Forget for a moment all the controversy that erupted in 2005 and focus instead on the anglers. What a year it was.
Every year, BassFan stockpiles a short list of the season's greatest performances. As always, there were countless other performances that almost made the list, but for one reason or another fell just short. If you feel differently – and some of you surely will
Here then, in no particular order, is BassFan's list of the Top 10 performances of 2005.
1. VanDam's 3 Wins
Kevin VanDam, the most dominant angler of the modern era, won two consecutive Bassmaster Elite 50 events this year. Great? Sure, but Mark Davis did it in 2004. The next event on the schedule ended up being the toughest of the year: the Bassmaster Classic in Pittsburgh.
At one of the toughest imaginable fisheries, against one off the toughest imaginable fields, he edged out Aaron Martens to win his second Bassmaster Classic and third event in a row. That left no doubt: He is utter, total power (run away, run away!).
2. Hackney Backs It Up
Last year, Greg "The Hack Attack" Hackney finished an incredible 2nd in both Angler of the Year (AOY) races. This year, the world wondered: Would that momentum die? Could he possibly keep that level of performance up? It was all about the latter, of course.
Take your pick of Hackney's three rock-the-world accomplishments this year: 1) He finally slammed his first tour-level victory at the Table Rock Bassmaster; 2) He won FLW AOY after a fierce battle with Toshinari Namiki; 3) He proved he's the best by a wide margin by finishing the season ranked No. 1 in the State Farm World Rankings.
Greg Hackney didn't slump – he came back with a vengeance and won the FLW points.
3. Cochran's Greatest 2 Hours
The 2005 season was a brutal one for the old guard. One by one, veteran pros seemed to drop out of contention – and out of the spotlight. Not George Cochran. The veteran went to the bank at Lake Hamilton and in 120 minutes on the final day of the Forrest L. Wood (FLW Tour) Championship, he fished like new again.
He won $500,000 within sight of his house and proved he could not only hang – but dominate. And then, 2 weeks later, he finished 4th at the Classic and then put together his third championship Top 5 in a row with a 3rd-place finish at the Cabela's Top Gun Championship. Not bad for an "old guy."
4. Menendez Battles Back
Mark Menendez withdrew from the Guntersville Bassmaster last February and spent the following weeks in a hospital bed, stricken with life-threatening viral meningitis. His season was over – or so everyone thought. His recovery took months. It was slow. But he didn't let it get him down.
While still weakened by the disease, he launched an assault on the Bassmaster Southern Opens. Incredibly, he won the series opener at West Point in June, then edged out Matt Reed on a tiebreaker at the Open Championship to make the crucial Top 5 cut. That put him in the Classic. How about that for a recovery?
5. Martens Wins AOY
Nobody really gave Aaron Martens a shot. His critics called him a perennial 2nd-placer, and he entered the Table Rock Bassmaster – the last event of the Bassmaster Tour season – at 6th in the AOY points. He finished day 1 of that event in 24th, but then he weighed a mind-numbing 21-15 sack on day 2 – which included a 9-pounder. He made the cut in 2nd.
Then AOY leader Marty Stone watched from the sidelines as Martens pounded out 12-11 on day 4 to win AOY. Great.
6. Reynolds Wins Clarks Hill
As Mike Reynolds held the Clarks Hill Bassmaster trophy aloft, BassFans everywhere felt his triumph. The workaday angler had lived by a string for years. His credit cards were maxed, and at one point in 2004 he was forced to fish near the launch to save gas money.
How on earth did Aaron Martens stick 22 pounds at Table Rock en route to his Angler of the Year win?
Across 4 days of torrid fishing, he showed us all that if you believe in yourself, and work hard enough, any dream is possible.
7. Brent Chapman's 2 In a Row
Kansas' Brent Chapman had won a AAA event (a Bassmaster Central Open), but for some reason had never won a tour-level event – until this year, at the first-ever Cabela's Top Gun Championship.
That event had a tougher field, statistically speaking, than any other tournament in history – the Top 25 pros in the world according to the State Farm World Rankings. It was tough – even limits were tough – but that's where Chapman did what he'd never done before: catch them every day, with no slip-ups. Score one victory and $100,000.
And then, a month later, he won another $100,000 at BASS's Busch Shootout. Both were winner-take-all events, and Chapman took all $200,000 of it.
8. Omori Wins Again
Takahiro Omori won the 2004 Bassmaster Classic, which is typically followed by an exhausting year of personal appearances. But not for T.O. After he won he said that in 2005, he was going to fish. Period. That's it.
Well, in the first event of the Bassmaster Tour season, at Florida's Lake Toho, he showed that he wasn't kidding: he won, his second win in a row. And 9 months after Toho, he won the Norfork Bassmaster Central Open.
9. Wolak From Nowhere
The most famous hat in all of fishing is Bill Dance's Tennessee Volunteers cap. But fans saw a different cap onstage this year and more than once asked: Who the heck is that guy? It was Dave Wolak, of course.
With no sponsors, the Pennsylvanian donned a Yankees cap and tore through the Bassmaster Tour. How good was the no-name rookie? Check this: 24th, 82nd, 39th, 13th, 12th and 10th in the six Tour events. He finished 4th in the Bassmaster Tour points and dusted all competition in the BassFan.com Rookie of the Year race. Wow.
10. Ike Walks The Walk
Sometimes in sports the "bad boys" can't hang. They talk smack and swagger, but come game time, they stagger. Mike Iaconelli's different. He can fish, and he proved it again at the Chevy Open (Potomac FLW). Despite a protest – and allegations by anglers that he'd broken boating laws – he pounded the Potomac and walked away with $200,000.
Ike's onstage expression said it all: He can talk the talk, and walk the walk.
