Ken Duke is the Senior Editor of B.A.S.S. Publications and the author of two books on bass fishing, Bass Forever with Glen Lau and The Bass Fishing Vault. You can follow him on Twitter @thinkbass. He lives in Florida.

This is painful. Ranking the very best bass anglers in the world (and that’s what the Bassmaster Elite Series anglers are) is not just difficult and far more subjective than I’d like, it’s actually gut wrenching. I’m lucky to not have any hair; I’d have pulled it all out in the process.

With apologies to all the Elite Series anglers I admire and have followed throughout their careers, if you don’t find your name here or don’t find it as high on the list as you believe you deserve, know that you can move up that ladder. You control your own destiny. As Al Davis, the late owner of the Oakland Raiders used to say, “Just win, baby.”