Montgomery, Ala. - Who has 178 Bassmaster Classic appearances, 11 Classic victories, 26 Bassmaster Angler of the Year Awards, 31 FLW Championship appearances, three FLW Angler of the Year awards and more than $14 million in tournament winnings? The ten finalists in the Greatest Angler Debate, that's who.
Each will be introduced on ESPN2's BassCenter Saturday, January 22 at 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET. The list contains the brightest stars in the world of competitive bass fishing. Alphabetically, they are:
Denny Brauer, Camdenton, Mo.
Rick Clunn, Ava, Mo.
Bill Dance, Collierville, Tenn.
Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark.
Gary Klein, Weatherford, Texas
Roland Martin, Naples, Fla.
Larry Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark.
Hank Parker, Denver, N.C.
Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Jay Yelas, Tyler, Texas
In 1998, Denny Brauer became the first professional angler to be featured on a box of Wheaties. He's the only man to claim angler of the year titles on both tours and has earned more than $2 million in BASS and FLW events.
Rick Clunn is the only four-time winner of the Bassmaster Classic, having won in 1976, 1977, 1984 and 1990. He's also the sport's all-time leading money winner with more than $2.4 million on the two tours.
Bill Dance has been out of professional tournament fishing for more than 20 years, but is the sport's first superstar, retiring from competitive fishing in 1980 to devote more time to his long-running and popular television program. Dance was named Bassmaster Angler of the Year three times and won seven BASS events.
Mark Davis is the only angler to claim the Bassmaster Angler of the Year title and the Bassmaster Classic crown in the same season. At just 41 years of age, he's still on top of his game and adding to an already lengthy list of professional accomplishments with three BASS wins last season.
Gary Klein took the fishing world by storm at age 21 when he won a BASS event on Lake Powell in 1979 and nearly won the Bassmaster Angler of the Year award as a rookie. Since then, he's been nothing short of stellar, winning seven more Bassmaster events, two tournaments on the FLW Tour and two Bassmaster Angler of the Year crowns.
Like the song in his long-running television fishing program says, Roland Martin is "the great American fisherman." Nine Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles and 19 BASS tournament wins solidify his place on anyone's list of the greatest anglers.
Larry Nixon has done it all in the world of professional bass fishing. He's a two-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year, a Classic champion, a 16-time winner on the BASS and FLW tours, a four-time BASS MegaBucks winner and was the first angler to pass the million dollar mark in tournament winnings.
Though he hasn't been a regular on the cast-for-cash circuit in ten years, Hank Parker cast a very big shadow during his years as a pro. He won two Classics, qualified for 11 others, won five BASS events and a Bassmaster Angler of the Year award.
Even after 14 years as a full-time professional angler, Kevin VanDam is still one of the sport's young guns at 37. He owns three Bassmaster and one FLW angler of the year titles and has qualified for the Bassmaster Classic every year since turning pro. He won the Classic in 2001 and has earned nearly $2 million in his brilliant career. In 2002, VanDam became the first pro angler to win an ESPY award.
Jay Yelas, at 39, is another of the sport's bright young stars with a long list of accomplishments. He's won Angler of the Year with both BASS and FLW and has a Classic victory to his name. Yelas earned an ESPY for Outstanding Outdoors Athlete in 2003.
The 10 finalists were selected from a list of the top 35 bass anglers as selected by BASS last year. Voting was restricted to a blue-ribbon panel of outdoor writers and media members who cover the sport.
Beginning on January 20th and running through March, fans will have the opportunity to cast their votes for the top two anglers on Bassmaster.com.
In April, Greatest Angler Debate programming will begin on ESPN2 as part of BASS Saturday. The programming will feature biographical shows on the top 10 anglers as well as debate programs featuring fans, the media and professional anglers.
In June and July, the debate will heat up again as the fans choose between the top two anglers during a second round of voting on Bassmaster.com.
The debate will conclude in Pittsburgh - at the 2005 Bassmaster Classic - when two champions are crowned. One will be given the Classic trophy and the other will be hailed as the greatest angler of all time.
Given the quality of this all-star list, it's quite possible that one angler could walk out of the Igloo with both!