The Bassmaster Classic has long been my favorite fishing event to follow but this year’s tournament featured the added weight of many of the competitors possibly making their final appearance. Indeed, 20 of the 25 anglers who made the cut to fish on Sunday have taken their show on the road to the Major League Fishing circuit (including all of the Top 5 in the snip above).

As a result, this year’s event packed a few emotional farewells as longtime Bass competitors said their piece. In addition, animated angler Mike Iaconelli took the opportunity to defy some longtime marching orders from the Bass brass. His antics included tossing his tourney jersey into the crowd before making a successful “stage dive” onto the arms of the fans at stage side (yes, they caught him). A good show all the way around for the record breaking crowd.

A multitude of ways to enjoy the Classic are available as the event unfolds

Now this thing is always an emotional event as it is a life changer for the angler who takes the title. The pressure is palpable as the three biggest days in bass fishing unfold and it is even cooler with today’s technology. The live coverage gives the armchair angler a close up view from anywhere there is internet access. Initially, I kind of thought that the concept would ruin all of the fun and spoil the edge of your seat excitement of the final weigh-in. Not so much, as I took in live on the water coverage, up to the minute blogs, weight updates and webcast weigh ins from the living room, van and even the garage as I did some fishing gear cleanup in preparation for my own 2019 kickoff.

The Basstrakk feature provides unofficial on the water data but still leaves plenty of room for suspense at the weigh-in 

All of this coverage has been a welcome addition for a guy who used to be content with reading about the results a month later when the latest issue of Bassmaster magazine hit the mailbox. Of particular interest is watching the live on the water talks with the anglers and eventually getting the scoop on what, where and how they do their thing.

Now this is pretty cool as the live feed tracks and talks with several anglers as they fish

And 2019 was cool as the techniques featured a very high percentage of power fishing with the likes of crankbaits, spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits and chatterbaits getting it done. So much more my speed than flipping and pitching and great to see that one of my favorites, the spinnerbait, hasn’t been completely lost among some of the pros after all.

Perhaps I invested a bit too much of my weekend in following the Classic but it’s just too hard for this old angler to resist the new types of access.

Finally, I wondered, is it weird to get goosebumps when watching fishing?

Probably not, if you’ve been doing it and watching it since you were a kid.

Probably not, if you’ve had a Bassmaster magazine subscription since 1983.

Probably not, if you pulled the trigger on the Bassmaster lifetime membership in the early 90s once you got a decent job and had a little extra money.

Probably not, if you still appreciate every bite you get and also realize that sometimes you (and even the pros) don’t get bit at all.

I guess that sums it up for this near 52 year-old fisherman who is older than all of the 52 angler field in this year’s Classic (yep, got Kevin Van Dam by just about three months).

Talk to you later. Troy

The Tennessee River out of Knoxville, TN serves as the launch site for the 2019 Bassmaster Classic, March 15-17

Friday kicks off the 49th Bassmaster Classic, no doubt the traditional top dog of bass fishing championships. It’s the equivalent of the Super Bowl or Daytona 500 when it comes to the pinnacle of the pursuit.

But the landscape of professional bass fishing is in the midst of some significant changes with a load of anglers parting ways with the Bassmaster Elite Series and moving on to Major League Fishing. As a result, this year’s Bassmaster Classic is an interesting mix of competitors. While there are various means of punching your ticket to the tourney, for many of the anglers, it may be their last time claiming one of those spots.

I won’t get into the specifics on the exodus but it seems to be a blend of cash and control resulting in a number of longtime Elite Series anglers potentially fishing their final Classic. And I’m talking some legitimate legends of the sport. Names like Kevin VanDam (28th Classic appearance and four-time champ), Mike Iaconelli (20th Classic and 2003 champ), Edwin Evers (18th Classic and 2016 champ), Aaron Martens (20th Classic and four-time runner-up), Skeet Reese (19th Classic and 2009 champ) and Jordan Lee (only his 5th Classic but as the two-time defending champ he is looking for an unprecedented three-peat).

Folks, those are some pretty heavy hitters who are launching on Friday in pursuit of a Classic title via their 2018 Elite Series qualifications while having bid the 2019 Elite Series season farewell. An interesting dynamic in the field of professional bass fishing. Kind of weird for a fishing fan who first started following the Classic back in 1982 when Paul Elias took the title thanks to a crankbait fishing technique called “kneel and reel.”

Lots of Classic memories for me in between so kind of bittersweet seeing a bunch of familiar faces take their show on the road with another organization. It has indeed been a bit odd following the first two events on the Bassmaster Elite Series. I must admit having a few Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid moments in asking “Who are those guys?”

But time marches on and the business of fishing continues to evolve.

For old time’s sake though I’m going to revisit an old bit that I first rolled out while blogging about the 2012 Classic. Here are my picks for the Top 4 finishers in the 2019 Bassmaster Classic, a tourney that will leave a memorable footprint in the history of bass fishing for many reasons.

Fourth Place = Bradley Roy – finishing the 2018 Elite Series in third-place for the Angler of the Year title has this young angler riding high as the Classic comes nearly nine years to the date of his first Elite Series event fished when he was only 19 years old.

Third Place = Jesse Wiggins – just a good guy with a lot of qualities that the regular angler can relate to, a darn good young fisherman who remains humble, hasn’t forgotten his roots and I like to pull for good things to happen to good people.

Second Place = Chris Zaldain – the lone angler among my pics who stuck with the Bassmaster Elite Series, Zaldain is coming off a strong runner-up finish in last month’s Elite event and I look for him to keep rolling in the Classic.

Classic Champion = Ott DeFoe – not really going out on a limb here as the hometown angler is a popular pick and he has proven his mettle with four top 10 Classic finishes in his seven previous appearances.

Come Sunday we’ll see how good of a prognosticator I am and I invite anyone out there to pitch in with your own selections. The Classic field can be found on the Bassmaster website by clicking here.

Good luck and back on Friday with a flashback that features a lake record. Talk to you later. Troy

…eleven months of bassing
ten miles of walking
nine holes of fishing
eight nights of camping,
seven hours of sleeping,
six months of burning,
five pounds of bass,
four kids all fishing,
three weeks of winter,
two Northerner boots,
and one transistor radio.

 

2019 calendar featuring a few potentially important dates in a new fishing year…stay tuned

I have often mentioned my annual bass fishing goal of a March catch to kick off the year and a November catch to end it. Traditional bookends to another year of fishing no matter the results in between.

Got it done in 2018 and then some with a bonus bass before the shortest month of the year gave way to the much anticipated month that harbors the official beginning of spring. Yep, I managed to sneak in a February 27 trip to post my first bass and called it a year right about nine months later with my final catches coming on November 24. I did miss out on an August trip so in the interest of accuracy and honesty I really only caught a bass in nine months of the year.

For 2019 I’m looking to correct that and if the weather cooperates kick it up one more notch with a December bass to end the year. Time and Mother Nature will tell if I can get it done as you never know what the weather holds in store around West Central Illinois. In fact, this year we’d already had over a foot of snow before we even hit this final month.

Of course, there’s also January as a possibility though I am not much for icefishing. However, I do have a youngster, Jayce, who has expressed interest in that potentially frigid pursuit. We even went out and got the needed gear this past February but an earlier than normal thaw left it all sitting in the garage.

We’ll see how it all shakes out as the next year progresses. But first we’ve still got another week of 2018 to go and one more day of Christmas to put a wrap on this series. Talk to you later. Troy

…nine holes of fishing
eight nights of camping,
seven hours of sleeping,
six months of burning,
five pounds of bass,
four kids all fishing,
three weeks of winter,
two Northerner boots,
and one transistor radio.

Kinda looks like a golf course layout but those are fishing holes not fairways

Once upon a time, I used to golf, even lived down the hill and just across the lake from the Lake Bracken course. Took the show on the road many times as well, hitting a couple dozen courses in the region in my “younger” years. Several of those road trips were 36-hole days to make the most of the getaway. A Lick Creek/Quail Meadows combo one day, Indian Bluff/Maple Bluff another day, Baker Park/Arrowhead Country Club another as well as Bunker Links, Laurel Greens, Gibson Woods, Weaver Ridge and so on through the 80s, 90s and early 2000s.

Since then, I’ve picked up my clubs twice in the last 15 years or so. It was fun while it lasted but honestly I’d much rather pack up my fishing gear these days when I get a chance to get away and goof off.

And today’s posting kind of fits the golf theme as the aerial pic of some of my West Central Illinois strip mine stomping grounds kind of resembles a golf course. Quite similar too, in the fact that each fishing hole in the pic has its own personality and set of challenges.

For a number of years, I have also pondered the challenge of seeing how many different fishing holes I can nab a bass from in the course of a day. Well, nine sounded like a solid number for this day of Christmas but there is definitely potential out there for a full round of eighteen. Throw in some other fishing holes in the area and perhaps one of those old 36-hole double headers is certainly within the realm of possibility.

Stay tuned to see if this project actually tees off in 2019.

But first, the tenth day coming at you tomorrow. Talk to you later. Troy

…seven hours of sleeping,
six months of burning,
five pounds of bass,
four kids all fishing,
three weeks of winter,
two Northerner boots,
and one transistor radio.

While there are technically enough hours in my day to consistently afford seven hours of sleep, I don’t always take advantage. Oh, I am definitely tired once about 9:00pm rolls around and all of the young people in the house no longer require any attention. But after being “on” since about 6:00am, it’s time for the nightly struggle of “me” time versus “sleep” time.

It goes in waves but most of the time goofing off (stuff like blogging) wins out over an extra hour or two of sleep. While skipping those few hours I’ve often wondered just where I stand on the recommended sleep scale.

Well, it would appear from the data presented above that I should be in the 7-9 hour range for over another decade before I get to trim the upper end down by an hour.

As such, maybe I’ll start the New Year with a more concerted effort to go to bed a little earlier.

Actually, you know, I think I’ll start a couple weeks early.

   

Good night…and talk to you later. Troy