CJ Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 If we are talking about the present,than I would say the gulls are catching more fish than anybody right now! Quote
SneakySnook Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 KVD gets my vote but Ike is right behind him. Quote
Fish Chris Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 Huh, LBH Â :-) Hey RW, I didn't remember that you were a big Al Lindner fan ! He's been one of my fishing idols forever ! The guy just thinks like a fish ! Anyway, when I read the title of this post, I imediatly started thinking..... Uh... Mike Long ? Bob Crupi ? Bill Murphy ? ...... but alas, it comes back to everyones different perspectives. As far as tournament bass anglers go, KVD would be hard to argue though. Fish Quote
Super User .ghoti. Posted December 30, 2006 Super User Posted December 30, 2006 Gotta go with RW on this one. Al Lindner Quote
Pa Angler Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 Am I missing something? Let's see if I got this right. KVD 2 Classic wins and 3 AOY wins and 2 Elite 50 wins, 2 Elite 50 championships, Top money winner in B.A.S.S. and 1 FLW AOY talk about a present all around Angler. Clunn's record of 4 Classics and all his accomplishments are hard to beat  but KVD is ranked #1 in the world in a time were competition is tougher. IKE 1 Classic win, 1 Tour win and 1 AOY win can hardly match KVD's accomplishments and as far as keeping his cool well.... we all know about IKE's antics on the water. Feel free to make any corrections or additions that I may have missed. My vote goes to KVD. Chow Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted December 30, 2006 Super User Posted December 30, 2006 Fish Chris, Yea, I'm light years away from you and Al Lindner, but I am a multi-species fisherman, too. I guess if our measure were pure pounds, I would have to be classified as a striper fisherman. My passion is smallmouth, but BIG brown trout really jazz me and I like fishing jerkbaits for walley, too. What makes the Lindners stand out in my book is their in-depth knowledge of so many fish species. Sure, now that they're rich and famous they can fish the right water, with the right guide, at exactly the right time of year, but they put in their dues to get where they are. Some people think the show is too commercial, but I think the fishing rocks! It was just a couple of weeks ago that I caught the show on sturgen. Man, when those fish came up and out of the water, my heart was pumpin'. Anyhow, I like them, their show, their old magazine and the books they helped write and publish. Yep! I'm a fan. Quote
Super User Catt Posted December 30, 2006 Super User Posted December 30, 2006 Clunn Classic wins: 4 Total wins: 14 Second: 13 Third: 11 VanDam Classic wins: 2 Total wins: 10 Second: 8 Third: 13 PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (July 15, 2006) Denny Brauer handily outfished three-day leader Chris Lane on Sunday to take the $100,000 win in the CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series' Champion's Choice on Lake Champlain and become the all-time BASS money winner. With the winner's purse in hand, Brauer boosted his total BASS career earnings to $2,077,751, becoming not only a $2 million man, but once again the BASS all-time money winner, passing two-time CITGO Bassmaster Classic champion Kevin VanDam by more than $17,000. Quote
Pa Angler Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 ClunnClassic wins: 4 Total wins: 14 Second: 13 Third: 11 VanDam Classic wins: 2 Total wins: 10 Second: 8 Third: 13 PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (July 15, 2006) Denny Brauer handily outfished three-day leader Chris Lane on Sunday to take the $100,000 win in the CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series' Champion's Choice on Lake Champlain and become the all-time BASS money winner. With the winner's purse in hand, Brauer boosted his total BASS career earnings to $2,077,751, becoming not only a $2 million man, but once again the BASS all-time money winner, passing two-time CITGO Bassmaster Classic champion Kevin VanDam by more than $17,000. *** Has KVD at $2.1millon and as the all time money winner. Denny won at Champlain and at that time was top gun but KVD must have passed him. The search I did had Denny at $2.08millon which means KVD has Denny by $20,000. As of December 05, 2006. Chow Quote
Ky_Lake_Dude Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 Its gotta be Ike because he just won AOY and won 1 of the elite series tournaments this past year.He made just under 400,000$ this past year and is just rockin right now. Quote
fishingrulz Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 KVD, then Ike, I like them both. KVD more though. Ike seems to be catching up, but he always seemed one step behind KVD. But like I said that is starting to become less and less with every tourney. 1 thing is for sure, they are both Bass gods. Quote
Super User Catt Posted December 30, 2006 Super User Posted December 30, 2006 B.A.S.S. has at the end of 2006 Denny Career Winnings: $2,136,951.80 Kevin Career Winnings: $2,159,408.30 Kevin by 22,456.5 I notice you skipped over Clunn record to correct me on KVD money record Oh yea Denny Brauer Classic wins: 1 AOY: 1 Total wins: 16 Seconds: 10 Thirds: 9 And 2nd all time money winner Quote
Super User RoLo Posted December 31, 2006 Super User Posted December 31, 2006 It appears to be a footrace between the two Northern Boys: KVD and Ike. In my opinion, KVD is today's most formidable contender, followed by Ike. I'll bet that in his heart, even Iaconelli regards VanDam as the most formidable contender. Hands-down, my favorite angler is Al Lindner, but he's retired today. As for AOYs, they flipflop like moon phases...anybody ever heard of Jay Yelas? Roger Quote
WhiteMike1018 Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 Im with Ike. Vandam is probably the best angler but Ike is like my hero lol being that we are from the same county Quote
Turtle. Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 Clunn Classic wins: 4 Total wins: 14 Second: 13 Third: 11 VanDam Classic wins: 2 Total wins: 10 Second: 8 Third: 13 PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (July 15, 2006) Denny Brauer handily outfished three-day leader Chris Lane on Sunday to take the $100,000 win in the CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series' Champion's Choice on Lake Champlain and become the all-time BASS money winner. With the winner's purse in hand, Brauer boosted his total BASS career earnings to $2,077,751, becoming not only a $2 million man, but once again the BASS all-time money winner, passing two-time CITGO Bassmaster Classic champion Kevin VanDam by more than $17,000. Kinda says it all,don't ya think? Quote
Pa Angler Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 B.A.S.S. has at the end of 2006 Denny Career Winnings: $2,136,951.80 Kevin Career Winnings: $2,159,408.30 Kevin by 22,456.5 I notice you skipped over Clunn record to correct me on KVD money record Oh yea Denny Brauer Classic wins: 1 AOY: 1 Total wins: 16 Seconds: 10 Thirds: 9 And 2nd all time money winner I thought I made it clear that Clunn's record was hard to beat But KVD's accomplishments are a whole lot more recent and I thought that was the question at hand for the present. After all your the one whom tried to correct me on KVD although I did ask for corrections if I was erroneous they should come as accurate ones. No hard feelings I hope. Chow Quote
Super User RoLo Posted December 31, 2006 Super User Posted December 31, 2006 Clunn Classic wins: 4 Total wins: 14 Second: 13 Third: 11 VanDam Classic wins: 2 Total wins: 10 Second: 8 Third: 13 Kinda says it all,don't ya think? Not even close. Kevin VanDam turned pro in 1990 and has been competing for only 16 years. Clunn started his pro career in 1974 and has been in competition for 32 years, exactly twice as long as KVD. Clunn (in 32 years): 14 / 1st places <> 13 / 2nd places <> 11 / 3rd places VanDam (in 16 years): 10 / 1st places <> 8 / 2nd places <> 13 / 3rd places Let's factor out the discrepancy in their career longevities: Clunn had 318 career entries while VanDam had 183 career entries, only about half as many as Clunn! Following are the winning finishes represented as a percentage of their total tourney entries: Clunn Within Top 10 Within Top 20 Within Top 50 30.8% 47.8% 76.4% VanDam Within Top 10 Within Top 20 Within Top 50 36.1% 60.6% 86.9% Furthermore, the question specified present and upcoming best angler. Clunn's heyday began in the late 70s and fizzled in the early 90s, shortly after Kevin VanDam made his debut. KVD hit the ground running and zoomed to the top and dominated the late 90s and continues to dominate to date. Kevin's stats are nothing short of astounding! Iaconelli Within Top 10 Within Top 20 Within Top 50 28.6% 48% 68% Based on his 98 career entries, Iaconelli appears to be the most promising up-and-coming pro, but has a way to go. Roger Quote
Guest avid Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 The more I think about it, the more I realize that the best "current" angler is the one who won the last tournament. Â Can't get anymore current than that. Quote
Garnet Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 I think RoLo you need to get Luke Clausens # in there he might push Ike. RW got to agree the Linders rock and basically moulded my career as a multie species guy right now the Steelhead are smoking on the northshore of Lake Ont. and the ice is just scarey couple weeks. Wish my area was a bigger walleye tourney area but for now Smallies rule. Garnet i'm leaving to go trout fishing be back in 1 hr(maybe) Quote
jomatty Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 surprises me that so many people disagree about kvd being the current best. Â i know if i had to pick one guy to win on any given day id take kvd all day every day. Â it would be interesting to see what others who compete against these guys would say. Â i think they would say kvd. Â i dont even think ike would argue that he was a better angler than kvd. on another note that list is too funny. Â who is going to vote jason quinn or ish as best current angler. Â favorite angler maybe (i like both of these guys a lot esp. ish) but best? Â there are a dozen guys more deserving of that ranking Quote
Super User RoLo Posted December 31, 2006 Super User Posted December 31, 2006 I think RoLo you need to get Luke Clausens # in there he might push Ike. Luke had only 42 career entries, so he's definitely a fledgling (1 - 1st Place <> 0 - 2nd Places <> 2 - 3rd Places) Clausen Within Top 10 Within Top 20 Within Top 50 14.3% 23.8% 57% Iaconelli Within Top 10 Within Top 20 Within Top 50 28.6% 48% 68% Ike out-classes Luke at every turn. For an upcoming angler, it's a good idea to watch their number of Top-50 finishes. In his short career, Luke Clausen has definitely been a money angler. Roger Quote
Garnet Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 Looks like Luke needs to step on the gas. Garnet Quote
edbassmaster Posted January 1, 2007 Posted January 1, 2007 The answer to the question...AOY... PERIOD!! Quote
mdangler Posted January 1, 2007 Posted January 1, 2007 KVD all the way. I would also like to add Luke Clausen and Aaron Martins to that list. Both of them had solid a year. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.