15 Best and Most Famous Anglers of All Time

Our ranking of the 15 best anglers of all time, led by Kevin VanDam, Rick Clunn and Roland Martin, with Classic titles and world championships.

Competitive fishing has two great traditions. In the United States, professional bass fishing grew out of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.), whose Bassmaster Classic has crowned a champion every year since 1971. In Europe, match fishing is decided at the World Freshwater Angling Championships, where England has produced the most successful anglers. This list covers both, from the first television fishermen of the late 1960s to the pros of today. Each profile gives the angler’s discipline, country, birth date and major titles, followed by what made them stand out. Below the ranking you will find the best angler in each category, the records these anglers hold and the names that just missed the cut.

How We Ranked the Tournament Anglers

Championships: Bassmaster Classic titles and individual world titles weigh the most.
Season titles: Angler of the Year titles show who was best over a full season, not just one week.
Longevity: how many years an angler won and qualified for the biggest events.
Influence: techniques, television shows and firsts that changed how people fish.

Bass fishing and match fishing are different sports with different formats, so we compared each angler against the field they fished in. The order is our own judgment, not an official one.

The 15 Best Tournament Anglers at a Glance

#	Angler	Discipline	Career
1	Kevin VanDam	Bass fishing	1991 to 2023
2	Rick Clunn	Bass fishing	1974 to 2024
3	Roland Martin	Bass fishing	1970 to 2005
4	Bill Dance	Bass fishing, television	until 1980
5	Larry Nixon	Bass fishing	until 2023
6	Alan Scotthorne	Match fishing	1990s to 2010s
7	Denny Brauer	Bass fishing	until 2014
8	Mark Davis	Bass fishing	since the 1980s
9	Bob Nudd	Match fishing	more than 24 years with England
10	Aaron Martens	Bass fishing	until 2020
11	Hank Parker	Bass fishing, television	1970s to 1990s
12	Michael Iaconelli	Bass fishing	since the 1990s
13	Skeet Reese	Bass fishing	since the 1990s
14	Gary Klein	Bass fishing	1979 to the 2010s
15	Edwin Evers	Bass fishing	since the 1990s

#1 Kevin VanDam

🎣 Discipline: Bass fishing
🎂 Born: October 14, 1967, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
🌍 Country: United States
🏆 Career Highlights: 4 Bassmaster Classic titles (2001, 2005, 2010, 2011), 7 Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles (1992, 1996, 1999, 2008 to 2011), FLW Angler of the Year (2001), 25 B.A.S.S. wins, more than $7 million in career earnings

VanDam won four Bassmaster Classics, a record he shares with Rick Clunn, and seven Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles, including four in a row from 2008 to 2011. In 2010 and 2011 he won both the Classic and the season title. His 25 B.A.S.S. tournament wins are the most on the Bassmaster trail.

He won his first B.A.S.S. event in 1991 at the age of 23 and was known for fast power fishing with crankbaits and spinnerbaits. He was a founding member of Major League Fishing and became the all-time money winner in professional bass fishing, with more than $7 million. He announced in February 2023 that it would be his last season as a touring pro, after 33 seasons.

#2 Rick Clunn

🎣 Discipline: Bass fishing
🎂 Born: July 24, 1946, in California, United States
🌍 Country: United States
🏆 Career Highlights: 4 Bassmaster Classic titles (1976, 1977, 1984, 1990), Bassmaster Angler of the Year (1988), 16 B.A.S.S. wins, 32 Classic qualifications, oldest B.A.S.S. winner (72)

Clunn won the Bassmaster Classic in 1976, 1977, 1984 and 1990, and his 1984 total of 75 pounds 9 ounces on the Arkansas River, caught under the old seven-bass limit, stood as the heaviest in Classic history until 2025. He qualified for the Classic 32 times, more than any other angler, including 28 times in a row from 1974 to 2001. In a 2005 survey to name the greatest angler, he was voted first.

His career lasted five decades and around 500 B.A.S.S. events. In 2016, at 69, he won an Elite Series event on Florida’s St. Johns River and became the oldest B.A.S.S. winner, then broke his own mark by winning there again in 2019 at 72. He stepped back from full-time Elite Series competition after 2024 and was named Bassmaster Person of the Year in 2025.

#3 Roland Martin

🎣 Discipline: Bass fishing
🎂 Born: March 14, 1940, in the United States
🌍 Country: United States
🏆 Career Highlights: 9 Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles (1971 to 1973, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1985), 19 B.A.S.S. wins, 19 second places, 25 Classic appearances

Martin won nine Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles between 1971 and 1985, still the record, including three in a row from 1971 to 1973. In 291 B.A.S.S. tournaments he won 19, finished second 19 times, also a record. He qualified for 25 Classics but never won one, which is the only gap in his record.

He popularised pattern fishing: working out how the fish are biting in one spot and then applying the same approach to similar places across the lake. His television show, Fishing with Roland Martin, brought that approach to a national audience. He was the first professional bass angler inducted into the IGFA, Freshwater Fishing and Bass Fishing halls of fame, and he retired from the Elite Series in 2005.

#4 Bill Dance

🎣 Discipline: Bass fishing, television
🎂 Born: October 7, 1940, in Lynchburg, Tennessee, United States
🌍 Country: United States
🏆 Career Highlights: 3 Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles (1970, 1974, 1977), first Angler of the Year, 23 national tournament titles, more than 2,000 TV episodes

Dance won the first Bassmaster Angler of the Year title in 1970 and added two more in 1974 and 1977. He won 23 national tournament titles and finished in the money in 64 of his 78 B.A.S.S. events. He retired from competition in 1980, at 39, to concentrate on television.

His first fishing show aired on WHBQ in Memphis on January 5, 1968, and Bill Dance Outdoors has since run to more than 2,000 episodes. That made him one of the best known faces in American fishing, long after he stopped competing.

#5 Larry Nixon

🎣 Discipline: Bass fishing
🎂 Born: September 3, 1950; from Bee Branch, Arkansas, United States
🌍 Country: United States
🏆 Career Highlights: Bassmaster Classic (1983), 2 Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles (1980, 1982), first angler to reach $1 million in B.A.S.S. earnings
🏛️ Hall of Fame: Bass Fishing Hall of Fame (2001)

Nixon, known as The General, was Bassmaster Angler of the Year in 1980 and 1982 and won the 1983 Classic on the Ohio River near Cincinnati. Few anglers matched his consistency through the 1980s. He was inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame in 2001.

On October 17, 1992, a fourth-place finish at Lake Guntersville pushed his B.A.S.S. winnings past $1 million, the first angler to reach that mark from tournament earnings alone. He finished his B.A.S.S. career with about $1.6 million from 260 tournaments. He retired after the 2023 season.

#6 Alan Scotthorne

🎣 Discipline: Match fishing
🎂 Born: Date not published; lives in Rotherham, England
🌍 Country: England
🏆 Career Highlights: 5 individual World Freshwater Angling Championship titles (1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2007), 8 team world titles with England (1994 to 2013), MBE (1999)

Scotthorne is the only angler to win five individual World Freshwater Angling Championships, in 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2007, breaking the record of four held by his England teammate Bob Nudd. He also won the team world title with England eight times between 1994 and 2013. That makes him the most successful international angler in history.

In match fishing every angler draws a peg on the bank and the winner is the one with the heaviest catch at the final whistle, so consistency over many venues matters more than one big fish. Scotthorne was appointed MBE in the 1999 Birthday Honours.

#7 Denny Brauer

🎣 Discipline: Bass fishing
🎂 Born: February 23, 1949, in Seward, Nebraska, United States
🌍 Country: United States
🏆 Career Highlights: Bassmaster Classic (1998), Bassmaster Angler of the Year (1987), 17 B.A.S.S. wins, 21 Classic appearances

Brauer was the master of flipping, the short, quiet underhand presentation into heavy cover, and his first B.A.S.S. win in 1984 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir came that way. He was Angler of the Year in 1987 and won the 1998 Classic on High Rock Lake in North Carolina. After that win he became the first angler to appear on a Wheaties box.

His 17th and last B.A.S.S. win came on the Arkansas River in 2011. He fished 21 Classics and his final B.A.S.S. tournament in 2014, with about $2.58 million in Bassmaster earnings.

#8 Mark Davis

🎣 Discipline: Bass fishing
🎂 Born: October 11, 1963, in Mount Ida, Arkansas, United States
🌍 Country: United States
🏆 Career Highlights: Bassmaster Classic (1995), 3 Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles (1995, 1998, 2001)
🏛️ Hall of Fame: Bass Fishing Hall of Fame (2019)

In 1995 Davis became the first angler to win the Bassmaster Classic and Angler of the Year in the same season. He won the Classic on High Rock Lake with 47 pounds 14 ounces. Kevin VanDam later matched the double in 2010 and 2011.

Davis added Angler of the Year titles in 1998 and 2001, making him one of only a few anglers with three or more. He was inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame in 2019.

#9 Bob Nudd

🎣 Discipline: Match fishing
🎂 Born: 1944, in Chelmsford, England
🌍 Country: England
🏆 Career Highlights: 4 individual World Freshwater Angling Championship titles (1990, 1991, 1994, 1999), MBE

Nudd was the first angler to win four individual World Freshwater Angling Championships: in 1990 at Maribor, in 1991 at Szeged, in 1994 at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham and in 1999 at Toledo. His record of four stood until his teammate Alan Scotthorne won a fifth.

He worked at Marconi and fished in his spare time before turning full-time in 1985, and he represented England for more than 24 years. In 1991 he received the most votes for BBC Sports Personality of the Year, but the BBC disallowed them because they came from an organised campaign. He was appointed MBE for services to coarse fishing.

#10 Aaron Martens

🎣 Discipline: Bass fishing
🎂 Born: 1972, in California, United States (died November 4, 2021)
🌍 Country: United States
🏆 Career Highlights: 3 Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles (2005, 2013, 2015), 3 WON Bass U.S. Open titles (2004, 2005, 2011), 20 Classic qualifications, 4 times Classic runner-up

Martens was Bassmaster Angler of the Year in 2005, 2013 and 2015. He qualified for 20 Classics and finished second four times, three of them between 2002 and 2005 and the last in 2011 behind Kevin VanDam. He also won the WON Bass U.S. Open in 2004, 2005 and 2011.

He grew up fishing Castaic Lake in Southern California and helped bring finesse methods such as the drop shot from the West to the rest of the country. He later moved to Leeds, Alabama. In spring 2020 he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, and he died in November 2021 at 49.

#11 Hank Parker

🎣 Discipline: Bass fishing, television
🎂 Born: March 26, 1953, in Maiden, North Carolina, United States
🌍 Country: United States
🏆 Career Highlights: 2 Bassmaster Classic titles (1979, 1989), Bassmaster Angler of the Year (1983), first winner of the bass fishing Grand Slam
🏛️ Hall of Fame: Bass Fishing Hall of Fame (2003)

Parker won the Bassmaster Classic in 1979 on Lake Texoma and again in 1989 on the James River, where he beat Jim Bitter by two ounces. He was Angler of the Year in 1983. When he won the B.A.S.S. Super Bass tournament in 1985, he became the first angler to complete the Grand Slam of the Classic, Angler of the Year, Super Bass and a regular tour event.

His television show, Hank Parker’s Outdoor Magazine, debuted on The Nashville Network on January 12, 1985, and has run on several networks since. He was inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame in 2003.

#12 Michael Iaconelli

🎣 Discipline: Bass fishing
🎂 Born: June 17, 1972, in Runnemede, New Jersey, United States
🌍 Country: United States
🏆 Career Highlights: Bassmaster Classic (2003), Bassmaster Angler of the Year (2006), B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, MLF Summit Cup (2017), 17 Classic appearances in a row

Iaconelli won the 2003 Classic on the Louisiana Delta by catching a 3 and a half pound bass with five minutes left, beating Gary Klein by 1 pound 12 ounces. His shout of “Never give up!” became one of the most replayed moments in B.A.S.S. history. He was Angler of the Year in 2006.

He is the only angler to win the Classic, Angler of the Year and the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship. He made 17 Classics in a row, and won the 2017 MLF Summit Cup. He announced that 2026 would be his final season on the Elite Series.

#13 Skeet Reese

🎣 Discipline: Bass fishing
🎂 Born: June 30, 1969, in Walnut Creek, California, United States
🌍 Country: United States
🏆 Career Highlights: Bassmaster Classic (2009), Bassmaster Angler of the Year (2007), MLF Bass Pro Tour win (2024), about $4 million in career earnings
🏛️ Hall of Fame: Bass Fishing Hall of Fame (2024)

Reese was Bassmaster Angler of the Year in 2007 and won the 2009 Classic on the Red River at Shreveport with 54 pounds 13 ounces. He came from the western tournament circuits and became one of the most consistent pros of the Elite Series era.

On his 55th birthday in June 2024 he won his first Bass Pro Tour event, on the James River, with 54 pounds 3 ounces. His career earnings of about $3.9 million on B.A.S.S. and MLF rank in the top five all-time. He entered the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame in 2024.

#14 Gary Klein

🎣 Discipline: Bass fishing
🎂 Born: Date not published; grew up in Oroville, California, United States
🌍 Country: United States
🏆 Career Highlights: 2 Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles (1989, 1993), 8 B.A.S.S. wins, 30 Classic qualifications
🏛️ Hall of Fame: Bass Fishing Hall of Fame (2018)

Klein is often described as the first angler to make professional bass fishing his career from the start. He won his first B.A.S.S. event in 1979, at 21. He was Angler of the Year in 1989 and 1993.

He qualified for 30 Classics, including 17 in a row from 1984 to 2000, and won eight B.A.S.S. events across four decades. The Classic itself escaped him: he finished runner-up to Michael Iaconelli in 2003. He was inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame in 2018.

#15 Edwin Evers

🎣 Discipline: Bass fishing
🎂 Born: November 30, 1974, in Louisiana, Missouri, United States
🌍 Country: United States
🏆 Career Highlights: Bassmaster Classic (2016), MLF REDCREST (2019), 11 B.A.S.S. wins by 2016

Evers won the 2016 Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake in his home state of Oklahoma, catching 29 pounds 3 ounces on the final day to finish with 60 pounds 7 ounces. It was his 11th B.A.S.S. win and his first Classic, worth $300,000. Three years later he won the 2019 REDCREST, the championship of Major League Fishing’s Bass Pro Tour.

Before turning pro he played defensive back on the football team at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He lives in Talala, Oklahoma. His wins span the Elite Series era and the Bass Pro Tour.

Best Angler in Each Category

Different anglers lead depending on what you value most.

Category	Angler	Why
Bassmaster Classic	Rick Clunn	four titles and 32 qualifications
Season titles	Roland Martin	nine Angler of the Year titles
Modern era	Kevin VanDam	four Classics, seven Angler of the Year titles, 25 wins
Match fishing	Alan Scotthorne	five individual world titles
Television	Bill Dance	on air since 1968, more than 2,000 episodes
Flipping	Denny Brauer	built a Classic and 17 wins on the technique

Records Held by These Anglers

B.A.S.S. and world championship records held by the anglers in this ranking.

Record	Angler	Mark
Most Bassmaster Classic titles	Rick Clunn, Kevin VanDam	4 each
Most Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles	Roland Martin	9
Most Angler of the Year titles in a row	Kevin VanDam	4 (2008 to 2011)
Most B.A.S.S. tournament wins	Kevin VanDam	25
Most Classic qualifications	Rick Clunn	32
Oldest B.A.S.S. winner	Rick Clunn	72 (2019)
Most second places on B.A.S.S.	Roland Martin	19
Most individual world freshwater titles	Alan Scotthorne	5

Honorable Mentions

Eight more anglers who came close and could make a top 15 on another day.

Jay Yelas: won the 2002 Bassmaster Classic and the 2003 Angler of the Year title.
George Cochran: won the Bassmaster Classic twice, in 1987 and 1996.
Jordan Lee: won back-to-back Bassmaster Classics in 2017 and 2018.
Hank Cherry: won back-to-back Bassmaster Classics in 2020 and 2021.
Jimmy Houston: was Bassmaster Angler of the Year in 1976 and 1986.
Guido Hibdon: won the 1988 Classic and Angler of the Year titles in 1990 and 1991.
Takahiro Omori: the Japanese angler won the 2004 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Wylie.
Easton Fothergill: won the 2025 Classic with 76 pounds 15 ounces, the heaviest total in Classic history.

More About Tournament Fishing

FAQ

Who is the best angler of all time?

In our ranking it is Kevin VanDam, ahead of Rick Clunn and Roland Martin. VanDam won four Bassmaster Classics, seven Angler of the Year titles and 25 B.A.S.S. tournaments.

Who are the top 10 greatest anglers of all time?

Our top 10 is Kevin VanDam, Rick Clunn, Roland Martin, Bill Dance, Larry Nixon, Alan Scotthorne, Denny Brauer, Mark Davis, Bob Nudd and Aaron Martens.