Famous fisherman who inspired you

[Columbia Craw]

Being from the Pacific NW, the guys who inspired me will be no names to you nut they are: Andy Maxon, Jim Conway, Jim Teeney SR and Junior, Larry Schoenborn, and Stan Fagerstrom.  Outside of the region, Dee Thomas, Dave Gliebe, Greg Hines, Mike Folkstad, Gary Dobyns, Rich Tauber.  Nationally I was and still am in awe of the Hemphill gang.  That to me was the heart and soul of what competitive bass fishing has come to.  David Wharton amazed me too.

 

Catt was exposed to legends in the making on a body of water I will never likely see. What a blessing Catt !

[Darren.]

Uncle Homer was a guy I learned from. RIP.

 

https://www.igfa.org/Museum/HOF-Circle.aspx

[Derek black]

It's gotta be ike

[bigbill]

My older brother who took me fishing when I was just six years old in 1956 in the pouring rain.

 

on tv it’s gadabout Gaddis, Jerry McKinnis, Bill Dance, Lindy brothers, Hank Parker, Jimmy Houston, etc.

On 3/23/2018 at 4:06 PM, Hez said:

I have that book...but in the beginning of it...Roland makes a statement about Buck Perry and Spoonplugging and how it is non-sense.  

 

Did not agree with that part from Roland and have not picked the book back up since.  

Nonesence? Ever see Roland’s helicopter lure I have some still new in the package.

[Hez]

9 hours ago, bigbill said:

Ever see Roland’s helicopter lure I have some still new in the package.

That good huh?  

[thinkingredneck]

My Dad and Grandfather. My Dad didn't care to fish, but took me, anyway.   Bill Dance.  Homer Circle.  Got really serious first with Trout.  Was fortunate enough to meet AK Best, Geirach, Mike Clark and Ed Engle.  First people I ever met who were dedicated totally, to fishing.  Also Brian Silvey (guide) and Mark Nobles and Bob in Pacidic NW.  Charlie Craven taught my first tying class.  Spencer at the Church Mouse in Fairhope  AL taught me about saltwater.  That Jimmy Grace got me going on plastics for Bass when I moved back South.

[All about da bass]

John Cox, Jacob wheeler, Cliff Pace.

[JT Bagwell]

Hank Parker was always my guy. He turned Pro the year I was born and he was always my favorite.

 

When I was a kid we didn't have cable so a guy my grandpa worked with would always put each new episode

of Hank's show and the Bassmasters show on a VHS tape and send it home for me every week. It was pretty cool.

 

Years later I ended up getting to work with Hank on some stuff and it was pretty cool. I will never forget the very first time he called my house and I was a little star struck for a minute.

[Fishing Rhino]

On 3/16/2018 at 5:45 PM, jbmaine said:

Anyone remember Gadabout Gaddis?

Gadabout Gaddis, the flying fisherman.

 

Here's a little bit about him.

 

"Roscoe Vernon Gaddis (January 28, 1896 – October 21, 1986), known professionally as Gadabout Gaddis, was a 20th-century American fisherman and television pioneer.^[1] Gaddis was born in Mattoon, Illinois and was nicknamed Gadabout by a boss who said he could never find him.^[2]

Gaddis, an avid fisherman since his youth in Illinois,^[3] was also a pilot and adventurer. He began his career in the early days of television by showing his home movies of his fishing expeditions.^[4] In 1939 he briefly hosted a program about fishing on General Electric's experimental TV station W2XAD in Schenectady, New York.^[2] When W2XAD became WRGB in the mid-1940s, Gaddis returned to the station to host Outdoors with Liberty Mutual, which was only the second sponsored television show (Lowell Thomas's being the first).^[2] The show was eventually carried on 73 stations. Going Places with Gadabout Gaddis in the 1950s was less successful,^[5] but beginning in the early 1960s Gaddis starred in The Flying Fisherman, also sponsored by Liberty Mutual."

[NittyGrittyBoy]

I've always followed Shaw Grigsby, always rooting for him in the Elite Series! 

 

One more cast, with Shaw Grigsby!!

[SJex]

Al Lindner

[EastNcBassin]

Scott Martin, Mike, Bill Dance, Martin Sr and KVD just to name a few

[Landin' Lunkers]

For me, it's got to be Mark Zona.  Watching him inspires me to have more fun on the water and not to take things so seriously.  

[DougHall_NY]

It all started with my dad and my grandpa. Countless memories.

 

From there, it was Bill Dance, Hank Parker and Roland Martin. I will never forget how excited I was as a kid to watch them.

[BassThumb]

Al and Jim Lindner and the InFisherman crew. 

[Basseditor]

There was a guy named Ray Johnson who was catching 20-30# brown trout in Flaming Gorge Reservoir in the ‘70s. I spent time with him on Flaming Gorge. Personality aside, I saw that quality rods were the key to feeling bites. (We were casting marabou jigs.) He was using a Browning Boron rod. That started my obsession for fishing rods. It changed my fishing forever.

 

Second, I fished with Bobby Garland, the inventor of the Gitzit (tubes) at Lake Powell. I’ve used Gitzits to catch giant fish since then.

[Bermise]

Jimmy Houston 

[Koz]

Captain Ahab.

 

That elusive double digit bass is my white whale.

[grampa1114]

How bad am I dating myself if I say The Flying Fisherman Gadabout Gaddis.

[All about da bass]

Scott Martin, Casey Ashley, Justin Lucas, Otte Defoe, and Jason Christie.

[Cgolf]

Mine are the Lindners, because my magazine and books of choice early on were infisherman. 

 

While I didn’t read his slider fishing book till recently, Charlie brewers slider heads changed the way I fished. Until I tried his jigs around 20 years ago I had never Texas rigged a bait. I still use his spider jigs today. Probably had the biggest influence on my growth as a fisherman. 

[bigbill]

First there was “Gad About Gaddis” the flying fisherman with his float air plane from Maine. On Sunday nite before Disney I believe. Soon after it was Jerry McKinnis he started the bassmasters soon after. But his earlier shows with his home made boats were awesome. I was glued to the TV set as a kid. Then soon after is was Bill Dance, Hank Parker, Jimmy Houston, the Linder boys at InFisherman ect. But watching and learning from these guys raised the level of my fishing along with Glenn with this site. When we put it all together it works, watch the tv shows and videos but watch what they do as they talk. Watch the movement of their rod too.

 

do polarized glasses work? Dumb question.

 

i was watching bill dance fly fishing for bass. The cameraman was off to the side of his casting. Behind his fly I could see the bass making short strikes. Bill couldn’t see it but the camera picked up on it. I went out wearing polarized glasses and sure enough watching behind my shallow running and topwater baits I seen the short strikes, next to figure out what was I doing wrong.  My point is we can learn a lot from the pro fisherman. Even today I watch a fishing show when I’m looking.

On 3/29/2018 at 7:24 AM, Hez said:

That good huh?  

They were on clearance for $.99 I think there in my fishing museum and weird fishing inventions.

On 5/3/2018 at 12:11 AM, Koz said:

Captain Ahab.

 

That elusive double digit bass is my white whale.

The double digit, white whale of a bass is out there. Just fish hard. I’m convinced that every body of water that has a healthy eco system has double digit bass. 

[bmac31]

Mike Iaconelli. Being an east coast guy I took to Ike right away. Plus he seems like a real good dude.

 

B

[Ralph Nicholas Vito]

Charlie Moore

Bill Dance

Jon B

all the youtube guys

but obviously I started fishing way before knowing any of these guys but they definitely are the top 3 most fun to watch guys

[rejesterd]

Definitely Jimmy Houston when I was a kid.  He just seemed like he was having more fun than anyone fishing. 

 

As an adult, definitely Kevin Vandam.  He changed the way I fish completely after what he was saying really sunk in.