Tears welled in Bill Dance’s eyes as a sold out crowd at the ICAST State of the Industry Breakfast presented by Huk watched a story of his life fly by on a video board. Moments later, Bass Pro Shops owner Johnny Morris and comedian Steve Harvey ushered the most prolific television host in the history of sportfishing on stage to accept the 2026 American Sportfishing Association Impact Award in front of nearly 700 industry peers. Mr. Harvey was honored with the inaugural Impact Award in 2025.
Dance, 85, first exploded onto the national sportfishing scene in the 1960s during the rise of Ray Scott’s Bassmaster tournament series. Dance was famously the first angler to ever catch a bass in a B.A.S.S. tournament (in June of 1967 on Arkansas’ Beaver Lake) and went on to become one of the winningest tournament anglers of all time before stepping away from competitive fishing to focus on an educational television program, Bill Dance Outdoors.
The show has been in syndication ever since. And Dance is credited with teaching an unknown mass of anglers how to fish. “When the story of bass fishing is written, Bill Dance won’t just have a page,” said the video. “Bill Dance will have a book.”
At ICAST, the sold out crowd seemed to rise to the occasion as a man with a lifetime of trophies and awards appeared genuinely moved by the recognition. Dance shared memories from a lifelong friendship with Morris, laughs with Harvey and brought up one of his youngest fishing buddies—childhood cancer survivor Rett—to share the spotlight.
“I learned a long time ago that fishing is not about the fish you catch, but about the friends you make along the way,” echoed Dance, visibly moved by the experience.
Following the Industry Breakfast, keynote speaker Marcus Sheridan followed Dance and company to the first ever ICAST Live! presented by Florida’s Coastal Corridor on the show floor at 10:00 a.m. There, attendees who couldn’t attend the sold out breakfast event took their turn paying homage to an industry icon during an industry panel that put Dance, Morris and Harvey alongside Kevin VanDam.
Missed the segment? Want to revisit what you learned from this or other ICAST Live! sessions from today? No worries – ICAST Live! is streaming on ASA’s YouTube Channel all week long, and a recording of each session is available at the end of every day.
The energy from the morning’s events carried out into the crowd as hundreds of booths bristled with handshakes, introductions and business deals promising to move the sportfishing industry forward through the next year.
“ICAST is so great to connect with dealers,” said Buzbe owner Caleb Sutton. “When we come to the show, it’s not only about exposure but it’s also about making a connection with dealers as well. We can connect with existing dealers and they get to see our new products. We are also connecting with new dealers as well.”
That sentiment was echoed by Ryan Grubbs, National Account Manager for Star brite, Inc. “We have designed meeting places for buyers to come and see the products in person. They can sit down with us, touch the products and really map out a game plan for what the year is going to look like and how we are going to grow our businesses together.”
