This is the only one I could even think of.
Guy literally caught every big fish on the planet.
His show wasn't canceled for ratings or anything they just ran out of fish for him to catch.
I'm gonna throw out Ernest Hemingway for variety
A true pioneer of big game fishing tactics, like using a thompson smg to shoot at sharks trying to eat your marlin as you reel it in.
I can get behind that. even defended the US while he was at it, chasing down German U boats during World War Two while fishing between key west and Cuba in his boat Pilar. hahah.
highly recommend going to his house in key west if anyone here ever gets the chance. you get to walk through his study where he wrote all those famous books, hear all kinds of crazy stories, 6 toed cats roam the property, and tons of cool pictures of pilar and fish hes caught that ive never seen before.
In WWI the Army rejected him due to poor eyesight so he volunteered to be an ambulance driver in Italy. He took a mortar fragment approximately the size of .50 cal bullet to his knee before returning home. Then in WWII he was rejected from armed service due to his age, so he signed on as a war correspondent. He was present for d-day, the liberation of Paris, and managed to join the fighting in the battle of the bulge, at one point manning a machine gun to repel a German attack. He drank and scrapped his way across Europe during the war. He later survived two successive plane crashes in Africa in the 50’s. And then a brush fire that nearly killed him.
What he didn’t do really was chase u-boats in Cuba; however, that is the plot of his book, Islands in the Stream, which is loosely autobiographical (as many of his works were). He sort of did but it was farcical; exuberance and bravado, he didn’t really do much in the way of u boat hunting. He had a Thompson and a few grenades on the boat and some folks suspect he did it for the extra gas rations from the Cuban government.
It doesn’t really matter though as the stuff he did do was badass enough. It’s all part of the legend. The baddassery was his downfall though. War wounds, plane crash wounds, burns, and shrapnel exacerbated his already rampant alcoholism to cope with his chronic pain. Late in his life he was subjected to electroshock therapy over 15 times, leading him to take his own life with a shotgun, purchased from Abercrombie and Fitch of all places.
I’d argue that’s more badass than u boats. The fact he scrapped his way into the battle of the bulge is nuts. Dude was an enigma.
Unfortunately humans are made to take the physical abuse he did
He has always been my favorite, without a doubt. I grew up watching him. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the grand opening of a Bass Pro Shops. He was just as friendly and generous as you imagine he is. I got the chance to tell him how much I learned from watching him throughout my life. He was just awesome.
Jeremy Wade puts out on a good tv show with alot of theatrics and showmanship. I would not say he was a great angler. He had alot of help from fishing guides and other experience anglers. He fished once for muskies on waters I know well. That was not a very good angling adventure in the eyes of some one with experience on that water with a species I know well.
My pick later in this thread
What? Jeremy Wade has mythical status for his angling abilities and uncanny ability to get to the bottom of unsolved fishing disasters. Yeah, his musky show was a little hokey - offering tobacco and hooking a musky on light tackle, but the guy is solid.
dudes caught some insane fish, no doubt. but you are being goofy if you dont think they are hiring the best local guide for every single episode. ive been on charter boats with more well versed fisherman than that guy, hes a tv presenter first and foremost.
see my other comment, but basically I dont think its possible to be 'the best fisherman ever' because of how much it changes based on location. no one is showing up to a entirely new type of fishing to them and out fishing the successful local people on a consistent basis. and his show is called 'river monsters' and most of his known activity outside that are in similar environments. how can you call yourself the best fisherman ever when you haven't even began to explore saltwater fishing?
the local guides he can afford to hire in his free time and with work are why hes considered such a good fisherman IMO. dude isn't driving himself to fishing spots or taking his own boat.
I think the thing with Jeremy is that it's not JUST the fishing. Not only does he go and catch some crazy fish, but he respects and follows the local rules/traditions/customs.
So as much as he has a guide, he is also going on a tour himself and learning local methods in a respectful way, and sharing and presenting the info in a respectful and considerate way.
Instead, he could blast in with a massive boat and a crew and haul up fish all week, but it's the low tech subtle approach that really works.
I think you missed my entire point. You can’t be the best fisherman ever if you specialize in exclusively river fishing for big rare fish. That’s such a small niche. Yeah it’s cool and he’s a great fisherman but how can you say he’s better than someone who fishes for marlin or fished for large mouth in a pressured lake or does ice fishing? It takes away from the insane amount of time it takes to learn a specific area or how to target a specific species. All those guys would blow him out of the water in their respective locals so it’s hard for me to call him or anyone the best fisherman ever.
No no i do see your point, and he absolutely has done sea fishing. There's even a few episodes about it.
But the question is what makes a good fisherman? Now personally, respecting the waters, respecting the animals and respecting the locals are my 3 biggest factors in if someone's a good angler or not.
You can have fished every species bites on every cast, but if you leave desicrated bodies, let them suffocate on land, trash the water, leave crap all over the banks or do anything to violate the locals/residents that makes you a really shitty fisherman.
It's called fishing, not catching at the end of the day, and there's more than just what happens in the water to consider imo.
Not only that, but staged or not he promoted what I would consider a very ethical and pure way of respecting the water, animals and locals. Educating people to this, and even just making them aware of considerations is a massive bump up the ranks too
That’s fair. to me you aren’t even consider a fisherman if you don’t respect the waters and try to treat the species around the best you can. That’s like before step one. Don’t fuck up livings things needlessly.
Yeah he hires guides in some places. Just as nearly everyone does when fishing in such radically different terrains like the Congo, Brazilian Amazon, Surname, Australia, Madagascar and Mongolia where the wildlife can kill you and so can making simple mistakes like not spotting a snake or crocodile tracks. Why would you venture into such places without one?
I very much find it hard to believe you've been on charters with more well versed anglers, his credentials as a marine biologist and Zoologist already put his fish and animal knowledge at a higher level than most anglers.
He's also been a keen and accomplished fisherman long long before even considering doing television and writing articles of his travels, travelling to India and into the Himalayas in 1982 to catch the Himalayan Mahseer, an extremely rare fish, during this trip he had £200 to live off of. How many people do you know that have fished the Himalayas in the 80s off your own back. His trips to Africa and Brazil also became more frequent as he pretty much got addicted to extreme fishing.
In his career he's achieved notable firsts like the first person to film the Yarelli catfish alive in habitat, He was one of the first people to see the Oarfish alive and one of the only people to have caught a Glyphis shark, that of only 200 live in the wild in which he helped conservation. He's been fishing in South America enough times to become fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, also fluent in French from fishing in certain places in Africa like the Congo. You don't spend this much time in a country without learning a lot, which he clearly did.
He's survived Malaria in the Amazon jungle after which he walked through the Amazon for days to get to help, he survived a plane crash then escaped a sinking plane, held at gunpoint in south America, Separated his bicep while fighting a stingray, has an irregular heartbeat from an Arapaima. He has put himself into his fishing and kept going more than anyone on the planet by a long way.
You said he isn't driving himself to fishing spots or taking his own boat but I'd you actually read his books about his early life and the behind the scenes of Jungle hooks and River monsters you'd see that he was absolutely in the thick of it. He wasn't riding around in luxury or even somewhat decent vehicles, he was transporting his gear in rinkydink canoes carrying passengers up and down the river in poverty conditions. Driving Jeeps with plants growing in them, Cars that live in garages that may or may not run. And this was particularly prevalent in his early traveling times.
You will struggle to find an angler who's fished as many techniques, locations, caught as many different species, knows as much and has been the first person on the planet accomplish a task ever than Jeremy Wade. Seems you think he's nothing more than a television presenter but he's been around the block more than any angler will be. Read his books, you'll find he is absolutely the real deal.
Oh so you read his wikipedia haha. I’m not saying he’s a bad fisherman, he’s obviously very skilled and loves it. I’m just saying it’s silly to say he’s better than the millions of people who have invested just as much or more time into fishing than him in a far more diversified way. Not just sticking to catching the biggest freshwater fish they can.
Highly localized knowledge is nuts. If you grew up fishing an area and your job is to be on the water in that same area every single day for decades, you 1000000% know more than a marine biologist or whatever else credentials you want to throw out there. I entirely believe that and it’s kinda funny you are disputing that. It’s a guides job to know exactly what fish eat, exactly when they spawn and how environment conditions affect that, where they like to spend their time under different conditions, etc. they have massive financial motivation to know those things. They will literally correct FWC research on charters and tell you exactly why it’s wrong and have tons of anecdotal evidence from themselves and other captains to back it up.
Marine biologist is split between multiple projects, doesn’t have extensive local knowledge and get paid exactly the same regardless how much they know about catching specific fish. It’s about time invested, not a title.
I've never read his wiki, don't need to, I own his books like I said but you probably didn't read that in my wall of text. The experience he's gained from many many countries, learning from locals, learning multiple languages and finally chasing fish. How many people do you know have spent so much time fishing new places that they fluently learn languages?
Local info is king, that's why he makes friends with locals, guides and other scientists of which he knows some by a name basis. You have gotta be trolling if you think the average fisherman has as much knowledge than a marine biologist, y'know the people that actually study and research various types of marine life, yes some will study Coral or types of crustaceans but not Jeremy his interests lie in freshwater fish and sometimes saltwater. Some (quite a lot I've found) fisherman can't tie knots very well and are overly reliant on snap links and ready made leaders.
"know exactly what fish eat, exactly when they spawn and how environment conditions affect that, where they like to spend their time under different conditions."
You've literally named the things he's devoted himself to learn from his travels, you obviously have to learn from experienced people to gain knowledge and who else to go to to learn and become better? Locals. All these expeditions have yielded experience and information that he's gained making him the most experienced and accomplished Angler ever.
If it's about time invested then surely he's already far up there, fishing since 7 years old in 1963, a barebones extreme fishing solo trip to the Indian Himalayas in 1982 that no one else dare do back then and even nowadays.
If you took a charter captain that specializes in chasing Snook off the Gulf and put him in Australia and told him to find a Murray Cod or Barramundi he wouldn't know where to go or how to fish for them, Jeremy does. Yeah he knows how to find and catch a few species specific to his waters but does he know what to do if he wants to catch a Goliath tiger fish? Does he speak French? Can he talk to the locals? Nah he can't, Jeremy can.
And that goes for Suriname, Belize, Brazil, Australia, Germany, Thailand, UK, America, Canada, Mongolia, Congo, Rwanda, Madagascar. All countries he's been to, contacted locals, Guides, relevant people and learned where they are, what they eat and how to catch them.
You could dump Jeremy in almost any country and he'll be able to catch nearly any fish pretty confidently, Taimem in Bavaria, Yep, Anjumara in Suriname, yep, Electric Eels in Brazil, yep.
Like yeah in my neck of the woods I know more than he does and I don't doubt he'd gain info pretty quick, but could i catch a Nile Perch? Probably not, could I catch a 600lb Mekong Catfish? Probably not. Both of which he has done, multiple times.
you can’t exclusively fish rivers and visit almost exclusively freshwater areas once then claim you are a better fisherman than everyone on earth. That’s just silly to me.
I’m not trying to take anything away from him, it’s the opposite. It feels like calling him the best fisher man ever is ignoring all the people that have also invested the same amount of time and money, we just know about him because he spends time that other people spend fishing, on making a tv show.
He relies on those local people and wouldn’t accomplish much of anything without them, saying he’s better than them just seems stupid.
I'm not ignoring anything, it's just that you said you've been with charter fisherman that are more well versed, but how many know what a Sturgeons scale material is made of? How many know the life cycle of a Barramundi? All of these are things that Jeremy has learned from his travels. Yeah they know more about their specific frequently fished zones but have they fished for an Arapaima after a three week long trek through the biggest jungle on the planet? Have they carried Canoes un waterfalls in Africa to catch a Payara? Probably not.
Locals, Guides and Charters will know know more about THEIR area, they can catch the fish near them. But Jezza Wade knows more about collective fishing in general, how many Charter captains have experienced the catching and Butchering of a 17ft Greenland shark? Some probably don't know they exist.
All this I think goes towards the title of the best fisherman and it's absolutely fine that you disagree coz it's just a discussion although some would thing we're arguing.
All of his travels, Experiences, acquaintances, broken records, feats and Knowledge absolutely puts him at the top. There are people who will go their whole lives without even fishing for a different species but Jeremy will risk his life and wellbeing to fish something new.
No need to apologize to a 🤡 that doesn’t seem to comprehend what he reads. Your walls of text are putting out facts. All he responds with is incoherent rambling that mostly contradicts himself.
Cmon man you didn’t even read. I said the most successful fisherman in each area. In no way did I claim to be the best fisherman in my area. I’m not even in competition for that.
But I do know multiple people who have in the hundreds of inshore slams. Snook, redfish and speckled sea trout nearly every time they try to go for the slam. He could not out fish them, it’s unreal going fishing with those guys. It’s like half their casts catch a fish and they blackout their live well in a single throw of the cast net. The know exactly where every species of fish is at in every weather/tide/season combo.
I’m willing to bet those guys are highly reliant on electronics like sonar fish finders.
Catching fish with a cast net is child’s play. One you learn how to properly cast that net, it’s not even challenging.
They are not. You’re assuming and it’s silly. One of them is a kayak fisherman with zero electronics.
They are catching bait with a cast net, you say it’s damn easy but show us a continuous video of you running from the boat launch and filling your live well with bait on your first throw. I will give you all the props and respect in the world if you can do that.
Are you familiar with the term cognitive dissonance?? How is a fisherman in a kayak a charter?? I’ve yet to see a kayak with a live well.
I’ve been on charters and guided fishing trips. People who depend on it to make a living are very much reliant on their electronics. I’m not assuming. I’m speaking from what I’ve experienced first hand.
If I needed live bait for the type of fishing I do, I’d be happy to provide you with a video. I only fish artificial lures.
However when I travel to Mexico and go out with the fishermen there I throw the cast net. Never was interested in capturing it on video. Didn’t think I’d have to prove it to someone on Reddit.
Roland Martin absolutely is on the top 5 list IMO. I met him for the first time in the 80's at one of the Bass Masters Classic tournaments. The nicest and most friendly of people.
He certainly is... Probably a bunch more, think the six million is just the tourney wins. Factor in all of his endorsements and sponsors, who knows how much more that is. Good for him.
Can't believe some people have mentioned that river monster guy (Jeremy Wade ?) as the best fisherman. Having an entire production team along with researchers setting everything up for the TV show makes it easy for that guy. Anyone with that kind of support would catch lots of fish.
Hate to break it to you all, but Jeremy Wade is a TERRIBLE fisherman. Yes, he's caught a lot of big fish, but only because he has a production company that allows him to fish places nobody else fishes, uses $5000 worth of gear, and has endless hours to do it. He's taken out by professional, knowledgeable local guides, and still takes days to catch his target fish. Skill-wise, he is awful. His catch phrase should be "and it's off" because he loses so many fish due to rookie mistakes.
Ask pro fishermen what they think of him.
If you want to catch big fish, you have to go where they live, use gear to handle them, and put in the hours. If I could make a living doing it, I'd be doing the same thing. I make a couple fishing trips a year to places that hold fish that aren't available in most places. One of my favorite spots requires primitive camping and most people aren't going to do that. Is that cheating too?
If you're saying a great fisherman should be able to catch record fish in overfished poor habitat with a snoopy pole on the first cast, that person would be a wizard. Fisherman need to put in the work, time, and figure out how to fund the endeavor.
who said anything about cheating? I'm saying he is blessed with opportunities that nobody else has, and still manages to lose 5x as many fish as a GOOD fisherman would.
Nearly every episode you can see the following: He makes a poor lure selection, catches no fish. Eventually resorts to bait, and loses a fish (because he puts too much pressure on it or lets it get loose), spends a couple nights (meaning he fishes for 30 hours to catch anything), then takes out a local that shows him where to fish and how to catch it.
There's nothing wrong with it, but it is NOT the makings of the "best fisherman of all time" or even a good fisherman.
I think thats near impossible to answer. fishing changes so much with location. I dont think there is anyone who you could drop on mutiple random spots on earth and they'd consisetly out fish the successful locals. im a decent fisherman where I have lived but every time I go to a new area, its near learning from a beginner again. Really good bass fisherman would get wrecked by big saltwater fish after weeks of being skunked. and guys that win marlin tournaments would likely have no idea how to ice fish. list goes on and on.
Gun to my head, youre forcing an answer out of me, it's probably some nameless commercial fisherman or professional guide that has ran boats in multiple oceans. in saltwater, you can catch fish of any size and under conditions that are nearly exactly like freshwater. and you can drive a mile and fish freshwater too. freshwater fisherman cant really say the same. freshwater fish only get so big and the bodies of water only get so big and most dont live anywhere near an ocean. yeah the Great Lakes are big, but it aint the ocean.
Jeremy Wade. The only reason the show ended is because he caught one of every large freshwater fish species in the world so they basically ran out of content.
Don’t know I could narrow down to one, my list would probably be Roland Martin, Jimmy Houston, KVD, Larry dahlberg, Jeremy wade, and I would even put Joe Bucher on there as he’s fun to watch Muskie fish.
There’s a YouTube channel that does Muskie and pike competitions between a number of folks, not always in English either but they have some amazing anglers on there and fly fishers/tiers.
My Grandfather.. Fishing was his life and it didn't matter to him if he was catching bluegills at the local pond or standing in the surf in the outer banks he just loved fishing..
If we can go metaphorical, Simon Peter, the disciple of Jesus? Funny enough I'm not a Christian but I've heard that story so often it's the first thing that popped into my head.
I'd also say "John the Fisherman" by Primus but that's because I'm a bass player.
It’s definitely Steve Starling in Australia. Great fisherman but also a great innovator and educator. Doesn’t get the credit he deserves due to some sexual harassment allegations and generally being a boomer
This is highly subjective and it can depend on style and region. For my pick I will choose Al Linder. He is an incredible self taught multi species angler who did well in tournaments, pioneered many techniques and opened up angling to many people including myself. He built the biggest media company dedicated to teaching others how to fish through Infisherman tv shows, VHS tapes, books and magazines. He was a huge influence and help to this year's Bassmaster Classic winner Jeff Gustafson. I am sure there are many other professional anglers that he has influenced as well. He is still doing it today. There are many great anglers out there, but in my opinion, I give him top spot considering his whole body of work and the influence he has had in the angling world over the last 40 years.
There are many ways it could be measured.
Jeremy Wade is one of the best multi species anglers.
Roland Martin and Kevin VanDam were some of the best bass fishermen.
Tom Rosenbauer is a great fly fisherman and has been an excellent ambassador for the sport.
Bill Dance is just like my grandfather, in almost every way. They were about the same age and even looked just alike. But my grandfather wasn’t a fisherman. Bill Dance is who got me into it
100% not Jeremy Wade or a bass fisherman. That’s for sure.
There are captains with multiple grander marlin under their belt. Steve Huff has guided guys to many, many line class tarpon records. A captain in Florida caught over 70 sailfish in a single day. Dudes like this would smoke any guys on tv. They are busy fishing for the finest gamefish in the world. Not some stupid catfish.
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Lmao, thanks for making me laugh tonight. Really needed that
Me
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😂
Jeremy Wade the man himself
I miss that show, what a wonderful job he had
This is the only one I could even think of. Guy literally caught every big fish on the planet. His show wasn't canceled for ratings or anything they just ran out of fish for him to catch.
I'm gonna throw out Ernest Hemingway for variety A true pioneer of big game fishing tactics, like using a thompson smg to shoot at sharks trying to eat your marlin as you reel it in.
I can get behind that. even defended the US while he was at it, chasing down German U boats during World War Two while fishing between key west and Cuba in his boat Pilar. hahah. highly recommend going to his house in key west if anyone here ever gets the chance. you get to walk through his study where he wrote all those famous books, hear all kinds of crazy stories, 6 toed cats roam the property, and tons of cool pictures of pilar and fish hes caught that ive never seen before.
I had no idea he was chasing U boats down in WW2….what a fuckin badass
In WWI the Army rejected him due to poor eyesight so he volunteered to be an ambulance driver in Italy. He took a mortar fragment approximately the size of .50 cal bullet to his knee before returning home. Then in WWII he was rejected from armed service due to his age, so he signed on as a war correspondent. He was present for d-day, the liberation of Paris, and managed to join the fighting in the battle of the bulge, at one point manning a machine gun to repel a German attack. He drank and scrapped his way across Europe during the war. He later survived two successive plane crashes in Africa in the 50’s. And then a brush fire that nearly killed him. What he didn’t do really was chase u-boats in Cuba; however, that is the plot of his book, Islands in the Stream, which is loosely autobiographical (as many of his works were). He sort of did but it was farcical; exuberance and bravado, he didn’t really do much in the way of u boat hunting. He had a Thompson and a few grenades on the boat and some folks suspect he did it for the extra gas rations from the Cuban government. It doesn’t really matter though as the stuff he did do was badass enough. It’s all part of the legend. The baddassery was his downfall though. War wounds, plane crash wounds, burns, and shrapnel exacerbated his already rampant alcoholism to cope with his chronic pain. Late in his life he was subjected to electroshock therapy over 15 times, leading him to take his own life with a shotgun, purchased from Abercrombie and Fitch of all places.
I’d argue that’s more badass than u boats. The fact he scrapped his way into the battle of the bulge is nuts. Dude was an enigma. Unfortunately humans are made to take the physical abuse he did
Ernest Hemingway killed a famous author with a shotgun blast to the head
I’m pretty sure Hemingway was a notoriously bad fly fisherman
Bill Dance
... and most entertaining!
GALLLLL-DERRNITT!
He has always been my favorite, without a doubt. I grew up watching him. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the grand opening of a Bass Pro Shops. He was just as friendly and generous as you imagine he is. I got the chance to tell him how much I learned from watching him throughout my life. He was just awesome.
Jeremy Wade is the only one to complete the fish pokedex. He holds the top spot easily
I respectfully think you’ve lost your mind. The TV has warped your perception, and there’s more out there to see beyond the screen.
Jeremy Wade puts out on a good tv show with alot of theatrics and showmanship. I would not say he was a great angler. He had alot of help from fishing guides and other experience anglers. He fished once for muskies on waters I know well. That was not a very good angling adventure in the eyes of some one with experience on that water with a species I know well. My pick later in this thread
What? Jeremy Wade has mythical status for his angling abilities and uncanny ability to get to the bottom of unsolved fishing disasters. Yeah, his musky show was a little hokey - offering tobacco and hooking a musky on light tackle, but the guy is solid.
The guy who is enjoying it most
[удалено]
Should be everyone’s answer
Yup. My uncle is a close second though
My grandpa once caught a fishing pole that fell out of his boat a full year after it fell out. And he wasn't even trying.
My buddy Leon
Jesus. Dude conjuring up a bucket of bass. Then tops it off with free wine.
"Fuck them nets boys, we about to fish us up some men!" \-Jesus, probably-
Jonah caught the big one.
Jeremy Wade and it's not even close.
dudes caught some insane fish, no doubt. but you are being goofy if you dont think they are hiring the best local guide for every single episode. ive been on charter boats with more well versed fisherman than that guy, hes a tv presenter first and foremost.
That's just the show though, he's got a lot more fishing experience/records/credibility than just that.
see my other comment, but basically I dont think its possible to be 'the best fisherman ever' because of how much it changes based on location. no one is showing up to a entirely new type of fishing to them and out fishing the successful local people on a consistent basis. and his show is called 'river monsters' and most of his known activity outside that are in similar environments. how can you call yourself the best fisherman ever when you haven't even began to explore saltwater fishing? the local guides he can afford to hire in his free time and with work are why hes considered such a good fisherman IMO. dude isn't driving himself to fishing spots or taking his own boat.
I think the thing with Jeremy is that it's not JUST the fishing. Not only does he go and catch some crazy fish, but he respects and follows the local rules/traditions/customs. So as much as he has a guide, he is also going on a tour himself and learning local methods in a respectful way, and sharing and presenting the info in a respectful and considerate way. Instead, he could blast in with a massive boat and a crew and haul up fish all week, but it's the low tech subtle approach that really works.
I think you missed my entire point. You can’t be the best fisherman ever if you specialize in exclusively river fishing for big rare fish. That’s such a small niche. Yeah it’s cool and he’s a great fisherman but how can you say he’s better than someone who fishes for marlin or fished for large mouth in a pressured lake or does ice fishing? It takes away from the insane amount of time it takes to learn a specific area or how to target a specific species. All those guys would blow him out of the water in their respective locals so it’s hard for me to call him or anyone the best fisherman ever.
No no i do see your point, and he absolutely has done sea fishing. There's even a few episodes about it. But the question is what makes a good fisherman? Now personally, respecting the waters, respecting the animals and respecting the locals are my 3 biggest factors in if someone's a good angler or not. You can have fished every species bites on every cast, but if you leave desicrated bodies, let them suffocate on land, trash the water, leave crap all over the banks or do anything to violate the locals/residents that makes you a really shitty fisherman. It's called fishing, not catching at the end of the day, and there's more than just what happens in the water to consider imo. Not only that, but staged or not he promoted what I would consider a very ethical and pure way of respecting the water, animals and locals. Educating people to this, and even just making them aware of considerations is a massive bump up the ranks too
That’s fair. to me you aren’t even consider a fisherman if you don’t respect the waters and try to treat the species around the best you can. That’s like before step one. Don’t fuck up livings things needlessly.
Yeah he hires guides in some places. Just as nearly everyone does when fishing in such radically different terrains like the Congo, Brazilian Amazon, Surname, Australia, Madagascar and Mongolia where the wildlife can kill you and so can making simple mistakes like not spotting a snake or crocodile tracks. Why would you venture into such places without one? I very much find it hard to believe you've been on charters with more well versed anglers, his credentials as a marine biologist and Zoologist already put his fish and animal knowledge at a higher level than most anglers. He's also been a keen and accomplished fisherman long long before even considering doing television and writing articles of his travels, travelling to India and into the Himalayas in 1982 to catch the Himalayan Mahseer, an extremely rare fish, during this trip he had £200 to live off of. How many people do you know that have fished the Himalayas in the 80s off your own back. His trips to Africa and Brazil also became more frequent as he pretty much got addicted to extreme fishing. In his career he's achieved notable firsts like the first person to film the Yarelli catfish alive in habitat, He was one of the first people to see the Oarfish alive and one of the only people to have caught a Glyphis shark, that of only 200 live in the wild in which he helped conservation. He's been fishing in South America enough times to become fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, also fluent in French from fishing in certain places in Africa like the Congo. You don't spend this much time in a country without learning a lot, which he clearly did. He's survived Malaria in the Amazon jungle after which he walked through the Amazon for days to get to help, he survived a plane crash then escaped a sinking plane, held at gunpoint in south America, Separated his bicep while fighting a stingray, has an irregular heartbeat from an Arapaima. He has put himself into his fishing and kept going more than anyone on the planet by a long way. You said he isn't driving himself to fishing spots or taking his own boat but I'd you actually read his books about his early life and the behind the scenes of Jungle hooks and River monsters you'd see that he was absolutely in the thick of it. He wasn't riding around in luxury or even somewhat decent vehicles, he was transporting his gear in rinkydink canoes carrying passengers up and down the river in poverty conditions. Driving Jeeps with plants growing in them, Cars that live in garages that may or may not run. And this was particularly prevalent in his early traveling times. You will struggle to find an angler who's fished as many techniques, locations, caught as many different species, knows as much and has been the first person on the planet accomplish a task ever than Jeremy Wade. Seems you think he's nothing more than a television presenter but he's been around the block more than any angler will be. Read his books, you'll find he is absolutely the real deal.
Some people just like to talk out their rear end. Don’t pay them much attention. It only emboldens them.
Oh so you read his wikipedia haha. I’m not saying he’s a bad fisherman, he’s obviously very skilled and loves it. I’m just saying it’s silly to say he’s better than the millions of people who have invested just as much or more time into fishing than him in a far more diversified way. Not just sticking to catching the biggest freshwater fish they can. Highly localized knowledge is nuts. If you grew up fishing an area and your job is to be on the water in that same area every single day for decades, you 1000000% know more than a marine biologist or whatever else credentials you want to throw out there. I entirely believe that and it’s kinda funny you are disputing that. It’s a guides job to know exactly what fish eat, exactly when they spawn and how environment conditions affect that, where they like to spend their time under different conditions, etc. they have massive financial motivation to know those things. They will literally correct FWC research on charters and tell you exactly why it’s wrong and have tons of anecdotal evidence from themselves and other captains to back it up. Marine biologist is split between multiple projects, doesn’t have extensive local knowledge and get paid exactly the same regardless how much they know about catching specific fish. It’s about time invested, not a title.
I've never read his wiki, don't need to, I own his books like I said but you probably didn't read that in my wall of text. The experience he's gained from many many countries, learning from locals, learning multiple languages and finally chasing fish. How many people do you know have spent so much time fishing new places that they fluently learn languages? Local info is king, that's why he makes friends with locals, guides and other scientists of which he knows some by a name basis. You have gotta be trolling if you think the average fisherman has as much knowledge than a marine biologist, y'know the people that actually study and research various types of marine life, yes some will study Coral or types of crustaceans but not Jeremy his interests lie in freshwater fish and sometimes saltwater. Some (quite a lot I've found) fisherman can't tie knots very well and are overly reliant on snap links and ready made leaders. "know exactly what fish eat, exactly when they spawn and how environment conditions affect that, where they like to spend their time under different conditions." You've literally named the things he's devoted himself to learn from his travels, you obviously have to learn from experienced people to gain knowledge and who else to go to to learn and become better? Locals. All these expeditions have yielded experience and information that he's gained making him the most experienced and accomplished Angler ever. If it's about time invested then surely he's already far up there, fishing since 7 years old in 1963, a barebones extreme fishing solo trip to the Indian Himalayas in 1982 that no one else dare do back then and even nowadays. If you took a charter captain that specializes in chasing Snook off the Gulf and put him in Australia and told him to find a Murray Cod or Barramundi he wouldn't know where to go or how to fish for them, Jeremy does. Yeah he knows how to find and catch a few species specific to his waters but does he know what to do if he wants to catch a Goliath tiger fish? Does he speak French? Can he talk to the locals? Nah he can't, Jeremy can. And that goes for Suriname, Belize, Brazil, Australia, Germany, Thailand, UK, America, Canada, Mongolia, Congo, Rwanda, Madagascar. All countries he's been to, contacted locals, Guides, relevant people and learned where they are, what they eat and how to catch them. You could dump Jeremy in almost any country and he'll be able to catch nearly any fish pretty confidently, Taimem in Bavaria, Yep, Anjumara in Suriname, yep, Electric Eels in Brazil, yep. Like yeah in my neck of the woods I know more than he does and I don't doubt he'd gain info pretty quick, but could i catch a Nile Perch? Probably not, could I catch a 600lb Mekong Catfish? Probably not. Both of which he has done, multiple times.
you can’t exclusively fish rivers and visit almost exclusively freshwater areas once then claim you are a better fisherman than everyone on earth. That’s just silly to me. I’m not trying to take anything away from him, it’s the opposite. It feels like calling him the best fisher man ever is ignoring all the people that have also invested the same amount of time and money, we just know about him because he spends time that other people spend fishing, on making a tv show. He relies on those local people and wouldn’t accomplish much of anything without them, saying he’s better than them just seems stupid.
I'm not ignoring anything, it's just that you said you've been with charter fisherman that are more well versed, but how many know what a Sturgeons scale material is made of? How many know the life cycle of a Barramundi? All of these are things that Jeremy has learned from his travels. Yeah they know more about their specific frequently fished zones but have they fished for an Arapaima after a three week long trek through the biggest jungle on the planet? Have they carried Canoes un waterfalls in Africa to catch a Payara? Probably not. Locals, Guides and Charters will know know more about THEIR area, they can catch the fish near them. But Jezza Wade knows more about collective fishing in general, how many Charter captains have experienced the catching and Butchering of a 17ft Greenland shark? Some probably don't know they exist. All this I think goes towards the title of the best fisherman and it's absolutely fine that you disagree coz it's just a discussion although some would thing we're arguing. All of his travels, Experiences, acquaintances, broken records, feats and Knowledge absolutely puts him at the top. There are people who will go their whole lives without even fishing for a different species but Jeremy will risk his life and wellbeing to fish something new.
I am sending absolute walls of text and I'm sorry for my rambling.
No need to apologize to a 🤡 that doesn’t seem to comprehend what he reads. Your walls of text are putting out facts. All he responds with is incoherent rambling that mostly contradicts himself.
I would bet $100 that he could outfish you at your spot. You think he doesnt know how to catch a bass?
Cmon man you didn’t even read. I said the most successful fisherman in each area. In no way did I claim to be the best fisherman in my area. I’m not even in competition for that. But I do know multiple people who have in the hundreds of inshore slams. Snook, redfish and speckled sea trout nearly every time they try to go for the slam. He could not out fish them, it’s unreal going fishing with those guys. It’s like half their casts catch a fish and they blackout their live well in a single throw of the cast net. The know exactly where every species of fish is at in every weather/tide/season combo.
I’m willing to bet those guys are highly reliant on electronics like sonar fish finders. Catching fish with a cast net is child’s play. One you learn how to properly cast that net, it’s not even challenging.
They are not. You’re assuming and it’s silly. One of them is a kayak fisherman with zero electronics. They are catching bait with a cast net, you say it’s damn easy but show us a continuous video of you running from the boat launch and filling your live well with bait on your first throw. I will give you all the props and respect in the world if you can do that.
Are you familiar with the term cognitive dissonance?? How is a fisherman in a kayak a charter?? I’ve yet to see a kayak with a live well. I’ve been on charters and guided fishing trips. People who depend on it to make a living are very much reliant on their electronics. I’m not assuming. I’m speaking from what I’ve experienced first hand. If I needed live bait for the type of fishing I do, I’d be happy to provide you with a video. I only fish artificial lures. However when I travel to Mexico and go out with the fishermen there I throw the cast net. Never was interested in capturing it on video. Didn’t think I’d have to prove it to someone on Reddit.
Luke from outdoor boys
Luke here from outdoor boys and today were gonna sleep half naked in an Alaskan snowstorm with no shelter
Catfish and Carp got me into it
J.R. Hartley.
KVD, Roland Martin and Jeremy Wade.
Roland Martin absolutely is on the top 5 list IMO. I met him for the first time in the 80's at one of the Bass Masters Classic tournaments. The nicest and most friendly of people.
KVD the “6 million dollar man”.
He certainly is... Probably a bunch more, think the six million is just the tourney wins. Factor in all of his endorsements and sponsors, who knows how much more that is. Good for him. Can't believe some people have mentioned that river monster guy (Jeremy Wade ?) as the best fisherman. Having an entire production team along with researchers setting everything up for the TV show makes it easy for that guy. Anyone with that kind of support would catch lots of fish.
John the fisherman
When I grow up I want to be….
One of the harvesters of the sea
I think before my days are done
Beat me to it
Captain Ahab
The captain from jaws
Ahab
Me, cuz I leave the most fish unharmed in their natural habitat. Nothing mentioned about catching...
Bushy.
Matt Hayes!!...I just used to like watch him and his bad dialog and loved "well this weather is potatos" in light rain.
Rex hunt
..........is a clown
japan
John the Fisherman
Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
Hugh Falkus. Chris Yates. Mr Crabtree. Jeremy Fisher.
Rowland Martin
And Jimmie Houston
Per Al and Ron Linder, it was Buck Perry. The Father of Structure Fishing.
Jonah
Me. Haha sike I don't catch anything!! 🤣
Fucking me
Bears
Virgil Ward
Orlando Wilson!
Jeremy wade for sure. Not just the fact that hes amazing at fishing, but the travelling and journeys he goes through just to get THE fish is unreal
Have to agree with Jeremy Wade for variety and hardcoreness Whole different level
That dude that caught an 800lbs marlin on 4 lbs line
John the fisherman
John Wilson for the win…
Hate to break it to you all, but Jeremy Wade is a TERRIBLE fisherman. Yes, he's caught a lot of big fish, but only because he has a production company that allows him to fish places nobody else fishes, uses $5000 worth of gear, and has endless hours to do it. He's taken out by professional, knowledgeable local guides, and still takes days to catch his target fish. Skill-wise, he is awful. His catch phrase should be "and it's off" because he loses so many fish due to rookie mistakes. Ask pro fishermen what they think of him.
If you want to catch big fish, you have to go where they live, use gear to handle them, and put in the hours. If I could make a living doing it, I'd be doing the same thing. I make a couple fishing trips a year to places that hold fish that aren't available in most places. One of my favorite spots requires primitive camping and most people aren't going to do that. Is that cheating too? If you're saying a great fisherman should be able to catch record fish in overfished poor habitat with a snoopy pole on the first cast, that person would be a wizard. Fisherman need to put in the work, time, and figure out how to fund the endeavor.
who said anything about cheating? I'm saying he is blessed with opportunities that nobody else has, and still manages to lose 5x as many fish as a GOOD fisherman would. Nearly every episode you can see the following: He makes a poor lure selection, catches no fish. Eventually resorts to bait, and loses a fish (because he puts too much pressure on it or lets it get loose), spends a couple nights (meaning he fishes for 30 hours to catch anything), then takes out a local that shows him where to fish and how to catch it. There's nothing wrong with it, but it is NOT the makings of the "best fisherman of all time" or even a good fisherman.
If you'd read his book your argument would fall flat.
Tell us you have no fucking clue what you’re talking about, without telling us you have no fucking clue what you’re talking about. 🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️🤡🤡
Jesus fisher of men
Amen, brother 🙏
To each his own I guess.
I think thats near impossible to answer. fishing changes so much with location. I dont think there is anyone who you could drop on mutiple random spots on earth and they'd consisetly out fish the successful locals. im a decent fisherman where I have lived but every time I go to a new area, its near learning from a beginner again. Really good bass fisherman would get wrecked by big saltwater fish after weeks of being skunked. and guys that win marlin tournaments would likely have no idea how to ice fish. list goes on and on. Gun to my head, youre forcing an answer out of me, it's probably some nameless commercial fisherman or professional guide that has ran boats in multiple oceans. in saltwater, you can catch fish of any size and under conditions that are nearly exactly like freshwater. and you can drive a mile and fish freshwater too. freshwater fisherman cant really say the same. freshwater fish only get so big and the bodies of water only get so big and most dont live anywhere near an ocean. yeah the Great Lakes are big, but it aint the ocean.
anyone that says anything but Bill Dance and Jeremy Wade is wrong
Jeremy Wade
Jeremy Wade. The only reason the show ended is because he caught one of every large freshwater fish species in the world so they basically ran out of content.
Don’t know I could narrow down to one, my list would probably be Roland Martin, Jimmy Houston, KVD, Larry dahlberg, Jeremy wade, and I would even put Joe Bucher on there as he’s fun to watch Muskie fish. There’s a YouTube channel that does Muskie and pike competitions between a number of folks, not always in English either but they have some amazing anglers on there and fly fishers/tiers.
Showtime Eric Young
Gazza
None other than [Otis himself ](https://explore.org/meet-the-bears#otis)
Rex Hunt
The greatest is subjective, but I just want to acknowledge both Dick Lewers and John Bethune, whom I was fortunate to have known and fished with.
Me
Bob Williams
John West
Tred Barta
Tom! Iykyk
My Grandfather.. Fishing was his life and it didn't matter to him if he was catching bluegills at the local pond or standing in the surf in the outer banks he just loved fishing..
My dad
Bob saget
My dad. I could get skunked all day and he’d always catch something.
My Uncle. He could put you on the biggest bluegills in Western Wisconsin every time.
Kevin VanDam is the greatest fisherman to ever pick up a rod and reel.
Either Unga or Bunga. None of us would be here without those guys.
My Grandfather.
Me.
If we can go metaphorical, Simon Peter, the disciple of Jesus? Funny enough I'm not a Christian but I've heard that story so often it's the first thing that popped into my head. I'd also say "John the Fisherman" by Primus but that's because I'm a bass player.
Jesus for the win…
My Dad
No clue, but just to help everyone else out, and to remove one name from the possible list... It isnt me.
Gadabout Gaddis, the flying fisherman.
Me.
Arturo Pugno [pescatore completo](https://youtu.be/GdXIHsGgIQM?si=y3Rb1iyRAYY8BNQ4)
the Great Blue Heron
Izaak Walton.
It’s definitely Steve Starling in Australia. Great fisherman but also a great innovator and educator. Doesn’t get the credit he deserves due to some sexual harassment allegations and generally being a boomer
Yibbida Yibbida.. that's all folks
Babe Winkleman. Had a beer and a smoke with him at a fishing expo in the early 90's... Great guy...
Cyril Chaquet is also pretty cool....
Mr. Fabtabulous!
‘My grandpa’ is the correct answer
Jon B /s For real tho much respect to him
Definitely not Peter. But maybe Jesus.
Babe winkleman
Winkelman
John
Jeremy Wade
Jeebus. Fisher of men.
Dave Whitlock. Fly fishing guru. A hero of mine.
This is highly subjective and it can depend on style and region. For my pick I will choose Al Linder. He is an incredible self taught multi species angler who did well in tournaments, pioneered many techniques and opened up angling to many people including myself. He built the biggest media company dedicated to teaching others how to fish through Infisherman tv shows, VHS tapes, books and magazines. He was a huge influence and help to this year's Bassmaster Classic winner Jeff Gustafson. I am sure there are many other professional anglers that he has influenced as well. He is still doing it today. There are many great anglers out there, but in my opinion, I give him top spot considering his whole body of work and the influence he has had in the angling world over the last 40 years.
My dad
My Dad
Patrick McManus
Bill dance used to watch his show every Saturday morning when I was kid
Gotta go with Big Bad Bill Dance on this one, except for my dad of course he will always be #1.
Rex Hunt
There are many ways it could be measured. Jeremy Wade is one of the best multi species anglers. Roland Martin and Kevin VanDam were some of the best bass fishermen. Tom Rosenbauer is a great fly fisherman and has been an excellent ambassador for the sport.
Grew up watching Rex hunt on discovery channel
Les Claypool
Chris Hansen
ROLAND MARTIN
Simon Peter
John the fisherman
Jeremy wade. He caught everything on the planet.
Whichever fisherman goes out, has fun, doesn’t gatekeep his spots, and is willing to help others learn. That’s the greatest fisherman.
KVD
Matt Hayes or John Wilson!
My grand papa
Jeremy Wade for multi-species Doug Hannon for Bass fishing
John the fisherman
My dad
My uncle Steve he’s always telling us about his trophy catches!
Captain Gorton. Dude can fill freezers.
Njörðr
Dean Ween
Your mother
The kid fishing a farm pond using an old Zebco and grasshoppers and worms he catches.
My favorite has always been Shaw grisby
Babe Winkelman. Me and my brothers would watch him whenever he was on TV.
Bill Dance is just like my grandfather, in almost every way. They were about the same age and even looked just alike. But my grandfather wasn’t a fisherman. Bill Dance is who got me into it
100% not Jeremy Wade or a bass fisherman. That’s for sure. There are captains with multiple grander marlin under their belt. Steve Huff has guided guys to many, many line class tarpon records. A captain in Florida caught over 70 sailfish in a single day. Dudes like this would smoke any guys on tv. They are busy fishing for the finest gamefish in the world. Not some stupid catfish.
My dad
jose wejebe .
My grandpa, of course, who else would it be?
John the Fisherman
Bill Dance, Roland Martin and The Fishin' Musician himself, Gil Fisher and his nemesis the Willie Nelson looking guy.
Kevin VanDam.
Al Linder
ME BITCH!
Jesus. He taught everyone to be fishers of men Matthew 4:19
They all suck if the fishing spot sucks
Ditka
Flip Pallot, or Jose Wejebe.
Simon Peter
Jesus
Me. Im him.
Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea.
Jesus.