If it wasn’t for fishing, some people wouldn’t even own a boat. For others, the relationship between boating and fishing is more
casual. Yet we can all appreciate the accomplishments of the exceptional anglers profiled here. Some gained recognition by excelling as tournament competitors and record setters; others distinguished themselves by working tirelessly for conservation or sharing the sport with future generations. The criterion for our list is broad, but the number of prominent anglers is modest when you consider so many deserve accolades for their achievements. If you have thoughts on anglers we missed, please weigh in with a letter to the editor.

LARRY DAHLBERG

“I had the pleasure of guiding Larry in the Florida Keys in the 1970s. He caught his first tarpon with me,” says Capt. Jake Jordan, a big-game fly fishing legend in his own right. “He is the best all-around angler I’ve ever known, and a master with any kind of fishing tackle. Incredibly perceptive, he is an innovator.”

Dahlberg grew up in a tiny town in Wisconsin near the St. Croix River. He was fishing at age 4, and guiding clients to the river’s outsized smallmouth bass and muskies by age 11. In his early 20s, he was spending 1,500 hours a year on the water, although his goals were changing. He became highly focused on catching the biggest fish, in fresh or saltwater. This led to a 30-year career on television that brought him international fame. In 1992 he developed and starred in “The Hunt for Big Fish,” a unique program that over the 24 years it aired, followed him around the globe to 87 countries to challenge the biggest fish and most exotic species. He fished in every ocean and major river, including the most remote stretches of the Amazon.

Dahlberg is a thinker, tinkerer and innovator with a dedicated workshop in his house overlooking the St. Croix. He has developed new flies like the Dahlberg Diver; new fly-tying materials, including one called Flashaboo, and new plugs—his famous Whopper Plopper became one of the hottest lures on the market. One of the innovations he gets little credit for is the blank-thru offset trigger grip handle for casting rods, a feature that has become a standard in the rod-building industry.

Dahlberg remains one of the most approachable gentlemen in professional fishing, always ready to share his knowledge and learn from others. He was inducted into the IGFA Hall of Fame in 2017 and is still fishing today. 

CHUCK MANY

Chuck Many has caught and released more 50-pound striped bass than anyone alive. A New Jersey native, he caught his first striper from a jetty at age 8 and hasn’t looked back since. A short but successful stint as a communications entrepreneur allowed him to retire at 40; since then he has dedicated his life to fishing for trophy striped bass. Many, 57, spends his year following them from their wintering grounds off North Carolina and Chesapeake Bay to his home port of Highlands, New Jersey, where his boat is docked for the spring and fall runs. He is also a conservationist who never kills fish and works closely with Gray FishTag Research to tag stripers for science. He has gone so far as to implant numerous electronic satellite archival tags in large striped bass to track their migrations in real time, paying for the expensive tags out of his own pocket. Several of those tags have revealed movements heretofore unknown, including those of stripers that spent time in the submarine canyons many miles offshore of their typical migratory paths.

To date, Many has caught 131 stripers over 50 pounds and well over 1,000 in the over 40-pound class. From his 28-foot True World Tyman, named after his son, Chuck uses live eels to conjure up bass. He says eels account for all the biggest fish he’s caught, even though he also fishes with other techniques and uses artificial lures. When he’s not fishing for stripers, you might find him chasing redfish from his bayboat in Hilton Head, South Carolina, or cobia from a friend’s charterboat in Virginia, or wading a trout stream in New Jersey. He remains enthusiastically humble about his accomplishments and says if he’s fishing, he is a happy man.

TED WILLIAMS

If you know baseball or fishing, you know Ted Williams. He was the greatest hitter in major league baseball history, having played his entire career for the Boston Red Sox, from 1939 through 1960, with interruptions for military service during WWII, and again during the Korean War, as a Marine combat pilot. His athletic prowess and love of the game earned him the nickname Teddy Baseball, but Williams had another passion—fishing—and it burned brightly after his ball playing career ended.

Williams was known for his intensity on the field, and he brought that trait to fishing. John Underwood—fisherman, sportswriter and William’s biographer—said it best about fishing with the legend. “There are four things to remember: one, he is a perfectionist; two, he is better at it than you are; three, he is a consummate needler; and four, he is in charge. He brings to fishing the same hard-eyed intensity, the same brooding capacity for scientific inquiry, that he brought to hitting a baseball.”

Williams’ favorite quarry were bonefish, tarpon and Atlantic salmon on the Miramichi River. He loved them so much that he bought houses in Islamorada, Florida, near the flats and in New Brunswick, Canada, overlooking the famed river. He co-authored a book with Underwood titled Ted Williams, Fishing The Big Three about his love affair with those gamefish and how he targeted them with fly rods. And yet according to Underwood, “Williams would fish anywhere, any time. He caught black marlin in New Zealand and tiger fish in the Zambezi River in Mozambique, and he caught these and other fish with different kinds of tackle, in and on all types of water.”

Williams was an early proponent of catch and release and became one of sportfishing’s greatest ambassadors, popularizing the sport for millions of people. He signed the first mega deal to promote fishing gear with Sears Roebuck. The company labeled products from small boats to rods and reels with Williams’ name. He was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1966 and in the IGFA Hall of Fame in 1999, three years before his passing.

JERRY AND DEBORAH DUNAWAY

Many people interested in big-game fishing have heard of the Madam and Hooker, the first and most famous world-traveling mothership operation. Hooker was a 48-foot G&S sportfisherman that rode on the fantail of Madam, a converted 110-foot oil rig supply boat. The combo was used by Jerry and Deborah Dunaway. The couple cast off lines in 1987 on a 10-year world tour with the goal to set light-tackle billfish world records.

“Jerry had a passion to fish in all these far-flung places and set world records on light line,” says Skip Smith, Dunaway’s captain for 11 years, including the first three years of the world tour. Smith led Dunaway to the first two Royal Slams (catching five species of billfish) ever recorded; the first was in 1982 and the second in 1983 aboard the original Hooker, a 53-foot Hatteras. “For line-class-record fishing you must be extremely patient, wait and pick your fish from the ones that come into the pattern, and Jerry was just that. He was meticulous about his tackle and teamwork,” says Smith.

As for Jerry’s wife, Deborah, she soaked up information. “We’d show her what to do and she would listen and execute. She had a great touch with light-line tackle,” says Smith. In 1993 she became the first angler in history to hold a line-class world record for all nine species of billfish simultaneously and remains the only angler to achieve the distinction. Former IGFA President Mike Leech called it the most incredible angling feat of all time.

Together, Jerry and Deborah set 49 line-class records and racked up impressive numbers of fish across the Atlantic, Pacific and beyond. Jerry caught an amazing 223 Atlantic blue marlin, 36 Pacific blue marlin, 96 black marlin, 10 swordfish and untold numbers of sailfish and striped marlin. He was the first angler to catch blue marlin on 4- and 8-pound test lines. The Dunaways became the first husband and wife team to be inducted simultaneously into the IGFA Hall of Fame; they received the honor in large part for their angling acumen and for having discovered new and untapped fishing destinations.

LEFTY KREH

Bernard Victor Kreh, better known as Lefty, grew up in rural Maryland during the Great Depression. His father died when he was 6. As the oldest of four, he became the “man” of the house. As Kreh described it, “we were dirt poor,” on government aid. He went to war as a teenager, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and survived anthrax, which he accidentally came into contact with while working at Fort Detrick’s center for biological warfare in Maryland.

After recovering, he made a name for himself as an angler and guide on the Potomac River, where smallmouth bass were his favorite fish. One fateful day he guided fishing legend and writer Joe Brooks, who introduced him to fly fishing. It changed his life. He bought a cheap fiberglass fly rod and reel the next day and the rest is history.

He revolutionized the basic tenets of fly casting and in doing so generated a great deal of controversy. He devised methods that made it possible to cast faster, farther and with greater accuracy, even into the wind. (His “double haul” technique was a game-changer.) Kreh became a renowned instructor, popularizing the sport for a growing fraternity of anglers worldwide. He created what became one of the most popular flies in both fresh and saltwater called Lefty’s Deceiver. The USPS honored his creation on a postage stamp in 1991.

Kreh drew attention to fly fishing in saltwater, where bonefish and tarpon were his favorite quarry. He authored dozens of books on fishing, penned hundreds of magazine articles, and gave thousands of casting exhibitions and seminars, where he was known for his downhome sense of humor. He was an entertainer well into his late 80s and loved nothing more than teaching others to fish.

JOAN VERNON

Joan Vernon has done it all—captain, guide, accomplished angler, tournament competitor, tournament creator and passionate conservationist. Her introduction to Florida snook and redfish at age 13 was during a family trip to Fort Meyers, Florida. She exhibited an aptitude for fishing far beyond her years. She moved to Key Biscayne in 1970 and began light-tackle fishing for bonefish and tarpon.

She took to tournament fishing with unabashed enthusiasm, winning the Women’s Master Angler Award in the prestigious Miami MET tournament in 1979, 1980 and 1982. In 1980 she became the only woman to win the MET’s Fly Fishing Championship. 

Vernon earned her captain’s license and guided charter customers for a time, but she yearned to fish more distant waters. From 1998 to 2005 she caught and released over 1,000 billfish on light tackle before she stopped counting. In the 1980s she lobbied for snook and redfish protection in South Florida. During fishing trips to Costa Rica, she witnessed billfish swept up in purse seine nets, caught on long lines and killed in tournaments and she vowed to stop it. She convinced Central America’s political leaders that healthy fisheries were vital to their economies and proposed a new billfish tournament series for the fertile waters of Panama, Costa Rica and Guatemala. The Presidential Challenge of Central America came into being thanks to Vernon’s foresight, determination, energy and passion. It gave rise to the 1998 Sport Fishing Economic Conference of Central America, which united politicians, conservationists, anglers and resort owners for the sole purpose of protecting and ensuring the continued abundance of billfish populations.

Vernon advocated for the use of circle hooks as a conservation tool and in 1999 The Presidential Challenge became the first all-circle-hook release tournament, a format that has been accepted around the world. Vernon is a past chairman of The Billfish Foundation, recipient of the American Sportfishing Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and was presented with NOAA’s Environmental Hero Award. She was inducted into the IGFA Hall of Fame in 2013.

STEPHEN SLOAN

Stephen Sloan was born and raised in New York City. He was introduced to fishing in 1939 at age 6, at a pond in Central Park. The experience ignited a lifelong passion for the sport. His early angling exploits were in freshwater, where he garnered 15 Field & Stream awards before college. In later years—as a partner at Lehman Brothers and then in a career as a real estate developer—his angling interests switched to saltwater.

He was fascinated by the challenge of catching big fish on light tackle. He set 44 IGFA Line Class World Records, several of which are still unbroken. Among them were the first bluefin tuna caught on fly tackle; a white marlin on 6-pound test, and an 862-pound black marlin on 30-pound test.

Over time, Sloan’s interests turned to the deteriorating condition of ocean fish stocks, and he attacked the problem with zeal. He served on the Marine Fish Advisory Committee to the National Marine Fisheries Service, spent 10 years as a U.S. delegate to the International Committee for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, became a trustee at the IGFA and wrote several popular books, including Ocean Bankruptcy, which warned of the depletion of fish stocks worldwide.

A true ambassador of the sport, Sloan started the Citizen’s Committee for Urban Fishing in 1970, which stocked fish in New York City’s ponds and lakes and hosted fishing days for kids. He was honored by the city for his efforts. Twenty years later, the program was adopted by the American Sportfishing Association, renamed the Take A Kid Fishing Foundation and rolled out across the country. For 10 years he hosted the popular syndicated radio show Fishing Zone and continued to work on conservation issues until his passing. Sloan was inducted into the IGFA Hall of Fame posthumously in 2009.

NICK SMITH

No one has caught more billfish in a lifetime than this humble, reserved gentleman from South Florida. At the most recent count, Smith has caught and released over 12,000 marlin and sailfish in both the Atlantic and Pacific; since taking up the long wand, over 6,000 were caught using IGFA legal fly tackle.

At age 15, Smith’s father hired Capt. Bob Hayes and his charterboat Adventurous out of West Palm Beach. Smith said he’d only fished from a dock before that. “The captain’s son explained how to sit in the chair, hold the rod, feel for the bite and drop back the bait,” Smith recalls. “It went off like clockwork, and what ensued was the greatest thing I ever saw. The fish began jumping, pulling drag, putting on a display. It was incredibly exciting, just spectacular. The fish was so beautiful, it took my breath away.”

Smith was hooked and his business successes gave him the resources to follow his passion. He has owned 22 boats over the years and won every major billfish tournament in Florida numerous times, but in more recent years his goals have changed. He now wants to accumulate the most impressive number of billfish releases on fly tackle. He works at it from the deck of his 72-foot Bayliss Old Reliable, which he keeps on the Pacific Coast of Central America.

He now holds the record for the most sailfish, striped marlin and blue marlin caught in a single day, with total numbers of each species unmatched by any other angler in history. For his impressive angling skills and dedication to conservation, Smith is among the 2024 inductees for the IGFA Hall of Fame.

ELWOOD “BUCK” PERRY

Buck Perry is one of the least known great anglers in modern fishing history, but he is undeniably among the most influential, as he is the “Father of Structure Fishing.” Born in 1915 in Hickory, North Carolina, he started bass fishing with his father as a boy. They would spend their time casting the shorelines of local lakes and when they didn’t catch anything, his father’s reason was, “They just aren’t biting.” One day the younger Perry asked, “If they’re not on the shoreline, why don’t we fish deeper?” That question raised a curiosity for Perry that would last a lifetime and change fishing forever.

Perry graduated college with degrees in physics and mathematics and he used scientific methods for fishing. In the years before depthfinders, he devised a method for determining lake structure using lures he developed called spoonplugs. He would troll various models at specific depths in an effort to chart the underwater contours of the lakes he fished and map them. He developed theories on fish migration patterns from shallow to deep water, and how they related to daily influences, like barometric pressure, and seasonal influences, like water temperatures. He devised techniques for catching fish at any depth. With the advent of recreational marine electronics, his theories proved to be accurate. “Perry started the modern era of fishing” wrote George Pazik in a 1997 tribute.

Perry’s influence didn’t apply only to fresh water. Some of the most productive saltwater anglers fishing today were freshwater-structure fishermen first and they carried the knowledge gleaned from those experiences into the marine environment. Offshore fishermen who target pelagic gamefish understand deepwater structure like submarine canyons, water upwellings, temperature and current breaks and their effects on fish movements. Bottom fishermen pay particular attention to structure like wrecks, depth contours and reefs. Coastal inshore anglers have learned the importance of channel edges, points and fish movements with the tides. Anglers the world over owe a very big tip of the hat to that kid from North Carolina who asked a simple question.

KEVIN VANDAM

Kevin VanDam was to competitive bass fishing what Michael Phelps was to Olympic swimming. KVD, as he was known on the circuit, was a feared competitor for 34 years, until his recent retirement. He was the leading purse winner in professional bass fishing, with over $7 million in earnings. He won more BASS tournaments (25) than any other angler, finished second place 16 times and third place 18 times. He has competed in 25 Bassmaster Classics and won four, including back-to-back wins in 2010 and 2011. He’s been crowned BASS Angler of the Year seven times.

Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, VanDam began his career in 1990 at the age of 22. He became the youngest person to win the BASS Angler of the Year title in 1992. He was inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame in 2018.

In 2015 Kevin and his wife started the KVD Foundation to help charitable organizations that focus on children’s health, education and outdoor experiences. The foundation has contributed thousands of dollars to the March of Dimes, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Bronson Children’s Hospital and the Michigan DNR Outdoor Adventure Center. The VanDams also sponsor college competitive fishing events in the Midwest and have awarded numerous scholarships. VanDam was instrumental in the creation of the Major League Fishing series, a unique format of tournament events. His record on the water speaks for itself, but his desire to teach fishing, promote healthy competition and share the wonders of the outdoors with others is what makes him exceptional. 

This article was originally published in the May 2024 issue.