Naming the best is a tough call. Walker was undoubtedly the innovator, taking fishing forward 50 years in the 20 he was at his best, but he didn't do it alone; Fred J and Stoney were catalysts. Lenny Middleton and Kev Maddocks deserve an MBE for devising the hair rig. Chris Yates deserves credit for reminding all the number-crunchers what fishing should be about. The best carp angler ever, in my view, is Rod Hutchinson. The roll call is endless; Hugh Falkus, best thinking sea-trout angler ever; best rainbow trout angler was Brian Leadbetter - he was a fishing machine; best match angler must be Kevin Ashurst for longevity, Bob Nudd for achievement and being a nice bloke; the most talented matchman I've ever seen, though, is Steve Gardener.
Then there are the blokes who've 'done their bit' for popularising angling; Steady Wilson, Matt Hayes, Mick Brown and the piking pirate Gord Burton - Gord kept lure fishing alive when everyone else had lost faith, never ceasing to remind us of both the mysteries of fishing, and of how marvellous he thinks he is!
Richard mentions Terry Lampard, and we shouldn't forget the man who partnered him for years, Tim Norman. Top chaps. Neville Fickling's among the best pikers ever - the Steve Davis of fishing, a bit deadpan but gets the job done. What about ET? HOW many thirties? And Dennis Pye, and Barrie Rickards...
I'm too knackered to go on. But Graham's right - it's **** Walker, the most miserable bastard fishing has ever known, but capable of cutting through the myth, thinking laterally and coming up with solutions. He changed everything, from rod technology to legering; he taught anglers to think.