Bass fishing legend Ken Cook to bid farewell
Oklahoman who won 1991 Bassmaster will retire at end of season
ED GODFREY, Outdoors Editor
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Published: June 28, 2009
Ken Cook, the last Oklahoman to win the Bassmaster Classic, is retiring from the Bassmaster Elite Series after this season. Cook won the Bassmaster Classic in 1991 and has 34 career top-10 finishes. (Photo by ESPN Communications)
Like any aging athlete, there comes a time when even a pro bass fisherman knows it’s time to quit.
For
Oklahoma pro
Ken Cook, that time is here. Only one tournament remains during the regular season of the Bassmaster Elite Series.
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→1991 Bassmaster Classic Champion
→Career BASS earnings: $802,943
→First place finishes: Six
→Top 10 finishes: 34
→Top 20 finishes: 68
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The August tournament on New York’s Oneida Lake will be the former Bassmaster Classic champion’s final event on BASS’ highest level of competition, barring a miracle and somehow Cook qualifies for the 2010 Bassmaster Classic through the Northern Opens.
In the world of pro bass fishing, Cook’s retirement from the Bassmaster Elite Series is akin to
Mickey Mantle hanging up the pinstripes.
"Ken Cook brought a level of professionalism to bass angling that had been badly needed in the early ’80s,” said
James Hall, editor of Bassmaster Magazine.
"He wasn’t just an angler, but a fisheries biologist who was a competitive bass fisherman. His background and immediate success (Cook won the 1980 Chapter Championship, his first BASS event) opened the eyes of many.
"His 1991 Classic victory got the attention of all the rest.”
Cook won the 1991 Classic on a gold-bladed spinnerbait with white, chartreuse and blue skirt that he designed.
Winning the Bassmaster Classic is a life-changing event for a bass angler.
Cook still has fishing sponsors today because of that victory.
He was able to buy his beloved Tarbone Ranch in the
Wichita Mountains near Meers because of it.
Tommy Biffle of Wagoner can make an argument as the best pro angler ever from Oklahoma.
Biffle has won more money and finished in the top 10 more times than Cook, but the Bassmaster Classic championship has always eluded him.
Twice, Biffle finished second on pro bass fishing’s largest stage. But nobody remembers who finished second.
For Cook, winning the Classic "sealed his fate as one of the sport’s best,” Hall said.
Cook didn’t win another BASS tournament after his Classic title and hasn’t been competitive in recent years on the tour.
The aches and pains of a 62-year-old man doesn’t make it easy to focus on tournament fishing.
"The closer it gets the more I realize it’s the right thing to do,” Cook said of his decision to quit the Elite Series after this season.
"I’ve had a good run. When you start thinking about how bad your knees hurt, it’s hard to start thinking about how to get another bite.”
Cook said he may continue to fish the Opens or on the new
Professional Anglers Association trail, but he will not return to the BASS Elite Series.
"I am stopping fishing tournaments for a living,” he said.
Cook’s legacy in pro bass fishing will not be just that he won a Classic. The former state Wildlife Department biologist from Wilburton also has been a great ambassador for the sport.
Other Classic champions have retired from the sport with less fanfare.
BASS is planning to celebrate Cook’s career with stories on its Web site and its television show in the near future.
"Throughout his career, Cook made the average fisherman realize there was more to catching fish than simply casting at a likely spot,” Hall said.
"Through the pages of Bassmaster and other publications, Cook explained the science behind bass fishing.
"A champion, consummate professional and teacher to those wanting to better understand his sport. That is how I believe most will remember Ken Cook.”
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