Competitors Reflect On Clunn's Impact

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

Little kids hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite pop music star.

That’s how Alton Jones described the scene on the dock last Saturday as rumors started to swirl that Rick Clunn had caught a big bag on day 3 of the St. Johns River Elite Series.

Jones said it’s typical for Elite Series anglers to get excited to see the tournament’s big stringer weighed in, but when confirmation came that Clunn was the focal point, the buzz grew exponentially.

“Had it been anybody else it would’ve been exciting,” Jones said. “Since it was him, that made it electric.”

Once Jones finished his turn on stage, he immediately went down to the dock where Clunn sat calmly in his boat. There were less than 10 anglers left to weigh in, yet Clunn sat stoically as he awaited the arrival of his wife and son, who were en route from the Jacksonville airport (they’d previously planned to fly in to join Clunn on a beach outing after the tournament). Once his son, River, arrived, Clunn had a helper to bag his fish.

Jones, Skeet Reese and other pros crowded around, camera phones at the ready, to get a glimpse of the 69-year-old Clunn transfering his fish from his livewell to the red Berkley-branded bags, of which he needed two in order to haul his catch to shore.

Jones filmed the entire sequence and later shared it on his Facebook page. As of Sunday morning it had been shared more than 5,000 times and viewed nearly 600,000 times.

“It’s something I wanted to see,” Jones said. “For me that was a big moment. It’s pretty incredible to think back when he was winning Classics, people had to wait weeks to see and hear about it. I posted the video just to share it with my fans. I’ve never experienced anything like that. I guess you could say it’s in the realm of viral.”

For Jones and other pros, Clunn’s influence on them has been immeasurable.

“I grew up dreaming of a being a bass pro, watching all of the old greats, especially Clunn,” he said. “He was the one who dominated when I was old enough to appreciate it.”

When he was a college student, Jones recalled attending one of Clunn’s seminars in Belton, Texas, and being in awe.

“I watched him win a lot as a teenager and those were my formative years as a bass fisherman,” Jones said. “And watching him win at the St. Johns River made me feel like a kid again.

“So many of the newer generation of not just fans, but anglers, too, they read stats and the history. They get KVD because they were alive when he was plowing through the field. They didn’t see that with Clunn and now they get a glimpse of that. Seeing him win again reminds us that he was a big deal and it wasn’t just on paper.”

Hack’s ‘Wow’ Moment

Greg Hackney grew up in Star City, Ark., which to the best of his recollection is a 45-minute ride at 55-mph from Pine Bluff, host city of the 1984 Bassmaster Classic.

“I grew up in a family that loved to fish, but I didn’t know anything about bass tournaments in 1984 since I was 11 years old,” Hackney said.

It was that August when Hackney’s true introduction to tournament fishing took place as he and his family attended the final day of the Classic. That’s when Clunn captured the third of his four Classic titles and set the all-time Classic weight record with 75-09.

“I grew up in rural America,” Hackney said. “I loved to pond-fish and loved catching bass, so yeah, I’d say I was influenced by him. I remember he got up and said something about conservation. I didn’t know who he was – I had no clue – but he won the Classic and he won $40,000. I was like ‘Wow.’”

While Hackney would’ve preferred to win at the St. Johns, he didn’t dismiss the historical nature of Clunn’s triumph.

“That’s pretty cool,” he said. “It’s been a common question over the years – why he still does it – and he won in classic Clunn fashion, being at the bottom and coming from behind. He looked like he was completely out of it.”

’I Still Have Hope’

Cliff Prince was still in elementary school when Clunn started to round into form as a pro angler in the mid 1970s. He went into the St. Johns River event hoping to put on a good show for the home crowd and continue the recent trend of locals winning on their home waters.

If not for a livewell gaffe on day 1, he just may have challenged Clunn, but he was still appreciative of the opportunity to witness one of the sport’s legends prove you’re never past your prime in bass fishing.

“I was still in diapers and running around in cowboy boots back in the day, so to see him win one at 69 years old, I still have hope,” said Prince. “I’m 46 now and I wonder how many more years am I going to be really competitive? To see him do that, it tells me I can shoot for 20 more years. I just hope it doesn’t take me that long to win one.”

‘A Cool Experience’

You can’t blame Justin Lucas for not having a complete appreciation for everything Clunn had accomplished in his career during the 70s and 80s. Lucas wasn’t born until 1986 and when he got into bass fishing, he idolized fellow westerners Aaron Martens and Skeet Reese.

Still, as his career has taken root, Lucas has tried to become a student of the sport and getting to see Clunn regain his mojo in person was something he won’t forget.

“I just think its really cool being he’s like a third generation for me,” he said. “He’s closer to my grandfather’s age. Looking up to Skeet and Aaron growing up, I know Rick was a guy they looked up to.

“When I started bass fishing tournaments in 1998 or '99, even at that point, Rick had done almost of all of his damage. It’s weird because I look at VanDam and see what he’s done and what Skeet and Aaron have done – I have the appreciation for all of that. I still have a huge appreciation for Rick and what he’s done and how he grew the sport and how he was THE professional.”

He said the scene at the weigh-in on day 3 at the St. Johns River bordered on the surreal.

“After he weighed in on Saturday and even before and seeing him at the dock, it was like, ‘This guy’s about kick everybody’s butt.’ He got in a groove that week that he hadn’t been in in years. That’s what is so cool about this sport – you can still get in a groove and win a tournament of that magnitude against maybe the strongest competition there’s ever been. It was a cool experience.”