COLUMN : BALOG ON BASS FISHING
PHOTO BY JOSH GASSMANN
PHOTO BY GARRICK DIXON
PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA
bass fishing ’ s g . o . a . t .( s )
What does “ Greatest of All Time ” even mean , anyway ?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
For more than 20 years , Joe Balog has made his living in the fishing industry on and off the water . A successful tournament angler from the Great Lakes region , Balog now lives in Florida , where he continues to work in product design , marketing and outdoor media when he ' s not chasing trophy largemouth .
I n any conversation about professional sports , there ’ s always room for debate about the greatest to play the game . I love the topic in regards to golf . Bobby Jones took the honors , later upstaged by Hogan , then possibly Nicklaus , until the world was sure they ’ d found a king in Tiger , who later fell short in major championship wins .
For others , NFL quarterbacks are routinely the subject , the generation of the fan always swaying their pick . Brady ? Manning ? Elway ? Montana ?
In each case , the debate comes down to accolades , stats , longevity and talent .
For fans of professional bass fishing , however , there ’ s never been a valid way to make a definitive argument .
The primary stumbling point , of course , has been the division of the professional ranks into separate leagues since 1996 . For the two decades that followed , standout anglers on each side rarely faced each other , leading to debate over who really was the best in the world .
The 2019 inception of the Bass Pro Tour , however , pitted the majority of the world ’ s best anglers head-to-head . Finally , we watched several of the best professional anglers of all time compete in the same arena .
Results were surprisingly inconclusive . While the kings of the ring often came through in victory , it was evident that a more rounded playing field led to less overall dominance . Jacob Wheeler ’ s superhuman 2021 season may be the exception , though he ’ s still building his resume .
So who is bass fishing ’ s G . O . A . T ., and can the acclaim truly be determined ? In the upcoming third iteration of REDCREST at Grand Lake , we ’ ll watch a world championship event hosting the majority of the possible “ best ever ” candidates for the first time this millennium .
What better time to revisit the debate ?
24 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | FEBRUARY-MARCH 2022