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Competitors find Surprises,
Cramped Quarters on Red River for 2009 Bassmaster Classic Practice
 Feb.
19, 2009 - SHREVEPORT - BOSSIER CITY, La. Low water
levels again challenged the 51 Bassmaster Classic competitors
Wednesday as the full field participated in one day of official
practice for the big event, set for Feb. 20-22 on the Red River
.
Friday will be the first day of competition for
the 51-angler field and BASS will kick off the fishing season
when BASS founder Ray Scott will ceremoniously throw out the
first cast from reigning Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the
Year Kevin VanDam's boat kicking off the fishing season and the
Classic.
"Definitely the warmest day we've had, even
with the wind," said Bobby Lane of Lakeland , Fla. , who
finished third in the 2008 Bassmaster Classic on South Carolina
's Lake Hartwell . And with a wry smile he added, "It's
a tournament coming, though, so naturally a cold front is coming
through."
Saturday's forecast includes dropping temperatures
expected to hover in the 50s during competition, which likely
will mix things up and slow things down on the water for Day
Two.
The field, which includes Kim Bain-Moore, the 2008
Toyota Tundra Women's Bassmaster Tour Angler of the Year and
the first woman in history to compete in the prestigious Bassmaster
Classic, also had three days of pre-practice this past Friday,
Saturday and Sunday. At that point, several anglers were surprised
by what the river had to offer.
"It wasn't at all what I expected," said
Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo , Mich. , a two-time Classic winner
and the 2008 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year. "It
seemed to be fishing real small."
It is possible that the river fished small throughout
the pre-practice because it was the first time all 51 qualifiers
were on the Red River at the same time. Being the experts they
are, the anglers quickly zeroed in on the richest spots.
"There's fish to be caught, and plenty of
areas to fish," said Lane. "It's just the trying to
get into them. It takes so long to get in there, because you
have to idle. That's the mind game."
Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., a Classic competitor
and a fellow Bassmaster Elite Series pro, said he figures that
the 2009 Classic competition will be played out in five or six
areas.
"Everybody's finding the same fish - I expected
that," Martens said.
Lane agreed: "The winner won't be by himself
every day, he's going to have company.
"So you just hope that you have the bigger
bites, and try not to get in each other's way. You know you're
bumping around these stumps and then the fish don't bite."
According to Bassmaster Elite Series pro Mark Burgess
of Norton , Mass. , the low water levels have prompted a few
Classic contenders not including Lane to park their
fiberglass rigs for the Classic in favor of aluminum boats. While
they're slower, the aluminum boats with jet engines are more
easily maneuvered into the shallows of the Red River .
"They're a lot lighter and it allows them
to just slide into places where a fiberglass boat wouldn't,"
said Burgess, who is attending the Classic but not competing.
"They're going a lot of places where they're running over
a lot of wood. They can push those boats up over it, where you
wouldn't be able to do that with a fiberglass boat."
Burgess added that the anglers with aluminum boats
likely will stay in Pool 5 because of the lack of speed. "They
can't make a monster run, and they don't have the fuel capacity,"
he said. "But with that boat, they could have areas to themselves."
Lane said an overall winning weight of 50 to 60
pounds isn't out of the question for the Classic.
"The average fish right now is about 3 to
3 12 pounds," he said. "I'd say 13 to 15 a day, definitely,
just to make the top 25. If you catch five, I think they're going
to weigh at least 12 to 14 pounds."
Will there be a lot of flipping, as is expected
at this time of year on the Red?
"Absolutely," Lane said. "And I
love it. I'm going to be about 85 percent flipping and the rest,
probably spinnerbait. I've had bites every day, some real nice,
quality fish in the 4- to 5-pound range. But how many other people
have found those same groups of fish is what we're going to have
to find out Friday."
The public is invited and encouraged to come to
Shreveport-Bossier City to witness the crowning of the 2009 Classic
champion, who'll claim a first-place prize of $500,000 on Sunday.
The total Classic payout is $1.2 million.
Launches presented by the Red River Waterway Commission
are set for 7:15 a.m. CT, Feb. 20-22, at the Red River South
Marina, Highway 71 South in Bossier City . The daily weigh-ins
will be at the CenturyTel Center , 2000 CenturyTel Center Drive
, Bossier City . CenturyTel's doors will open at 3:30 p.m. CT,
except on Saturday, Feb. 21, when a free concert by Zac Brown
Band will begin at 3 p.m. CT.
The 2009 Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo presented
by Dick's Sporting Goods will be at the Shreveport Convention
Center, 400 Caddo St. Hours will be Friday, noon-9 p.m. CT; Saturday,
10 a.m.-7 p.m. CT; and Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. CT.
All events are free and open to the public.
ESPN2, ESPN360.com and Bassmaster.com, as well
as ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike in the Morning, will provide
extensive coverage of the three-day competition. Schedules are
posted at www.Bassmaster.com.
Bassmaster Classic Sponsors: Toyota , Berkley ,
Booyah Baits, Evan Williams Bourbon, Mercury, OPTIMA Batteries,
Skeeter Boats and Yamaha Outboards.
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