Bassmaster Classic Now Underway
Mike Bolton 02.24.12
Almost 50 of the world’s top bass anglers are now on the water on the Red River near Shreveport, La. as the first day of the Bassmaster Classic is underway.
The 49 anglers will fish for three days in hopes of winning the $500,000 first-place prize and the title of world champion of bass fishing.
If the Classic is supposed to be challenging Mother Nature has provided the script this time. Temperatures in the area hit a near-record 80 degrees on Thursday but this morning the temperature had plummeted to 46 with a 25 mph north wind. The anglers are expected to see temperatures around 36 degrees when they launch Saturday morning.
The Red River is living up to its name, too. An estimated 98 percent of the river is choked by extremely muddy water. “In some fisheries you want muddy water,” Mike Iaconelli told Bassmaster.com. “Here it’s the kiss of death.”
Early reports on Friday morning showed that Classic angler Randy Howell of Springville, Ala. Caught a quick limit of five small fish and had 9 pounds in his livewell.
Many of the anglers headed directly to Shaw Lake, an area where Skeet Reese won the 2009 Classic in 2009. Many of the anglers tested that area on the final practice day on Wednesday.
Favorites in the event include four-time Classic winner Kevin VanDam and four-time Classic runnerup Aaron Martens.
Mike Bolton, 56, served as the outdoors writer for the Birmingham News for 25 years until his retirement in 2009. He won the AP Sweepstakes Award for best sports story in Alabama on eight occasions and his stories on the Cahaba River were nominated for a Pulitizer Prize. He has also contributed to Sporting Classics, Bassmaster Magazine, Buckmasters Magazine and other national pubications.
