The final 2007 edition of the BassFan World Rankings presented by Tru-Tungsten have just been published to reflect last week's Bassmaster Elite Series event at Florida's Lake Toho and Kissimmee Chain. This was the last tour-level event counted in the BassFan World Rankings this year, so the Rankings won't be updated again until after the first tour-level event of 2008.
What follows is a summary of the final Top 10. For notes on other significant movement, as well as the complete list of World Rankings, click here.
1. Kevin VanDam finishes 2007 as the No. 1-ranked angler in the world, the sixth time in 7 years he's done so. VanDam's domination of the World Rankings since their inception is a testament to not only his professional skill, but his physical and mental endurance each week of competition. Like in any sport, it's difficult to perform at the top level year after year, but VanDam maintains that grueling pace. He's hands-down the most dominant angler of the modern era, and perhaps the most dominant angler ever to grace the sport.
2. Skeet Reese ends the season seven spots ahead of where he started, and about 10 points behind VanDam. Reese's performance this year was nothing short of outstanding. Highlights include a 2nd-place finish at the Bassmaster Classic, eight other Top 10s (including two other 2nds and a win at the Potomac), only two finishes of 40th or worse, and he won the coveted BASS Angler of the Year award.
3. Steve Kennedy's season wasn't spectacular by his measuring stick, but he ended the year where he started it – ranked 3rd in the world. The highlight of his season was a win at Clear Lake. Notable too was his runner-up finish at Oneida, and his 3rd-place finish at Champlain. Also critical in his Ranking is that he continues to benefit heavily from a monstrous 2006 season, which included one win and seven other Top 10s. Kennedy has fished three complete seasons in the past 2 years – two Elite Series and one FLW Tour season (2006). He also fished two FLW Series events in 2006, which factor into the Rankings (the 2007 FLW Series does not).
4. Aaron Martens began the season ranked 13th, and a 7th-place finish at Toho helps him climb an additional spot to end the year ranked 4th. Like Kennedy, Martens has fished three complete seasons in the past 2 years. This year, Martens won at the California Delta, closed the season with back-to-back Top 10s, and only twice finished out of the Top 50.
5. Shinichi Fukae began the year ranked 11th and ends it ranked 5th. He's the highest-ranked FLW-only pro this year. He continues to draw from a 2006 season in which he delivered two wins, plus a 3rd, 4th and 5th. This year wasn't as spectacular, but was nonetheless strong. His worst regular-season finish in the 200-boat FLW Tour field was 38th, and he finished 5th at Ft. Loudoun–Tellico. Fukae's famous for his marathon practices, so time will tell whether the FLW Tour's newly instituted off-limits will hurt him next season.
6. David Dudley's an FLW Tour pro, and hence didn't fish Toho. But based on movement around him, he climbs another two spots in this final edition to end the year ranked 6th. He started the year ranked 25th, but continued the consistency he demonstrated in 2006, which appears to be the key to his Top 10 ranking. After a slow start (99th at Travis), he went on to finish 11th, 24th, 16th, 2nd, 51st, then 8th at the Forrest Wood Cup. Also notable is that his strong run in the 2006 FLW Series still plays big. All told, Dudley's fishing near the top of his game, but also note that he hasn't won since 2003.
7. Jay Yelas, also an FLW Tour pro, climbs two additional places in this final edition and ends the year ranked 7th. Yelas had a remarkable season – a 6th, followed by back-to-back 2nds – and he won the FLW Tour Angler of the Year award (his third such title, and second on the FLW Tour). In 17 different 200-boat events over the past 2 years, he's finished worse than 100th only once, and has cracked the Top 25 a total of 17 times. One factor that may continue to hurt him, though, is his 76th-place finish at the Forrest Wood Cup in August (5th-last).
8. FLW Tour pro Andy Morgan slips one spot and finishes the year ranked 8th – up from a season-starting position of 15th. He won the Wal-Mart Open at Beaver Lake this year, and his worst showing was an 82nd at the Detroit River. A strong 2006, which included the FLW Series, continues to aid him. His 2006 record shows three 6th-place finishes (in 200-boat fields), and three other Top 20s.
9. Peter Thliveros (known better at Peter "T") began the year ranked 29th, but an 18th-place finish at Toho helps him move into the Top 10 and end the year ranked 9th. His 2007 resume includes a win at the Bassmaster Memorial (his second Memorial title in a row), and two Top 12s. But his key is consistency. He finished in the Top 30 in nine of 15 events this season. All told, it was his best season in a while.
10. Boyd Duckett is the only angler to start the year unranked but finish it inside the Top 10. He kicked things off with a win at the Bassmaster Classic, won again at Dardanelle for the Legends Major, and recorded four other Top 10s. Note that he's not considered a rookie since he fished three Bassmaster Tour events in 2003.
