Bassmaster Classic set to return to Red River
Bass fishing eyes all across America will be focused on Shreveport-Bossier City, La., when 49 of the nation's top bass anglers square off in the Bassmaster Classic on Feb. 24-26 on the Red River.
Considered the Super Bowl of pro bass fishing, the Classic ranks among the sport's premier events. It is certainly among the longest running with a rich history dating back 42 years.
Top qualifiers (36) from the BASS Elite Series trail fill out the bulk of the roster, while the remaining 13 slots are filled by qualifiers from other BASS sanctioned trails who literally fished their hearts out to get there.
Regardess of how you slice it, the 2012 Classic field ranks among the toughest and most experienced in the tournament's history. More than three dozen of the qualifiers have multiple Classic berths under their belts. Six of them -- Denny Brauer, Kevin VanDam, Takahiro Omori, Alton Jones, Mike Iaconelli and Davy Hite -- have won the title at least once.
VanDam, currently the two-time defending champion, has more Classic victories (four) than any angler in the field, and he shares the all-time record with Rick Clunn for the most Bassmaster Classic wins. If VanDam manages to pull off a win at the Red River, he would be the first angler in history to three-peat at the Classic.
Additionally, there are seven former BASS Anglers of the Year on the roster who have accumulated 14 AOY titles between them. VanDam has seven, which is just two shy of the all-time record held by the legendary Roland Martin.
You would think facing off against such a tough field in the big show would be somewhat intimidating for a Classic rookie, but Hemphill pro Andrew Upshaw made the vow several months ago that he wouldn't let the pressure get to him. Upshaw made a little history of his own in July when he became first angler to earn a Bassmaster Classic berth through the collegiate ranks. He sealed the deal after he and Stephen F. Austin State bass club teammate Ryan Watkins of Rockport won the Mercury College Bass National Championship in Little Rock, Ark. The two anglers then squared off in a one-day fish off, and Upshaw edged out Watkins to grab the 2012 Classic berth.
Upshaw has said that he feels good about his chances against some of the biggest guns in bass fishing, largely because he is confident in his abilities and in his familiarity with the tournament waters.
"I have the utmost respect for all those guys," the 25-year-old said. "They are all amazing fishermen, and I know I'm going to have to work 10 times harder than them to even have a shot. But in my eyes, it won't be a competition against them. I'm going to be competing against myself, and I'm going to do my best to represent all the college fishermen to the best of my abilities.
"I won't be going just to show up. I'm going with the all intentions of winning this thing. I have a good feeling about it, too. I think I'll do good."
Upshaw won't be the only angler representing Texas at the upcoming Classic. One other rookie, Tom Jessup of Dalhart, and five Texas veterans with 37 championship appearances between them are scheduled to make the trip including Keith Combs of Huntington, Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Matt Reed of Madisonville, Alton Jones of Waco and Takahiro Omori Emory.
This will be Faircloth's 10th Classic appearance. The Skeeter pro spent a few days checking out the river prior to the off-limits cutoff in December. He says he expects it to fish about the same as it did when California's Skeet Reese won the Classic there in 2009.
"It fished about as big as it possibly could the year Skeet won it," Faircloth said. "The water levels and clarity were good, and I'm guessing it will be in good shape this year too provided we don't get a bunch of rain to get it rolling and muddy things up. If that happens it could pile everybody up in a corner and make the fishing really tough. It is February, and anything is apt to happen with weather this time of year. We'll just have to wait and see and hope for the best."
Spectators are invited to attend daily launches at Red River South Marina and Resort in Bossier City and daily weigh-ins at CenturyLink Center. Additionally, the Bassmaster Outdoor Expo will be held daily from Feb. 24-26 at the Shreveport Convention Center.
For more information on the 2012 Classic, including maps to the host marina, Expo and other facilities, check out bassmaster.com.
Matt Williams' email address is mattwilliams@netdot.com.
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