We all know what Pro Anglers do during the fishing season. But what do they do for Thanksgiving? Do they just keep on fishing right through turkey day? Or do they do what everyone else does? Eat, take a nap and eat some more!

I have the opportunity to frequently speak with several of today’s hottest Professional Anglers and here is what they love most about Thanksgiving.

Kevin VanDam - I asked Kevin what his favorite part of Thanksgiving was and here is how he laughingly replied. “The whitetail rut. It’s deer season man.”

Kelly Jordon – “My favorite part of thanksgiving is being with my family. I also get to eat a lot of turkey and dressing.”

Davy Hite – “The best thing about Thanksgiving is spending time with my family and eating so much that I make myself miserable. Not one particular food either, I like everything. That’s a great time and other than winning a tournament, I don’t know if you could have it much better than spending time with your family and just eating so much you get sick.”

Hank Parker – “Since 1988 I have spent every Thanksgiving in Canada hunting deer. My favorite part of Thanksgiving is trying to kill a big whitetail deer in Saskatchewan.”

Skeet Reese – “My favorite thing at Thanksgiving is deep fried turkey.”

Gerald Swindle – “My mom makes some pretty good chocolate pie. On Thanksgiving, I guess that’s what I like the most. The chocolate pies my mom makes.”

Jay Yelas – “I really like Thanksgiving because it’s just good family time. There also isn’t a lot of commercialism around it like there is with Christmas, it’s just good family time. Usually we get together with family. We are all spread out across the country, so it’s one of the times a year that I get to spend some quality time with my in-laws, my sisters, nieces, and nephews. I don’t really have a favorite food. I like it all. It’s all so good.”

Larry Nixon – “Oh man, you know its sitting down to eat my Thanksgiving dinner. You can count on Thanksgiving morning I will be in a deer stand. I put the turkey on the smoker before daylight, then I go hunt until about 10 O’clock.”

As you can see, it makes no difference if you are the world champion or an average angler, because we are all people that value the same things. Thanksgiving is for the most part celebrated the same and involves a lot of family time. Cherish the time that you have and be thankful that we have a wonderful country to live in.

Have a Safe and Wonderful Thanksgiving