Inductees

In 1976, in his third season on the professional bass fishing circuit, Rick Clunn would cast out his line and hope for the best, for anything really – a nibble even.

After all, he was running out of fishing stories. And time.

“In the reality of it, I wanted something to break pretty quickly,” Clunn said. “I lost a house that we just built. I had tried to start a fishing guide service since I was fishing 18 to 20 tournaments a year. But nobody knew me.”

Clunn changed his fortunes at the end of the season as he won the prestigious Bassmasters Classic, a victory that propelled his career to tremendous success over the next 40-plus years. Without a doubt, he now stands as one of the country’s best pro anglers, and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Clunn with the Class of 2017.

Clunn, who has called Ava, Missouri home the past 20 years, has won four Bassmasters Classics. That figure is tied with Kevin VanDam for most in B.A.S.S., short for Bass Anglers Sportsman Society.

More impressive, the sport’s growth into a financial force was partly the result of Clunn, who in winning the 1984 Bassmaster Classic was joined on stage by future Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. With the future heads of state helping to showcase the sport, thousands more anglers sought out B.A.S.S. and other circuits, allowing Clunn to never have to return to a desk job.

All told, he has winnings of more than $3 million, and his catches have totaled 11,918 pounds and one ounce.

Overall, Clunn has now competed in 427 tournaments across the country, with 32 Classic appearances – including 28 consecutively. Some 281 times he has finished in the money, including 121 Top 10 finishes and 187 Top 20 finishes. That includes 15 championships and 14 second-place finishes.

And to think that his luck changed in the Bassmasters Classic in 1976 at Lake Guntersville in Alabama.

“All of a sudden, my phone started ringing off the hook,” Clunn said. “And, of course, the sponsors started showing up.”

Clunn repeated the next season as the Bassmasters Classic champion, and then won it again in 1984 and 1990.

Along the way, he became the first angler to win $1 million in competitive bass fishing. In March 2016, he became the oldest fisherman (at age 69) to win a B.A.S.S. tournament by taking the Elite Series on the St. Johns River in Florida.

“The secret to my success was realizing that you control the amount of luck that’s going to dictate your fate,” Clunn said, explaining that he learned the cycles of fish, and their habitat, at many lakes – thus, reducing his reliance on luck. “As an angler, you have to go where they are.”

Competitive bass fishing had piqued Clunn’s interest as a teenager when, while he and his dad fished a Texas lake, several boats rushed by and pulled ashore. They were part of a bass club’s tournament, with several anglers showing off two strings of 15 fish.

“I started to realize that there’s a science to this,” said Clunn, who eventually worked in the computer center for ExxonMobil for seven years and then, in 1974, turned pro.

Fortunately for Clunn, he has remained competitive by staying fit and changing with the times. It may seem odd that a fisherman practices yoga and martial arts to stay in shape, but both have benefitted Clunn.

After all, in fishing eight to 12 hours a day, there is no telling what kind of weather he’ll experience. Waves crashing into the boat. Freezing temperatures. Or temperatures threatening 100 degrees.

He also has changed with the times and technology.

“The level of excellence is always going up,” Clunn said. “That’s the curse of being a pro. To do that, you have to be willing to change. Electronic navigation can almost show you a picture of what’s under your boat. And that’s something we didn’t have when I started.”

Overall, what a career it has been for Clunn. He was named the 1988 B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year and has since been inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame and the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. In 2005, he was voted the Greatest Bass Angler of All-Time in an ESPN fan poll.

Fortunately, he also has had the support of his wife, Melissa, and his sons Sage and River. Clunn also has two grown daughters, Brooke and Courtney.

“I’m one of those people who has always believed in the American dream and I’m living proof of it,” Clunn said. “I haven’t had what most people would call a real job.”