When I think of the Bassmaster Classic, the first thing that comes to mind is that anyone who has ever fished competitively at all, fished any kind of tournament, they wish they could fish the Classic just once. It’s the Super Bowl of our sport, the granddaddy of them all.
Having the Classic coming to Lake Hartwell this month has gotten me thinking about this tournament I love so much — and that I have been lucky enough to win.
The first time I attended a Bassmasters Classic was in 1986, the one that Charlie Reed won. I was a spectator. A friend and I took my boat and his truck, and we went to Chattanooga, put in and watched our heroes — Roland Martin, Guido Hibdon, Hank Parker and Larry Nixon. I can remember watching Larry Nixon fish, and I was in awe just to be on the same body of water as those guys. I was dreaming that I’d have a chance to fish the Classic, to maybe get through the Federation somehow and make it.
In 1993, I fished my first season on the Bassmaster trail and qualified for the Classic through the open tournaments. That was the Classic that David Fritts won on Lake Logan Martin out of Birmingham. I can remember that nobody followed me. I was sitting there fishing one day, and I saw 30 or 40 spectator boats following Denny Brauer, thinking about what it would be like to have that happen.
A few years later, when we went back to Birmingham, I had 41 boats follow me to my first fishing spot one day. I thought, “You’d better watch what you ask for, because it might come true.” But you know, that wasn’t so bad at all.
I have won both the FLW Tour Championship and the Classic; I consider myself very blessed to have won both. Both of them are very prestigious tournaments, and I thank the Lord for that opportunity. It’s like any kid who’s ever played rec league football wanting to play in the Super Bowl.
Being in the Classic is just overwhelming, all the things that happen that week — dinners every night and spending eight hours being interviewed on media day. That first year, I was as guilty as anybody of trying to act like Mr. Cool. I’d say, “I’ve been in big tournaments; I’ve fished big tournaments.” But to fish in the Classic is like nothing else — it’s like no tournament you’ve ever fished. It’s overwhelming; it’s everything you think it might be and more.
I hope that Casey Ashley of Donalds, who is fishing in his first Classic, won’t be too overwhelmed. He should have an advantage because of his knowledge of the lake, but it being his first time, it will be an eye-opener for him. And being a local fisherman, he’ll attract a lot more attention and have a lot more spectator boats following him. But it would be awesome if he or Todd Auten won the Classic in their home state.
Several people have asked me how I think the Classic will play out on Hartwell. You’ve got some of the best fishermen in the world there. I’m looking for fish to be caught. Obviously, Mother Nature will dictate whether it’s phenomenal or just average. We could have 80-degree weather that week — or we could have 20-degree weather.
Hartwell is a good lake, a big lake, and the fishermen will have enough room to spread out. Most of these guys are real good fishermen, but I think the guys who are power fishermen will have a better chance to win than the finesse guys. Casey Ashley is more of a power fisherman; Kevin Van Dam is a good power fisherman. There are lots of good power fishermen out there, guys who can cover a lot of water and find a good pattern to fish.
If the weather is good, I think it will take a lot of weight to win, maybe in the low-50s for three days. I think a fisherman will have to have a 20-pound stringer at least one day — maybe two — and then another stringer in the teens.
I don’t think you’ll find anybody getting a 20-pound stringer all three days. It’s hard to be that consistent, and you’ve got a short fishing day. You’re not starting until 7:30 and you’ve got to be in around 2. That’s a lot shorter than we usually fish. It will be hard to catch ‘em that well with the short day and all the distractions the fishermen will have.
Now, if we have extremely cold weather, it won’t take that much to win, and spotted bass will play a larger role. I don’t think you can win with a whole stringer of spots, but you could have nice spots and maybe a nice largemouth or two and win in cold weather. If the weather is nice, it will take a big stringer of largemouth every day.
And bringing a big stringer into that big arena, riding around in the boat, that’s just amazing. It’s something I’ll cherish for a long time.
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