This has probably been posted here before but here goes,who's the best professional bassfisherman ever? When I say professional I mean an angler who fished at the top levels of the sport. When I say the best I mean a guy who won consistently for years and took bassfishing to another level. Only one name comes to mind. I don't even have to say his name and you'll know who I'm talking about. Other guys come to mind not for their all around bassfishing prowess,but they mastered certain techniques and fished them on another level. Denny Brauer with a jig,Paul Elias with a deep diving crankbait,Larry Nixon with plastic worm,Aaron Martens with a dropshot,Rick Clunn with crankbait anything really arguably one of the five best to ever do it. Now that I've dated myself pros these days don't master 1 technique,they have to be next level with all presentations and technique. Not even gonna go into the electronics and technical side of professional bassfishing, that's a whole other thread. Who is the absolute best and is it even up for debate?

One could say, Roland Martin or KVD, some would say Clunn. I think Jacob Wheeler will eventually be considered one of the top anglers of all time, he has proven that he can do any technique.

We would need Ken Duke, the bass fishing stats guy to tell us who statistically who the best was though.


Edit: Kvd could only power fish, so I’m not sure he’s technically the best.

Milliken or Jones!

Has to be either Jason Christy with the y on the end or Randy Blaukat

Dang, I can’t believe I forgot about them.

I have never seen an Orkin commercial with KVD.

Gotta throw Bill Dance some love too. A lot of the younger guys only know him for his blooper videos but he won 23 National Titles and was BASS AOY three times. Say what you want about today's new FFS technology. Bill competed with the best of the best back then.

KVD put bass fishing on the map,...

I had thought about Bill too, but since he retired so quickly (compared to many others anyways), I took him out of my list. He has to the the number 1 bait/product seller in the outdoor industry though.

Yep...I don't think you can do this as one of all time. I think stuff like this you have to do best of the decade. All these guys made huge contributions in their time. KVD is the best I've seen do it, but Wheeler is coming on strong. Bill Dance and Jimmy Houston were my guys when I was growing up.

Bill Dance introduced me to bass fishing
Roland Martin introduced me into the commercial side of fishing
Jimmy Houston introduced me into having fun at all times on the water
KVD introduced me into the competition of bass fishing
Rick Clunn & Hank Parker introduced me into the zen of bass fishing
Wheeler taught me how to grind it out and learn about everything you can

All of these names are attributed to why I love this sport.

I assume the question is about the best all around angler and not “most tournament” wins. If so, I’d have to think A-Mart would have to be there close as well. He could do everything well.

When I was young I could watch any of the fishing shows. I loved watching Bill, Jimmy, & Hank and their information. Best Bass fisherman of all time, would be some of the older guys. With as little technology as a flasher, they could really teach you something. It's not the arrow, it's the Indian.. With all the electronics we have now, it's much different. It's almost who knows how to use the technology the best. But I love the technology, it is sure an eye opener seeing the response of a fish to a bait. IMO, the best professional bass fisherman is the one you learn from. I really like what Randy is doing, he is educating and teaching something that is useful and he explains it well. I really like helping others, and someone who teaches you something is the winner in my book.

Prosise

Bill Dance and Roland Martin have to be at the top. Rick Clunn is my hero. Larry Nixon and Tommy Martin were sticks that were approachable. I met them on the lake at Toledo Bend in 1980. Didn't know who they were and they gave us some good tips. Seen them at Pendleton Harbor that evening and thanked them for the info. Dad and I had our best day ever.. Talked 30 minutes at the ramp. A guy asked us how I knew them and I said I didn't. When he told me who they were I was shocked. 2 great guys.

Toss up between Roland Martin and KVD.
I flipped a coin and KVD won the coin toss.
My two favorites are Hank Parker and Rick Clunn.