When BASS officials announced the Greatest Angler Debate at last year's Classic, 35 of the best fishermen ever to grace the front deck of a bass boat were pooled together as candidates for the crown. That list has been pared down by outdoor journalists and experts in the realm of pro bass fishing, and only 10 anglers are left standing. Although much debate has already ensued over who made the original list, there is little doubt that the following anglers deserve to make the first cut. This list will soon be cut to two — and you are going to be the one doing the cutting. The decision is now yours to make. It will be the voting of the fans that bestows this title on one of the following fishermen. To help you make an informed decision, we have profiled each of the Top 10 finalists, highlighting each angler's most impressive career achievement, of which there are many. So, read on, decide who you believe is the best ever, and vote — your favorite depends on it.

HANK PARKER

Bassmaster credited Hank Parker as the first angler to win the sport's "grand slam" after he won the 1985 Super BASS Tournament, the 1983 Angler-of-the-Year title and the 1979 Bassmaster Classic. Even then, Parker had already made waves in the sport of cast-for-cash bass angling. Parker joined the BASS tour in 1978, the year he fished a collective 27 national tournaments, banking $60,000 in prize money along the way. The marathon run of competitions paid off by fueling the stamina required to endure the toughest conditions on the tournament trail. For the next 13 years, Parker would collect a BASS winnings check in 76 percent of 120 events fished. Parker's valuable on-the-water experience was tapped into by leading tackle manufacturers, who applied his feedback for developing and marketing cutting edge products. Always on the short list of pretournament favorites, Parker was a perpetual threat to win any contest, including the Classic. That happened again in 1989, a decade after his first world championship title and career maker. Along the way Parker won five BASS tournaments on a variety of fisheries, ranging from tidal estuaries to rivers and lakes. Regarded for his versatility and persistence, he won the 1983 Angler-of-the-Year title and made 13 appearances in the Classic. Parker's ongoing success led him to launch a TV series in 1985. Hank Parker's Outdoor Magazine became an instant hit and is in its 20th year on the air. The show's success and the demands of working with sponsors influenced Parker's decision to retire from competition in 1990. Even now, he remains one of the most recognizable legends in the sport and could easily launch a comeback tour on the tournament trail if he chose to do so.

BILL DANCE

Bill Dance is credited with catching the first bass caught in the 1967 All-American, the forerunner to today's CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail, a hallmark that set the stage for more impressive feats. Since that first fateful cast on Arkansas' Beaver Lake, Dance had been celebrating career milestones even before BASS celebrated its 10th birthday. In fact, from 1968 to 1978, he set the tempo on what defined success as a pro on the tournament trail. Beginning in 1970, the personable Tennessean claimed the first BASS Angler-of-the-Year title and went on to win seven tournaments in a two year period, ending in 1970. By 1977, he'd won three AOY titles (1970, 1974, 1977), earning him legendary status in a sport less than a decade old. Dance took full advantage of his status while maintaining his legitimate "good ol' boy" image. He launched a successful TV show in 1968 while managing to balance tournament fishing with the demands of working with sponsors in a tackle industry that had caught on like a wildfire. In the early stages of his TV career, Dance filmed some 200 episodes of Bill Dance Outdoors at the rate of four shows each week. Through it all, he managed to qualify for eight Bassmaster Classics, beginning with the inaugural event in 1972. His final Classic was eight years later when he announced his retirement following the 1980 Tournament Trail season. Over the span of his career, Dance has received honors reserved for the most elite of all anglers. The accolades include induction into the International Fishing Hall of Fame, the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame and the Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.

RICK CLUNN

After winning three Bassmaster Classic titles (1976, 1977, 1984), some pundits claimed that Rick Clunn was sliding into a career slump entering the 1990s. After all, he'd made a habit of winning world titles over a short span of time, including consecutive wins and a Classic-winning all-time catch in 1984 that remains on the record book. Clunn disproved the naysayers by winning a fourth title in 1990, some 14 years after hoisting his first Classic trophy. If success is measured in Classic form, then Clunn owns the category. He's won the title an unprecedented four times and holds the record for Classics fished at 28, a record that will take years to break. Over the course of three decades, Clunn has proved he is the most dominating force in the Classic, owning more records from the sport's most prestigious competition than any other angler. His Classic accomplishments are remarkable, including the back-to-back wins in 1976 and 1977, the first title coming in only his second full year on the tour. The 1984 record-shattering win was indeed one for the books — Clunn's margin of victory over second place was 25 pounds. Another defining moment came in 1990, when Clunn overcame a 10-pound deficit after he was all but counted out of winning the title. But Clunn is more than the Classic patriarch. He's the first angler to earn $1 million in competitive bass fishing earnings, a mark he hit in 1990, years before anyone else would come close. His tournament bankroll stands at more than $2 million and counting, dating back to a career that began in 1974 when the sport was relatively young, as was Clunn. His stellar BASS career is highlighted by 14 wins, an Angler-of-the-Year title and a string of nearly 100 top 10 finishes. Clunn's entry into the sport puts his three decade career into perspective. He quit his $12,000-a-year job as a computer programmer in 1976 with the idea of going at it full time on the tour for three years. Had he failed, Clunn would have gone back to "work." That year, he won the Classic and has never looked back.

JAY YELAS

As a testimony to his consistency as a perennial top-notch bass angler, Jay Yelas holds the longest "active" Classic streak at 14, shared with Kevin VanDam. From the time he was a youngster, Yelas had his mind set on becoming a professional bass angler. Yelas fished his way through college, laying the foundation for big achievements to come. After graduating in 1987, Yelas moved to Phoenix to be centrally located in the heart of western tournament competitions. For the next three years he would compete in upward of 40 events, mostly living as a tournament nomad, following the trail wherever it led. After he won at least one tournament on every fishery in the Colorado River chain of lakes, from Powell to Havasu, Yelas migrated east to be closer to the BASS tour. It didn't take long for him to mirror his western success. Yelas qualified for the 1991 Classic in his first full season on the tour. He's been hot ever since, winning his first BASS event in 1993 and four more since then. Along the way, Yelas has scored 49 BASS top 10 finishes through the 2004 season, including a paycheck cashed in 127 of 189 events fished. A crowning achievement so far for Yelas has been his back-to-back Classic and BASS Angler-of-the-Year titles in 2002 and 2003, respectively. This is a remarkable achievement considering the grueling demands associated with a Classic title. Few anglers are capable of handling the overwhelming rush of business demands while finding time to keep the competitive side of their careers in balance. For the most part, tournament performance takes a hit while time is devoted to appearances and sponsor obligations. Yelas not only won the title in 2002, but went on to hit the trail and earn the 2003 BASS Angler-ofthe- Year point title, all the while fulfilling the myriad obligations dealt him by his Classic success.

LARRY NIXON

The argument over which is the toughest job in bass fishing — professional guide or pro angler — is a coin toss. Few men can excel at both trades, which require uncanny mental and physical stamina and the ability to dial into fish under any circumstance. In either case, the jobs come at the risk of feast or famine. Larry Nixon has mastered both jobs and done so simultaneously. Spending up to 300 days each year guiding on Toledo Bend put Nixon on the fast track to success as a pro angler. During his guide career, Nixon put his clients on fish year-round, under every conceivable type of weather, and regardless of their angling skills. No other experience could have equipped Nixon with the skill sets he would hone prior to making his first cast in a BASS competition. Nixon emerged early on as a dominant force in pro bass fishing. Within the first five years of a career beginning in 1977, he'd amassed a remarkable string of accolades, including two Angler-of-the-Year titles (1980, 1982) and six BASS wins. The grueling demands of guiding also earned Nixon a reputation among his peers for catching fish under the worst of conditions. He proved that feat twice by winning consecutive events on the Ohio River, one of the stingiest bass fisheries in the nation. The second of the two titles was the sweetest — the 1983 Classic title won with 18-1 — at the time the event's alltime lowest winning weight. Nixon continued his hot streak by winning an unprecedented four lucrative BASS MegaBucks titles in two years, pushing him over the $1 million mark in BASS winnings and earning him the nickname "MegaMan." Under the MegaBucks formats, contestants fished through a links-style fishing course under a time limitation, making Nixon's repeated wins one of the greatest milestones in the sport. In all, Nixon's legendary career includes 14 BASS wins, 23 Classic appearances and the two Angler-of-the-Year titles.

DENNY BRAUER

As his bass fishing career successes began to mount, Denny Brauer was ironically tabbed the "best BASS pro to have never won a Classic." The cliché was accurate, considering that after 16 years one of the sports top anglers was still trying to shake the Classic curse. Brauer would come close on several occasions, only to have a game-winning strategy unravel in the waning moments. In 1998, Brauer put any doubts to rest that he was a world championship caliber angler by winning the Classic. Ironically, he already had gained "legendary" status long before winning the title. From his 1982 pro debut until the fateful win, Brauer owned seven BASS wins, an Angler-of-the-Year title, 15 Classic appearances and a string of more than 70 top 10 finishes. The Classic win was a catalyst behind Brauer's continued success. He is up to 18 Classics fished and counting and has amassed 15 wins, the second-most in BASS history. In BASS earnings alone, he ranks first and is closing in on the $2 million mark. In 1998, he amassed $347,000, the most in a single season. He's always a threat to claim any tournament title, having won the first in 1984 and the most recent in 2004. The mounting achievements have crossed all lines of recognition for Brauer, the first bass fisherman to have his likeness grace a Wheaties Cereal box, of which 75 percent of the 2 million made were sold in three days.

ROLAND MARTIN

Gauging Roland Martin's illustrious career is best judged by reading a blurred list of numbers: 19 BASS wins, 25 Classics fished, 92 top 10 finishes and nine BASS Angler-of-the-Year titles. And those stats only hit the high points. Martin has won or dominated every category of professional bass fishing except one: the Classic, which he's yet to win. It might be said that Martin's amazing feats are overshadowed somewhat by the fact they stretch out over three decades. But during that time, the accolades have written BASS history over and over while being inhumanly possible to repeat. A few examples follow. On one occasion, Martin "threepeated" Angler-of-the-Year titles (1971-1973) and has won back-to-back titles two other times ('78-'79, '84-'85). Next, Martin has the unprecedented status of having won three consecutive tournaments in a single season (1980-81). And he won three events over a four-tournament span. This pioneer of the sport is still going strong after a career that began in 1969. Early on, Martin began making waves in the fledgling sport. He is widely credited with defining the concept of pattern fishing. He wrote the following words in 1969 while preparing for a tournament: "A pattern is the exact set of water conditions such as depth, cover, structure, temperature, clarity, currents, etc., which attracts fish to that specific spot and to similar spots all over the same body of water." Having the ability to articulate such thoughts back then is uncanny, considering the fact that tournament fishing was only 2 years old at the time. To go full circle with Martin's career — to put into perspective what he and he alone can claim — requires another look at the records. Three anglers (Mark Davis, Bill Dance, Kevin VanDam) each have three Angler-of-the-Year titles. Martin has nine, a feat that will take years to match. Martin ranks first in BASS tournaments won (19) while Denny Brauer is second with 15 victories. And only Rick Clunn has more Classic appearances (28) than Martin, who vows that winning the title that has eluded him in his final unfinished career goal. Based on past history, that title is still in reach.

KEVIN VANDAM

At the relatively young age of 37, Kevin VanDam is the youngest pro to qualify for The Greatest Angler Debate, which begs the following question: What did he do to make the cut? The answer is, plenty. Since jumping into the world of professional bass fishing in 1991 VanDam has done this: Fished the Classic each year since then and won it once, won seven BASS tournaments, and claimed BASS Angler of the Year three times. In the latter category only the venerable Roland Martin has won more point titles and in fact, fellow BASS pioneer VanDam is one of only four anglers who've claimed the award three times or more. What makes this guy tick? VanDam is known for his "power fishing" skills, and it's a wonder that his mechanical execution can keep up with his computer whiz angling mind. When VanDam won his first Angler-of-the-Year title in 1991, only his second year on the BASS tour, legendary angler Rick Clunn sought out the 24-year-old rising star because he was so fascinated with his mental skills. Early on, VanDam was compared to another young phenom in the sporting world: Tiger Woods. The comparison was logical since both athletes followed parallel success in their respective careers. VanDam said of Woods, "I think he's the most mentally dominant figure in all of sports." Many of VanDam's peers thought the same of him during his meteoric rise into the lofty ranks of bass fishing. Kevin VanDam is indeed young when compared to other angling greats. Ironically, he was born in 1967, the year Ray Scott held his first tournament, also the forerunner to a circuit eventually dominated by VanDam. Now a veteran and BASS millionaire in earnings, VanDam is on track to follow in the footsteps of men he calls his "heroes." He'll deny it, but some of those "heroes" are in awe of what he's already achieved.

MARK DAVIS

Don't let Mark Davis' "awe shucks" demeanor fool you into thinking he's not worthy of being in the company of the greatest anglers. Davis, one of the sport's most likeable and personable figures, is a competitor in every sense of the word. Since joining the BASS tour in 1984, he's won BASS Angler of the Year three times, won a Classic crown while fishing the event 13 times, and counting, and won four BASS tournaments. It took him just 20 years to rack up $1 million in BASS earnings, a remarkable feat when weighed against the time it took his peers to join the elite "BASS Millionaire" club. Davis is most known for his angling versatility, a trait that is reflected in three BASS Angler-of-the-Year titles won in the short span of six years. He won the first in 1995, with the most recent in 2001, and he's come close to winning the title again. And he probably will. His greatest feat came in 1995, the year he won the Classic and Angler-of-the-Year title, an achievement that is practically impossible to pull off. A close second on the list of Davis milestones came as recently as last year, when he won a CITGO Bassmaster Tour event and two Bassmaster Elite 50 events in the span of three months. Winning three events in one season is rare and to win two E-50s is an even more notable act. The recent chain of events is an indicator of the high odds that Davis will remain at the forefront of the sport for years to come. You'd never know it by looking at this unassuming, low profile angler. That is, until it comes time to weigh the fish and collect the paychecks. That's when you'll likely find him at or near the head of the line.

GARY KLEIN

Gary Klein fished his first tournament at the age of 16, when he placed 37th out of 180 entrants. His prize: 24 spinnerbaits. That was 1974, some five years before Klein would join the BASS trail for good. From the beginning, the former western hot shot has blazed a trail filled with victories, titles and achievements that few anglers can match. Klein's rookie year was a prelude to his later successes. In 1979, he packed his meager worldly belongings into a van and drove cross-country from California to Florida. There, he placed 10th in his first BASS event, held in a part of the world he'd never been. Then he backtracked to more familiar ground, where he won the BASS Arizona Invitational held on Lake Powell. He was 21 years old at the time. After losing the BASS Angler-of-the-Year title to Roland Martin by less than 2 pounds, Klein followed up with a strong fourth place Classic finish. Klein has been a consistent performer ever since, thriving in tough angling situations when his peers struggle. A mental master of the game, his skill-sets run the gamut of the water column, from deep water finesse fishing to shallow water flipping. That latter technique, in fact, was responsible for jump-starting Klein's career. He learned the trade from flipping patriarch Dee Thomas. Over the years, Klein has fished the Classic 22 times while winning two BASS Angler-of-the-Year titles. He's won eight BASS tournaments and has more than $1 million, and counting, in earnings. Only one title has eluded him: the Classic. He was runner-up in 2003 and has more than once come close to winning the title. Based on his track record, it's likely that Klein will someday conquer that title, too.