Winter 2026
page 64
®
and Nina Wood, Randy Hopper, Don Lee, Denny Brauer and the rest of Ranger’s leadership, Pace walked into the Ranger meeting, asked for Grover, and invited him to the Champion factory. Grover left with him.
On the drive, Doty called to tell him Ranger had canceled Anglers Marine, comparing the rivalry to the Hatfields and McCoys. Grover told him not to worry; he believed they could sell more Champions anyway. Doty said those who dropped them would “pay the price.”
They did. Anglers Marine became the number-one Champion dealer for 21 straight years, selling what Grover describes as “an absolute ton” of Champions on the West Coast.
After years of steady growth, the company declined around 2001–2002, was bought out of bankruptcy, and, as Grover describes, was effectively shut down,
Throughout all of this, Anglers Marine stayed exclusively with Mercury. “We’ve only ever been a Mercury dealer, said Grover regarding his strong sense of loyalty.
BACK TO RANGER: A RELATIONSHIP REBUILT
Seeing Champion’s decline coming, Grover started planning ahead. At the 2002 Bassmaster Classic in New Orleans, where all major boat brands had full displays, he sat down with Don Lee, Randy Hopper, and new Ranger rep Keith Tripp.
According to Grover, they told him the biggest mistake they ever made was getting rid of Anglers Marine, because he had “made them pay on the West Coast.”
Anglers Marine became a Ranger dealer again. Grover liked that Ranger’s factory felt like Champion’s: a family atmosphere where he could walk through the plant, throw on safety
glasses, and talk to employees. He says Ranger remains that way today. Since returning to Ranger, he says Anglers Marine has continued to appear in Ranger’s top 10 dealers.
BUILDING
A BUSINESS
ON
PEOPLE,
BRANDS,
AND
SERVICE
Grover
repeatedly brings the story back to people. He points to the next generations of Grovers, Kyle and Cody Grover with Kyle both selling boats and fishing at a high level. He jokes that, like the line in The Natural about wanting a son to be a ballplayer, he “just wanted his kid to be a bass pro,” and says he believes Kyle is “the best in the West” in current standings.
He also credits long-term employees Bill Donaleski, who worked for him for 15 years and, Grover says, “knows the boat business really well, Joe Uribe Jr., who worked there for 17 years, former service manager Jordan Witt, who retired and moved to Colorado after 28 years, his current service manager John Demonet and current sales manager Mark Hamann, whom Grover calls “the best in the business as far as I’m concerned.”
On the product side, he lists the lines they carry, including what he calls “the world’s number one selling runabout line,” along with Tracker, Sun Tracker, Ranger, Triton, and Nitro, and notes that when you add up the White River Marine brands on the bass boat side, they still account
for roughly 68–70%
of bass boats sold
today between
Ranger, Triton, and
Nitro.
Service is a core identity piece. Grover says Anglers Marine battles every year to win Mercury’s service CSI award, and he believes they have won it “like 16 or 17 straight years,” calling that “a giant deal.”
He adds that they are the only dealer in California