Classic week hectic for fishermen

Published 8:42 am Monday, February 29, 2016

The BASSMaster Classic this weekend on Grand Lakes of the Cherokees is and isn’t like any other bass tournament

It is because it is still a bass tournament. You have to catch fish to win and some is going to win. That is about the similarities.

For those competing in the Classic is a whirlwind week. You can almost become delirious by the fishing because there is never a dull moment.

In the past they had you scheduled all week long. You didn’t have time to come up for air. It has changed these days, but you still have so many fans there, friends there and family. Everyone is tugging on your time. You have to manage that, focus and try to win the tournament.

There is a lot of pressure to perform. Some will wilt under the pressure and some will channel the pressure into a winning performance.

The Classic is a huge deal. Everyone knows that it is the Super Bowl of fishing. Everyone wants to win. Everyone’s goal is to win a Classic at some point.

But if you look at from the standpoint that winning a Classic is going to make your career, that is like shooting yourself in the foot because it is looking ahead. One of my favorite quotes is from a veteran fisherman who said don’t ever catch another fish until you catch the first one. You can have visions of grandeur, but you still have to put them in the boat.

One of the things most people don’t realize about fishing the Classic is how long the days are for the fishermen.

At most of the Classics the host city is a pretty good ways from where fish. This one is a solid hour or two drive from the lake. Right there is two or three hours of you awake day. Then you have to fish. You also have to prepare for the next day, you have some fan stuff to day and if you are leading you have to wait to be interviewed after everyone else weighs in. If get more than five hours of sleep you are lucky or you left the building early.

In the end everyone only remembers the champion. No one remembers second place. I have had some Classics where I did terrible. I took a gamble to try to win and it didn’t work out. If a fisherman does terrible it is probably because they took a gamble. There is some extreme risk taking because it is all about winning the tournament.

The thing you have to remember is that you can’t win it on the first day, but you sure can lose it. When that happens a lot of guys will bow out on the second day and just try to stay out of the other guy’s way.

But the Classic is an awesome event this time of year. Everyone is excited about fishing. It may snow or whatever, but everyone is ready to start fishing, looking at new boats or gear. It is the time of year the water is calling.

This should be a great tournament. Grand Lakes is the best lake in Oklahoma and one of the best we fish. It has been high and off color like most of the lakes around here. It is a great structure lake. The last event I fished there I caught all of my fish deep on crankbaits.

With the way the conditions have been there are going to be a lot of techniques that are not going to work at all, or will be extremely limited. It is pretty much going to be shallow water, power fishing and that is right up Kevin VanDam’s alley. Aaron Martens could also do well with these conditions.

Some local guys like Evan Evers and Jason Christie could also do well, but it is hard to win on your home lake. You have a comfort level that can be good and can be bad.