IN 1976, RICK Clunn walked into a Memphis department store with a dwindling tank of gas and not a dime to his name. In his hand, he held a paper check from B.A.S.S. that held the key to getting home to Texas. There was just one problem: Nobody would cash it. If not for the help of a local angler’s wife, one of the greatest bass fishermen of all time might have been washing dishes in a Bluff City diner to make it home.
“I knew I recognized her from somewhere,” remembers Clunn. “I saw her on the way out, but I couldn’t remember her name.” Fortunately for Clunn, the woman remembered his. Her name was Dianne Dance — the better half of her bass-toting husband, Bill.
Next year, Clunn will celebrate his 50th year as a professional bass fisherman. He no longer needs Dianne Dance to cash checks for him. Today, Clunn’s name is whispered with reverence even among the greats. He has captured four Bassmaster Classic championships among 16 major tournament titles, two U.S. Open titles, a Redman All-American and the 1988 Bassmaster Angler of the Year award. He has finished in the Top 10 123 times and in the money an astounding 312 times.
By any measure, Clunn is one of history’s all-time greatest bass anglers, and yet his name carries an enigmatic aura understood by few. Hailed as a hero by nearly every angler on the Bassmaster Elite Series, Clunn is the first to reject the moniker. He is credited with popularizing pattern fishing and completely changing the way
