The Legends Of Bass Fishing

This week I have been involved in pre production work for a show that I will host at the FLW Championships next week in Birmingham , Alabama .  The show is called the Legends of bass fishing and is somewhat of a look at the history of bass fishing.  With that on my mind, it began to dawn on me that we use the term “legend” all of the time for any number of bass pros, who really only have endured the tests of time, yet what have they really contributed to fishing.

In establishing a criteria that denotes “legendary status,” it occurs to me that it goes beyond winning tournaments , and touches the “what contribution to the sport have you made” plateau.  With that in mind, I have established a list of bass fishing legends and their contributions to our sport.  I should mention that I will undoubtedly forget someone, and I hope you bring it to my attention if I do.

Dee Thomas, developed the modern day technique of flippin on California ’s San Jaquin Delta.  He took his flippin stick East, and immediately created a rule change.  The length of rod shall be no longer that 7 feet, six inches, which has since been changed to eight feet.  Dee Thomas started a wave that took the bass fishing world by fire.  It was and still is the effected way of catching shallow water bass that are buried up tight under heavy cover.  Top pros like Hank Parker, Denny Brauer, Gary Klein and Tommy Biffle owe much of their bass fishing success to Dee Thomas and his strange, but effective technique.

Paul Elias opened our eyes to the fact that a crank bait could catch fish in water that 12-15 feet deep.  With his classic victory in 1982, Elias showed the world his kneel and reel technique.  Elias fished that tournament on his knees with the end of his 7 foot cranking rod completely pushed beneath the water.  It made sense, getting the bait down an extra 3-4 feet could put the bait in touch with fish that had never seen a crank bait before.  Elias is very humble about his innovation, but pros like David Fritts, Dan Morehead and Mark Davis have taken variations of the Crank bait on deep structure pattern to carve out all star careers on the pro tour circuits.

Guido Hibdon is an ambassador of sorts.  Each Summer he would venture out to Las Vegas Nevada to participate in the US Open which was always held on Lake Mead .  What he would bring back home with him to the Midwest was an understanding of how effective light line techniques could be particularly to clear, highly pressured reservoirs.  Hibdon made it ok for anglers East of the Rocky Mountains to carry a split shot rod, or to fish 6 pound test line.  Top pros like Georgia’s Tom Mann, and Peter Thliveros have excelled in pro events, using light line techniques.  In fact, every pro on the tour today can fish finesse presentations.  Guido Hibdon was the guy who made it ok to fish with spinning tackle in a bass tournament.

Rick Clunn has tuned us in to our mental side of fishing.   Clunn was the first pro to explain what “being in the zone” was all about.  Rick Clunn has taught us to listen to our intuition, that little voice inside that is always suggesting new ideas to catch fish.  In teaching us to listen to that voice, Clunn is responsible for the new, mentally tougher, bass pro that has emerged in our sport.  Today’s angler understands that what he or she does is directly connected to fishing success.  We have undergone a renaissance in the sport of bass fishing and Rick Clunn is the master.

Brian Kerchal probably never thought of himself as a legend but the legacy left by his tragically shortened career is as strong as any left to us by any other pro.  Kerchal showed the world that the little guy always has a chance.  Kerchal inspired countless amateur anglers that they could make it to the big time if they could believe in themselves.  Kerchal, a Federation angler, opened the door for the weekend angler to make the transition into the pros.  2003 Bassmaster Classic winner, Mike Iaconelli doesn’t try to hide the fact that he started at the Federation level, in fact he is darn proud of it.  Bryan Kerchal’s BassMaster Classic championship in 1994 gave a lot of people the confidence to give it a try.

There is no doubt in my mind that I have probably left some important names off of this list.  Each of us has things that we have taken from other anglers, pros or just people we know.  When you can inspire people by just doing what you always do.  When you can show people a new way or a better way to do something, When the bass fishing world credits you with developing a new technique or opening our eyes to a better way.  That’s when you reached legendary status.