A Look Back at Rick Clunn’s Career

2016 Elite Series St. Johns River Winner Rick Clunn – photo by Seigo Saito – Bassmaster

When I was on staff at Bass West USA Magazine, we had an ongoing feature entitled Legends of the Sport. That feature was a way to recognize those anglers who had shaped the sport of bass fishing through their accomplishments and longevity of their career.  I had the honor of interviewing those people and being the author of 11 of those pieces in my two years.

One of our subjects – as it should have been – was Rick Clunn.  Clunn, from widely regarded as one of the best anglers to ever grace the stage of Bassmaster events.  His fishing career has spanned five decades and he has spawned the inspiration of the careers of contemporary anglers such as Kevin VanDam, Gary Klein, Skeet Reese, and so many others.

This past weekend, Clunn, at 69 years old put what quite possibly is the perfect exclamation point to his career by winning the 2016 Bassmaster Elite Series opener at the St. Johns River.  To watch Clunn pull off that victory in such dramatic fashion, and to see the response of the Elite Series pros on hand made me recall that story that I wrote in 2010.

This past weekend’s event will be remembered as one of the greatest moments in the history of the sport and I decided it was the perfect time to revisit the history of Clunn.  There have been some interesting chapters added of course, but the whole of his career has been amazing.

Please enjoy a look back at Clunn’s career in this revisiting of my original Legends of the Sport piece on a true legend.

TBT – Rick Clunn – Living Legend