Guy Eaker

Guy Eaker, Sr. — Guy Eaker, Sr. is still competitive in the B.A.S.S. OPEN and the Carolina’s Bass Challenge tournaments at the age of 77, proving that fishing is a sport for all ages. He began fishing at the age of four, when his father, Earl Eaker, took him on his first fishing trip. Guy went on tour as a Professional Angler in 1975, making him one of the senior members of the tournament circuit. In 1975 he won the N.C. ABF State tournament, granting him the right to fish in his first National tournament, the ABF Top 400 World Championship in Kissimmee, FL. Guy placed 19th in the championship, caught “big fish”, and won a new boat. Following these winnings, he won the ABF Lake Seminole tournament and won 1977 ABF “Angler of the Year”. In 1980 he won the Hungry Fisherman circuit “Angler of the Year” and in 1994 he won his first National BassMasters’ tournament on Lake Sam Rayburn in Texas.

Over the years, Guy has fished in 341 National tournaments, has placed 177 times in the money, and given over 700 seminars. He qualified for 10 BassMasters’ Classics, 4 ABF Grand Prix Classics, the 2009 PAA Classic, and the 2010 PAA All-star Qualifier. He has fished in over 20 celebrity tournaments, with professional golf and racing icons, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Harry Gant, Michael Waltrip, Payne Stewart, Fuzzy Zoeller, Hal Sutton, and Brad Bryant. He has fished with two former presidents, George Bush and George W Bush. Fishing with both Bush presidents raised over a million dollars to assist in building a church in Pintlala, AL , the home of founder and previous owner of B.A.S.S., Ray Scott. Guy has supported many charities throughout his fishing career. Such as, Special Olympics for Children, United Way of Carolinas, Muscular Dystrophy Association and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Guy has also enjoyed success as a lure designer, has produced many videos on how to fish for bass, and is coauthor, with Steve Price, of the book, Catching Bass Like A Pro. Guy has not only fished in many US fishing circuits, he has fished in other countries. He shot commercials for Abu Garcia in Sweden, fished in Canada and Mexico, and in 2002 he fished in and won Brazil’s first International Peacock tournament on the Amazon River. In 1978, he represented the USA in one of the first International tournaments in Cuba, where Castro welcomed them.

Eaker is a board member and a long-time supporter of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Cherryville (N.C.) Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, the Bass Fishermen Hall of Fame (BFHOF) 2011 and the Gaston Country Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. In recognition of his professional career and his civic contributions, his hometown of Cherryville, NC declared July 4, 1992 as “Guy Eaker Day.”