Ultimate guide to AOY in pictures

Your Ultimate Guide to AOY

The Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year award is the most prestigious in all of sport fishing. The winner may rightfully call himself the best professional bass angler in the world, having proved his prowess over the course of the Bassmaster Elite Series season. In all, 19 different anglers have won the title. This year, there will almost certainly be a new champion. Here, Bo Dowden and Larry Nixon congratulate Roland Martin on one of his nine AOY titles.

Bass fishing's first superstar

In 1970, Bill Dance became the first AOY winner. He also won in 1974 and 1977. In the first few years of B.A.S.S. competition, Dance was the dominant force, winning seven events and rarely finishing out of the money.

I'll take two ... or more

Roland Martin earned the most AOY titles with nine. Kevin VanDam is second with seven, including a record four in a row (2008-11). Bill Dance and Mark Davis have won three each. Guido Hibdon (pictured here flanked by former B.A.S.S. Tournament Director Dewey Kendrick, left, and B.A.S.S. founder Ray Scott, right), Davy Hite, Jimmy Houston, Gary Klein and Larry Nixon have each won twice.

The ultimate season

Only Mark Davis (1995) and Kevin VanDam (2010 and 2011) have won AOY and the Bassmaster Classic in the same season. Davis (pictured here with Ray Scott) accomplished the sweep first, and most fans of the sport regard winning both titles in the same season as the ultimate achievement.

... and, if elected ...

The youngest AOY in history was Kevin VanDam. He was 24 years, 7 months and 3 days old when he won in 1992. If Ott DeFoe wins this year, he'll become the second youngest AOY ever at 26.

The not-quite-over-the-hill gang

The oldest AOY in history was Roland Martin. He was 45 years, 2 months and 18 days old when he won in 1985. For several seasons, the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year trophy was named for the "Great American Fisherman." Martin and Guido Hibdon hold the top four spots for oldest AOY. Kevin VanDam is fifth; he was nearly 44 years old when he won in 2011.

Clunn is more than just Classics

Rick Clunn holds the record for finishing in the top 25 of the AOY race the most times. He's done it 29 times in his career, including a record 28 in a row (1974-2001). He also has the most Top 10 finishes with 22.

Top 5 is where it's at

Larry Nixon has the record for most top five finishes in AOY history with 15. Kevin VanDam has a chance to tie that mark in 2012.

It's in the stars

If you believe the AOY race is influenced by the stars, you may be interested to know that 16 of the trophies went to Libras, but no Scorpio has ever won. Roland Martin, who won nine AOYs, was (naturally) a Pisces. This year's main contenders are Brent Chapman (Cancer), Ott DeFoe (Virgo) and Todd Faircloth (Leo). Michael Iaconelli (pictured here) is the lone Gemini to win.

You can't be on the short list without an AOY

In the ESPN Greatest Angler Debate of 2005, all 10 finalists had won at least one AOY title, and most had several. Jay Yelas, the 2003 AOY pictured here, finished 10th.

AOY or the Classic?

Of the 11 anglers who have won both AOY and the Bassmaster Classic, most agree that the Classic does more for their career (and their bank account), but that AOY means more to them personally and to their peers. Skeet Reese was AOY in 2007 and Classic champ in 2009.

Decade, but not decayed

Jimmy Houston has the record for longest stretch between AOY titles. He won his first in 1976 and his second 10 years later. You have to kiss a lot of bass to win AOY.

Almost the youngest

Gary Klein almost won an AOY title at 21 years of age in 1979. Roland Martin edged him out on the final day of the season. Klein went on to win AOY in 1989 and 1993.

Who says a rookie can't win?

Few pros introduce themselves to the sport with the authority that Tim Horton showed in 2000. He won AOY as a rookie that year.

Winning the hard way

In 2004, Gerald Swindle became the first AOY to win the title without first winning a B.A.S.S. tournament. In 2011, he notched his first win at a Bassmaster Open on the Kissimmee Chain in Florida.

Lucky what?!

Two-time AOY (1997 and 2002) Davy Hite credited his first title to a pair of lucky underwear that he wore for much of the season.

What if he didn't retire?

In his B.A.S.S. career, two-time Classic champ and 1983 AOY Hank Parker never ranked worse than 13th in the AOY race, retiring before he was 40 years old.

Naturally consistent

Aaron Martens, the 2005 AOY, has finished in the top 25 of the AOY race every year since 2004. That's the longest active streak out there. After a slow start in 2012, "The Natural" caught fire and has worked his way up to 13th in the standings, so he should be safe for another year.

Crankin' em out

In the early 1990s, the "Fritts Blitz" dominated the Bassmaster Tournament Trail as North Carolina's David Fritts won the Classic (1993) and AOY (1994) in back-to-back seasons.

Better with age

Perhaps no other pro in B.A.S.S. history has been as timeless as Denny Brauer. He won eight tournaments in his 40s, four in his 50s, and he continues to win in his 60s. He was "just" 38 when he won AOY in 1987. The average AOY is just under 36 years old.

#12 - Greg Hackney

Twelve anglers still have a mathematical chance to win AOY in 2012. The list starts with Greg Hackney in 12th place. All the stars would have to align for him to win since he'd need to leapfrog over 11 others to do it, but it is possible. Hackney's best AOY finish came as a rookie in 2004 when he was the runner-up to Gerald Swindle.

#11 - David Walker

David Walker would be much higher in the standings except for a disastrous finish on the Mississippi River, where he was 92nd. His best run at AOY came in 2000 when he was 10th.

#10 - Dean Rojas

Dean Rojas has finished in the Top 10 in the AOY race three different times, including a fifth place finish in 2006. He's already made the cut to the Top 12 in four tournaments this year, but poor finishes at Okeechobee and Bull Shoals have him 10th going into Oneida.

#9 - Edwin Evers

After back-to-back runner-up seasons in the AOY race, Edwin Evers has slipped a bit in 2012, but he's still clearly one of the very best and most versatile anglers in the business. He's been solid all year long and sits in ninth place going into the season finale.

#8 - Randy Howell

After leading the AOY race early in the season, Randy Howell has slipped to eighth after missing cuts at Toledo Bend and Lake Michigan. Still, the Alabaman is on pace for his fifth finish in the Top 10 of the AOY race and is one of the most consistently successful anglers on tour.

#7 Kevin VanDam

The seven-time AOY would like nothing more than to add another trophy to his legend this year, but it doesn't appear to be in the cards. Expect Kevin VanDam to leave it all on the water at Oneida, but without a top five finish and lots of breaks, his streak of consecutive AOYs will end at four.

#6 - Matt Herren

This is far and away Matt Herren's best year in the Elite Series. After missing the Bassmaster Classic in 2012, he's come on with a vengeance, posting five finishes in the top 30 and putting himself in sixth place heading to Oneida.

#5 - Bill Lowen

"The Turtle" is proving that slow and steady gets the job done even if it doesn't always win the race. Bill Lowen hasn't missed a payday all year and is having the best season of his Elite career. He still has a shot at AOY, too, but some of the hares ahead of him are going to have to stumble or nap.

#4 - Terry Scroggins

If not for a 92nd-place finish at Bull Shoals, this could be a very different AOY race for Terry Scroggins. Other than that, his worst finish all year was 21st at Douglas Lake. Big Show has posted four previous Top 10 AOY finishes in his career, including a third place in 2005.

#3 - Todd Faircloth

Todd Faircloth ranks third in the 2012 AOY race coming into the finale on Oneida Lake. In 2008, he led AOY going into the final event — also on Oneida that year — when disaster struck. He finished 93rd in that tournament and ended the year in second place behind Kevin VanDam. It began a record string of four AOYs for VanDam.

#2 - Ott DeFoe

In Bassmaster Rookie of the Year history, no ROY has ever posted a better sophomore season than his rookie season. That looks to change in 2012 because last year's ROY, Ott DeFoe, is making a run at the big prize. DeFoe was fourth in last year's race and is second coming into the season finale. He's been nothing short of remarkable in his two seasons on tour, missing a payday just once in 15 events.

#1 - Brent Chapman

Brent Chapman has led the way in the AOY race for much of 2012 and controls his own destiny as the season comes to a close at Oneida Lake. If he's in the Top 12 on Sunday, no one can catch him. If he's worse than that, DeFoe, Faircloth and perhaps even a couple of other anglers still have a chance. His best previous AOY finish was eighth in 2007.

Want more AOY history? Check out our video: A Look Back — 39 Years of Angler of the Year.