Cook Ready To Close The Lid On Long Pro Career

A month from now, Ken Cook will be fishing the final event of his tour-level career as the Bassmaster Elite Series wraps up its regular season at New York's Lake Oneida. He plans to compete in two Bassmaster Northern Opens in the fall, and those tournaments will mark the end of his long tenure as a professional angler.

When those derbies are in the books, he'll have launched his boat in 301 Bassmaster events. Included among those are six victories, including the 1991 Bassmaster Classic at the Chesapeake Bay.

The 62-year-old former fisheries biologist will be active in retirement, operating his wildlife-rich Tarbone Ranch in Oklahoma. He might even compete in a tournament now and again, but only when and where he chooses.

BassFan conducted a question-and-answer session with him this week to find out his thoughts on a variety of topics about his own career and pro fishing in general. His answers appear below.

BassFan: When the Oneida event is over, what do you think your prevailing emotion will be?

Cook: Like most events, a lot will depend on how I do in that tournament – that's what it'll be immediately. It'll take awhile to sink in that it was my last Elite Series event. But as it gets closer and closer, I get more and more convinced that (retirement) is the right thing to do. I'm real happy with my decision at this point in time and I'm not regretting it yet.

You won the 1991 Classic by 3 ounces over Randall Romig. Do you still recall what that felt like?

It was a roller coaster, like most of those things are. I spent most of the tournament with a feeling that I was going to win, but then I wavered a little bit during the long wait to weigh in on the last day. I weighed in first and Randy was last, so I didn't know I'd won until it was over.

It was a pretty good deal – a good feeling – and it isn't hard to remember. It was my 10th Classic and I knew how important it was to my career.

Other than the Classic win, is there an accomplishment that you're most proud of?

The Super Bass tournament that I won in '83 (on Florida's St. Johns River) is what allowed me to quit my job and start fishing full-time – I wasn't in a financial position to do it before that. It made a fishing career possible for me, so that was a big milestone.

You first fished against the top names in the game at the Bassmaster All-American at Lake Texoma in 1975. It was a field that included Bill Dance, Don Butler, Forrest Wood, Tom Mann Sr. and Roland Martin. How much do you remember about that tournament?

I paid my money and fished that tournament and it was like, Oops, I'm not ready yet. Another thing I remember like that was a state championship on Grand Lake in '73. I thought I knew some secretive places and I ran about 15 miles to one that I thought nobody else knew about, and Bill Dance, Tommy Martin and Tom Mann were all in there. I thought, How could they possibly know about my spot?

I fished some off-the-wall stuff in the late '70s against Tommy Martin and Larry Nixon and guys like that, and that's when I knew I could compete on the national level. My first big win was in John Fox's American Angler Grand American at Lake Powell in March of 1980. I won $5,000 and a great big trophy, and I still have the trophy.

What's the biggest change you've seen in pro fishing over the past three decades?

The level of competition is the most dramatic thing. There've been plenty of equipment improvements, but the skills and knowledge of the anglers have grown exponentially. We had to learn everything as we went, and we didn't know how to catch them when it was 40 degrees or the bass were 40 feet deep or on beds. Now guys can have a lot of that knowledge by the time they're 16 years old, if they want it bad enough.

What do you predict might be the biggest change in the pro ranks over the next three decades?

If things change as much as they have over the last 30 years, there's no way of knowing. One thing that's been obvious is the fisheries managers have kept fishing success at a really high rate despite problems with water quality. If they can maintain that over the next generation or two with the increasing population, it'll be a miracle. I hope it'll happen.

How about the future of fishing in general with all the water issues, a more urbanized population, a shortage of mentors for youth, etc. What steps need to be taken?

We need more educational opportunities about the outdoors in general and fishing in particular, especially in the schools. There's a lot of work that could be done that isn't being done. We need to reach a higher percentage of those urban kids and show them that there is such a thing as the outdoors – that there's a lot more out there than just a couch.

I see some things happening, like the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation has some free fishing days and kids' derbies where they give kids a chance to catch their first fish. Those kinds of things will be important.

What would be your best piece of advice for an 18-year-old wanting to embark on a pro fishing career?

Get a college degree. You need fishing knowledge, but you also need marketing knowledge and communication skills. My fisheries knowledge was a benefit, but I was missing some of that other stuff. You need to know how business works and how to market products, as well as market yourself. It's not enough just to catch a lot of fish.

If you had to pick one, who would you say is the best angler you ever competed against?

I'd have to go with Kevin VanDam – he's proven himself to be more versatile than anyone I've encountered. Others during their time were the best there was, like when Roland and Rick Clunn were at their peak. But Kevin's peaking right now at a time when the competition level is so incredibly high. He's beating the best of the best at a time when they're better than they've ever been.

When the 2010 Elite Series season starts without you, what will you miss the most?

The excitement of competition is what's driven me all these years. I love fishing, but tournament-fishing is way better. I haven't been to a Classic in about 10 years, so I'm obviously not competing at the level I want to be at anymore, so it's time.

Everybody always talks about how they want to go out on top of their game, but sometimes it's hard to realize when you were at the top until you're not there anymore.