Bill Dance is one of the top tournament fisherman of all time and one of the originals! His shows demonstrate how to catch fish and, obviously, promote equipment. If you don't like the format, don't watch it, it's that simple. Catching big bass on his ponds is "for show", but that wasn't the case during his tournament days.

Something most people don't know, Bill still fishes catfish tournaments and wins! His partner, James "Big Catfish" Patterson, and he have won three (?) of the last five Mississippi River Championships held here in Memphis. This man can still fish.

8-)

The poster has posted about 5 times in the past year.

His first post since January is asking whether Bill Dance is a cheater.

:

Let's see...

Bill has been involved in some form with the profession and or business of bass angling for 40 years.

He's had his own TV show for around 35 of those.

He's got a bunch of high paying sponsors who pay him a dear amount of money for his name to endorse their products.

How much would Mr. Dance get if he had ever been caught cheating?

Would Mr. Dance even have a TV show today if he had ever been caught cheating?

Incredibly stupid question really.

THIS IS WHY I POSTED MY REPLY THANKS MR.CARP 7

For those who are too young to be familiar with Mr. Dance's bass fishing exploits, here's a summary I found and copied directly from the site listed below.

Tournament Information: 23 National Bass Titles; Bassmaster Classic Qualifier 8 out of 9 years and finished 2nd in 1973. Three time B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year - 1970, 1974 & 1977. Of 78 total B.A.S.S. entries, finished 64 times in the money. 7 wins, 8 times runner up, 6 third place, 40 top ten finishes (51% of tournaments entered) and 51 top 20 finishes (65%). In first 11 tournaments, was only out of the top 7 once. Won 7 of the first 17 events entered (41%).

Retired from competition in 1980 at the age of 39.

Credited with catching the first bass in B.A.S.S. history.

Credited with popularizing the "Carolina Rig".

If you want to read more, go the the following link:  http://www.countryhams.com/dance.htm.

Bill is the real deal.

Hey Fellas; Anyone here anything about Mid South Angler cheating in high school?

  That's funny! I think this thread is about to be done.

An ex-furniture salesman, Bill Dance was the "first" super-hero of tournament bass fishing.

The humble beginnings of tournament fishing, could alone fill a book.

Some of the younger fellows would die laughing if they could see the boats,

motors and fishing tackle that were used during the 1967 All-American Tournament.

Bill set lifetime records that will never be bested, he overshadowed his competition by such an embarrassing margin

that he became a legend in his own time. Most people today never even heard of Ray Mursky or M.J. Waktkins,

the second and third best anglers during Bill's reign.

No, Bill was never a cheat, and though it's immaterial, Bill never had to cheat.

Roger

Hey Rolo: What about Al Linder and Tom Mann, were they as competitive as Mr.Dance?

Hey Rolo: What about Al Linder and Tom Mann, were they as competitive as Mr.Dance?

For that matter, Ray Mursky and M.J. Watkins were just as competitive as Mr. Dance, they just didn't win as often as Bill

Thanks I do not get too much into the BASS thing, but some fellas have been inspirational along the way.

Is it true he got caught cheating while fishing professionally? got a bet with a guy here at work. Please provide as much info as you have

Thanks

Well it seems like you are the only one to hear this rumor.

Did you win or loose ?

Oh buy the way , what grape-vine did you hear this goofy rumor ?

Probablly the same place this 100% the truth was from, this was posted last Feb.

Big Industry News!!!

02/28/07 at 5:19pm     I have this info and am certain it is true!!!

1. Wal-Mart IS quitting the fishing/tackle business.

2.Johnny Morris of Bass Pro fame IS Buying Gander Mountain

3. Johnny Morris IS buying B.A.S.S.

This is NOT internet babble but hard facts thru an indrustry insider.

Unless I just missed it, I have not seen the Johnny Morris news on BassResource.com yet.

As for bashing pro anglers - that's not what this site is about. Let's keep it positive and focus on the great things this sport is about.  

I agree 100%

But bashing and making fun of someone for asking a question,Is that what this site is about :-/

Hey Turtle: If you click on a guys Avatar , his page profile page comes up, the you can go to the bottom and click last 50 posts. Go look at what his posts are all about and how many this year were to keep brining this crap up, then post your question about making fun of someones posts.

Bill Dance is one of the top tournament fisherman of all time and one of the originals! His shows demonstrate how to catch fish and, obviously, promote equipment. If you don't like the format, don't watch it, it's that simple. Catching big bass on his ponds is "for show", but that wasn't the case during his tournament days.

Something most people don't know, Bill still fishes catfish tournaments and wins! His partner, James "Big Catfish" Patterson, and he have won three (?) of the last five Mississippi River Championships held here in Memphis. This man can still fish.

8-)

A trained monkey could fish a catfish tourny with James Patterson and win, I don't think I give Bill any credit for this...

As for him cheating, nope I don't think he ever has, reading everyones post i am guessing they don't either.  In-fact I am not real sure how you could cheat, short of having a diver hook the fish to your line, and uhhhmmm I don't think he has done that.  It is a shame that his show is the way it is, because I believe the man is still a great bass fisherman, it's just unfortunate that we don't get to see it anymore.

Hey Turtle: If you click on a guys Avatar , his page profile page comes up, the you can go to the bottom and click last 50 posts. Go look at what his posts are all about and how many this year were to keep brining this crap up, then post your question about making fun of someones posts.

Hey Muddy took your advice read all 21 posts,and to be quite honest I still dont get it.Maybe I am missing something or maybe you shoud read his posts.Unless you where talking about things like this

quote author=73786A426972426F746D6D74734271746D6E1D0 link=1149773602/0#0 date=1149773602]The board is a wealth of information, and I thank you for that. I have been reading for a couple weeks-and have already learned enough to outfish my partners I have been going with.

Quick question- recently started using soft plastics and have had a couple 1-1.5 lb bass swallow the hook far enough that it is really difficult to remove from their throat. Obviously-I may be waiting too long to set the hook but, when I haven't waited, I miss. Please advise.

Followup- Since there is the possibility of this happening...what is the best way to remove the hook without killing the bass? Can you cut the hook off and make it easier?

Once again, thank you for your infomation and you guys seem to be just like most fishemen I know- Class acts

-

He has a total of 21 posts, five of them have been about wheter Mr Dance has cheated or not? So 24% of his contributions here have been questioning a man of integrity.

   Look I started a thread about totals of professional fisherman, i did not understand how good these fellas actully are. A guy here, that he and I dont see eye to eye asked for specific names. I was wrong in posting the question in the first place I asked the mods to eliminate the thread and never brought it up again. When you do something wrong or something that can question another mans rep, you apologize, make the needed ammends and go on with your life, Beating a dead horse to death, at the expence of another man's reputation is wrong. Unless there is some kind of a specific instance or actual occurance it is wrong and boders n malicious gossip.

Let's stop the criticism about the other member.  It is NOT what this site is about.

Let's stop the criticism about the other member. It is NOT what this site is about.

OK BOSS POINT TAKEN

Might I humbly suggest that in the future these types of threads not be allowed unless some sort of back-up can be provided for the question. The simple fact is that everyone on here knows that Bill Dance was never caught cheating. I think the question was not in line at all with what this forum is about. Had the question been stated I read in x magazine that so and so was caught cheating. Now that would be a legitimate question open for discussion. Muddy I admire your fire. There is too much of this rumor mongering going on in all parts of life. It is hard enough for the truth to come out without people just spewing random garbage.

I think Bill Dance is a good ol' boy ! .......he just needs to quit messing around with all those little ol' 8 lb private pond bass, and come to Cali to catch some "BIG" ones  ;-)

Fish

if i was in his shoes i would fish the same place he does. has to be a lot less work filming the shows. which means more time to play.

I think Bill is a straight up guy and one great fisherman !

Ive grown up watching Bill, and think he is a class act. Im also a sucker for the products he sells or is part of, but I guess thats ok because the majority of them work.

Would somebody put this baby to bed ?

One last post.  I owe Bill Dance a debt of gratitude.  My son was watching him on TV when he was 5 and started begging me to take him fishing.  I did and we've been fishing together ever since.  That was in 1987.  Bill's not the only TV fisherman he watched but he cetainly had an influence on my son, and it was a good influence.  I wonder how many other kids he got hooked on fishing?