisville and i was only 13 and he was very nice to me! He's been my favorite ever since!

Josh Bertrand was my boater at a Open on the Red River a few years before he made the Elites. Fishing was extremely tough but I had a great time fishing with him and learned a lot!

Compared to other sports, every one that I have been in contact
is very giving of their time and attention. You can tell they love
to fish.

Before the Elites, the LLewisville tourney, Gary Klein didn't make the cut
and the next day he chatted with me 1:1 just standing around for over 30 mins
about fishing - great guy

Fished the Open on Lewisville in 2012 and got to fish with Bradley Roy and
Josh Bertrand. Tough tourney, I caught a small fish on day one, Bradley caught
nothing but he was very friendly and excited that I got a fish on a tough day - great guy

Josh Bertrand on day 2, he was in the lead and focused on the A-Rig at the dam in a 20mph
north wind. Hard day of fishing and he was trying to qualify for Elites but he took the
time to talk to me about and set me up with an A Rig of his own - great guy

I met that guy he gave me his autograph.

One cool cat tell you what.

G'man and Howell, for me it's all about personality and passion! Hackney and Evers run a close first and second also. But I did forget Fat Cat Newton, might have to go with Fat Cat. Lol not really!

I'm a Todd Faircloth person myself. Was cool to see him in person at Fun-N-Sun this weekend.

Every single pro I have met and been around for any length of time has been great, except one. They're all outstanding gentlemen who work their arses off to do what they love. And when I say work, I mean it. NO way could I live that lifestyle.

My grandfather fished with him many times. I never got to meet him but I know my grandfather considered him a friend and talked about him a lot. When my uncle got sick he got to fish with him and they filmed it but I'm not sure it ever aired.

Probably Hackney, but I like a lot of those guys.

Brent Ehrler - professional and well rounded.

A-Mart is very cool and enjoyable to talk to.

Hank Parker

KVD and Jason Christie, i enjoy watching both. Very aggressive fishermen and both have the "it" factor.

I have been fortunate enough to meet and learn from FLW Pro Terry Bolton as I won a trip to Kentucky Lake to fish with Terry for the day back in October . Class act and all around great guy.