1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

in a canoe that has never once dried out

You are right about that. My boats stay wet. When I reach them, they're sometimes 1/5th full of water and I begin the morning with bailing, but I don't bail until they're dry, not when bass are a few feet away, so I usually launch with some water and add to that throughout the morning. However, I don't walk through swamps. I walk through the woods to reach swamps.

Thanks for the mention @gim .

My old-timers disease is kicking in hard. Who is it that goes out on night ops in a kayak deep in the Everglades? That's my nomination for king of hardcore. Pythons and gators and moccasins OH MY!!!

@T-Billy I believe that would be Mr. @Zcoker

@king fisher you always share wisdom and catch monsters and you’re hilarious so I’m gonna have to toss your name in the hat - I’d say you have to be pretty obsessed to guide for a living down in Mexico also! Cheers! Keep sharing wisdom and being hilarious and catching Mexican DD bass for us to gawk at!

I will echo all who say @Catt and @WRB-2.0 who over the years I’ve been a part of this community always challenged conventional wisdom and shared their most hard earned wisdom and always encouraged us to find our own fish and forge our own paths - the best advice you can give in fishing and in life, really.

Miss those guys tremendously but it makes me happy to know their spirits are swimming in the waters of California and the waters that border Texas and Louisiana and beyond. Winking from the stars when I feel that tick. We will all be joining them someday - but let’s enjoy every moment of what we have in front of us this year for Tommy and Tom and for ourselves!

I appreciate the folks who’ve been kind enough to mention me here - I humbly do my very best - me vs the fish - and when it works out I humbly do my best to share what I learn and be an ambassador for the sport and encourage the same line of thinking as Catt and WRB did - and it’s because of their wisdom and generosity.

Rest easy Tommy and Tom!

I give another nod to @T-Billy . Crushes bass, crushes musky grinds and grinds and grinds. I don’t know when he sleeps or how he has the energy to keep going.

@A-Jay is a big smallie chaser. Fishing for big fish is a grind. It’s a mindset that only the strong survive in.

@Kayak Koz now that maybe a surprise to some. How I always say he should get a boat (which he should 😂). He grinds it on big water in tournaments. He bites off more than he can chew and finds a way to swallow it. I respect the heck out of that. He’s always tinkering with something to try and improve it.

There are phantoms on here. Post, sometimes show fish but, never show their whole hand. They might not have the glory. They are out there grinding, reeling, and ***.

I’m going under the radar. He’s been doing it for years and his screen name is a name that was given to him by his customers when they used to say; “Here comes the @Jig Man. You may or may not know it but he is always fishing and for me, has always been a great friend on this site

Team9nine

Believe he's honest and I believe he moved to Florida where the fishing is much better from where he left and admits it. He catches bass and crappie. He tells you he's trolling and even on occasion when he's using live bait. No doubt he's very good using artificials, too. Great pics. He's a steady Eddie.

Good Fishing

I appreciate the love @Pat Brown and @thediscochef. I have to wonder if I remember how to tie a palomar right. I’ll get back into the swing of things soon enough.

@TnRiver46 and @Pat Brown probably two of the most avid anglers but I been a little out of touch.

Ma how could I forget @WRB-2.0 @Catt they had so much wisdom and insight. True legends. And @Jig Man hebhas helped me so much it’s not even funny when I started tying my own jigs and has always been there to talk and be knowledgeable

@Swamp Girl has always been full of advice as well. Not only in fishing but in life. One of the many people on here some day I’d love to meet some day

49 minutes ago, Susky River Rat said:

I give another nod to @T-Billy . Crushes bass, crushes musky grinds and grinds and grinds. I don’t know when he sleeps or how he has the energy to keep going.

Thanks. I wasted nearly three decades of my life drunken and drugged. The Lord lifted me up out of that mess I created and gave me a whole new life. I'm doing my best to enjoy the rest of the days he's given me. 😉

1 hour ago, Jar11591 said:

@T-Billy I believe that would be Mr. @Zcoker

Yep. I opologize for my senility @Zcoker . You da man!!! Your adventures in the glades are not for the faint of heart.

37 minutes ago, GreenTrout said:

Team9nine

Believe he's honest and I believe he moved to Florida where the fishing is much better from where he left and admits it.

I believe he's actually in South Carolina now. Left Indiana if I remember correctly.

Went from not fishing in the winter to not fishing in the summer lol

Yep, 2 full years down here (SC). I’ve got so many stories and pics of the lengths we went to to fish open water in IN through the winter under all kinds of crazy conditions - lol - about 25 years worth. I even ice fished bass a few times with good luck…and so many multi species trips I’ve never really posted about over that time - walleye, hybrid stripers, flatheads and channels, bluegill and red ear, white and yellow bass, buffalo…and, of course, crappie 😎 I’ve had a pretty blessed fishing life.

I nominate everyone who's posted above.

@Team9nine and @GreenPig never seem to stop catching fish, therefore they must be trying pretty hard aka hardcore anglers

@bp_fowler and @BrianMDTX taking small boats into public parks/ponds and catching nice fish

But yeah @Zcoker everglades at night???? That’s beyond hardcore

17 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

But yeah @Zcoker everglades at night????

In a kayak of all things!!! That man was born with.......

I am by no means claiming hardcore, but I am on water from Thursday to Sunday evening. And only three days at home. And it is almost every week, unless some accidental occasion like today, I am home because my RV fan hatch was left open while raining, and we got flooded bedroom and needed to come home to dry it out.

3 hours ago, Susky River Rat said:

@Kayak Koz now that maybe a surprise to some. How I always say he should get a boat (which he should 😂). He grinds it on big water in tournaments. He bites off more than he can chew and finds a way to swallow it. I respect the heck out of that. He’s always tinkering with something to try and improve it.

Well, that's completely unexpected, but thank you very much.

I'm in a ridiculous slump right now. Every bit of research and instinct I have is wrong lately. So, if you want me to eliminate water for you on any lake, just ask and I'm happy to oblige 😄

Work schedule, family issues, and a mechanical have derailed most of my fishing since last October. Hopefully that's behind me and I can actually get in some quantity time on the water.

BTW - I almost bought a Lowe boat last fall. I was with the dealer, but just couldn't pull the trigger.

So many hard-core anglers have been mentioned and properly lauded here. I would add @Alex from GA on the list. He is getting out there at an age where I doubt many of us will have the drive to do so.

Other folks who I would call out are @Swamp Girl for getting it done solo and relentlesslyin a canoe. @TnRiver46 for always fishing hard even in miserable conditions s when the bite is tough. @A-Jay for his pursuit of perfection in presentation. @Dwight Norris for chasing big fish. @T-Billy for ardent pursuit of rare monsters. @Pat Brown and @Bluebasser86 demonstrating success through commitment to every aspect of their game. I am sure there are many others worth mentioning as well.

It would be easier to point out who is not hard core on here :)

Probably a member with a super low post count. Why? Because they're fishing, not posting, lol.

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

@Team9nine and @GreenPig never seem to stop catching fish, therefore they must be trying pretty hard aka hardcore anglers

@bp_fowler and @BrianMDTX taking small boats into public parks/ponds and catching nice fish

But yeah @Zcoker everglades at night???? That’s beyond hardcore

Much appreciated, but I haven’t earned the right to mentioned in the same breath as the heavy hitters on this thread.

As to the question at hand I suppose it depends on what you define as hardcore.

@A-Jay highly organized and with great attention to detail in his pursuit of trophy brown bass. Freely shares his methods and ideas in a lengthy treatise. Seriously, if you haven’t already, go read it here https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/211811-brown-bass-tools-~-questions-answers/?do=findComment&comment=2382095

@Swamp Girl stylistically, she’s the angler here on BR I have the most in common with. We both drag a canoe through the wilderness to get to our spots. The difference being while I’m in the prime of life she’s out there doing it having seen many more winters than me. Oh, and she just happens to catch literally thousands of bass in a short season.

@Pat Brown the zen master. Never to high, never to low and always humble. All the while causally slaying giants from the banks of public ponds.

@Team9nine former tournament angler. Has caught quality fish in to totally different regions of the country. Recounts in clinical detail the circumstances of the catch.

@TnRiver46 an angler with a stunning amount of consistency given his diverse style. Most of us lock on to one way or method of fishing. While he gets it done whether it’s from the bank, wading, or a boat.

@Bluebasser86 a honest to goodness tournament angler with the hardware to back up his competitive prowess.

@T-Billy geographically speaking probably the closest BR angler to me. I’ve seen what a grind Muskie fishing can be. If it’s truly the fish of 10,000 casts then he must be clocking over a million casts a year in his relentless pursuit of mean ol’ Mr. Muskellunge.

Obviously this isn’t an all inclusive list. There are many others out there, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention @Catt and @WRB-2.0. Two legends who unfortunately I’ll never be able to thank for how much I learned from them.

My younger self would have competed for the title. My present day self....UH, UH, nope.

@T-Billy fishing for musky? Beyond hardcore. I need to catch something, I can’t do those fruitless trips often, which is why I haven’t caught a musky……

@Tackleholic , you are after those Ozark bass even when it is cold as can be

42 minutes ago, 4n2t0 said:

Probably a member with a super low post count. Why? Because they're fishing, not posting, lol.

I will put @ATA In that company, He just fishes and fishes. ANY SPECIES

You’re so spot on

@Jigfishn10 That's true, I am not posting every fish we catch, because I am sure it is overwhelming, but I always post my special bass or my wife's special fish. Thanks for mentioning.

15 minutes ago, ATA said:

@Jigfishn10 That's true, I am not posting every fish we catch, because I am sure it is overwhelming, but I always post my special bass or my wife's special fish. Thanks for mentioning.

You’re welcome. While you and your wife are making memories fishing it is almost time for me to take a hiatus to do the same with my son.

Have a great season my friend.