Posted February 25th, 2007 11:51pm CST

Boyd Duckett Wins the 2007 Bassmaster Classic 

Story by Brent Conway and  Dru Smith

Birmingham, AL – Just like the heavy thunderstorm that passed through the Birmingham area overnight, the 37th Bassmaster Classic is over. The day’s forecasted clouds and rain eroded into a pipedream for some during the morning’s launch process as the sun popped out bright and clear. The wind, which switched from non-existent to noticeable early in the day, held promise to be a factor for the 25 anglers who made the cut…good or bad.

It’s all over now. There’s no more guessing what it’s going to take, there’s no more speculation on the “where” and “how” involved, and it’s no longer up for grabs as to who the winner will be. Kevin VanDam came into the day with a slight lead – only nine ounces over Skeet Reese, but as everyone knows anytime KVD has the lead headed down the stretch he’s hard to beat.

It’s been possibly since Roland Martin was at the top of his game in the ‘70’s that professional bass-fishing has had an angler who is as dominant as VanDam. Every tournament is literally anyone’s to win, but, to a man, each angler would agree that if VanDam gets hot during a tournament…look out!

When the clouds rolled in Saturday, VanDam was able to overcome a limit that was lighter than he’d hoped for by covering miles of water in route to the comeback that almost everyone, subconsciously, expected. The routine was much the same Sunday, but the weight didn’t pile up in his livewells as they did the day before. Ultimately, what he brought to the stage wasn’t enough to seal the deal.

Sunday, there wasn’t a hint of controversy, there was no bad weather – aside from a little wind, and for all watching they witnessed the reason why ours is such a great sport. 

Federation Nation angler Terry McWilliams took the hot seat early with a stout bag. The fish he brought to the stage weren’t nearly as impressive as his enthusiasm and emotions towards the sport he represents. “It was the most emotional day I’ve had on the water in my life,” he said.

Third place Sunday belonged to Kevin VanDam, whose three-day combined weight totaled 45-4, but Sunday’s limit weighing 12-5, brought him up just over three-pounds shy of his third Classic crown. 

Finishing his first Classic in fourth was Federation Nation angler Terry McWilliams, from Greenfield, IN. McWilliams brought the day’s second-heaviest limit, 17-6, to the scales boosting his three-day total weight to 45-3. 

In fifth after all the dust had settled was Gary Klein. He ended the tournament with a limit each day giving him a total weight of 44-5. Sunday’s limit, which weighed 15-10, secured a top five finish, but unfortunately did little more as it just wasn’t enough to make up the ground he needed.

The remainder of the top 10 looked like this:

6. Kevin Wirth 15 41-4
7. Terry Scroggins 15 39-9
8. Steve Kennedy 15 38-5
9. Jason Quinn 15 38-1
10. Dean Rojas 15 37-13

THE CLASSIC CHAMP: Boyd Duckett
Boyd Duckett wasn’t on anyone’s list of favorites to win the Classic, that’s for sure. Russ Lane was the “homeboy” that showed up on everyone’s radar. Boyd, however, jumped into the lead on the first day and, save a slight bobble (which was only a six-pounder shy of setting this thing on it’s ear), he almost walked away with the trophy on Saturday.

“I’m not even known as the best Alabama angler on Lay Lake. Russ Lane has beaten me here several times, but I know this lake.”

Boyd fished an orange and brown rattle trap off and on all week to amass his winning weight. “I had found some deep crankbait fish – like eight or nine feet,” he said. “They left that area after practice, but I found them again. I thought that I could probably catch 13 or 14 pounds a day, but I knew that I would have to be moving around to do it“

Boyd said that he was on a big-fish bite. That’s a pretty benign statement to make when you weigh an eight-pound largemouth on the first day. He failed to back it up the second day and settled into fourth. “I really felt like I need two or three big fish to win,” he said.

“I never got that, but when I got those big bites they were really big. I did miss two good ones Saturday, but I just stuck with it. It was working, so I stayed with it.”

During the press conference, Boyd was as cool as a cucumber, but when asked to describe his emotions he left no doubt that his win was significant. “I won the Bassmaster Classic,” he exclaimed. “It’s every angler’s dream. If you get into this game…all you want to do is compete in this. To win the Classic is enormous.”

Ultimately, Duckett is going to fish the Elites – it’s been a goal that he’s maintained since he started the Opens in 2002. He did concede to the fact that while he’s the Classic champ, it’s business as usual (at least until Amistad) . “I’ll probably be in the office tomorrow afternoon,” he said, “after I go to the bank, that is.”

Second Place: Skeet Reese
Skeet went way up river for the week…and it paid off. Were it not for a few lost fish and one break-off, things might have been different. As it was, he knew that the limit he had in his live well was a good one, and hoped that it would be enough. “As soon as I saw that weight flash up, I knew I was done,” he said referring to Duckett’s stringer. 

“When I pulled the bag out of the boat I thought that I may have more weight that what I thought.”

He flipped a mat red Berkley Power Chigger almost exclusively all week. “The current was key, but it was weird too,” he said. “Everyday it was like there was a different feeding cycle. Sometimes the fish were positioned on the up-stream side of the structure and other times they were in the middle of the cover.” 

There were only a few opportunities Skeet had to pull in front of Duckett, but ultimately he was able to muster a second-place finish. Skeet learned more about the cover, the current, and his quarry all week…and used it to his advantage. “You could catch them on the same type of cover – and I don’t know if the fish are always there and they just wouldn’t bite, or if they move up and fed, or what,” he said. “I didn’t really know how they position themselves on the river.” 

So, the proverbial question is: “What would you do differently?” Response, outside of the first day…not much.

“The first day I broke one off and lost a couple big ones. I think I could have had over 18 pounds the first day, which was the difference in winning,” he said with disappointment in his voice. “Overall, I can’t complain though. I had a great tournament…I just have to live with second-place now.”

Third Place: Kevin VanDam
The one thing Kevin said he needed on Sunday was overcast skies…not to be. Unfortunately for Kevin, the weather did not cooperate. Bright skies greeted Kevin as he entered the last day of the ’07 Classic and his chances of winning a history making third Classic title evaporated with the cloud cover. “In low light situations, the fish stay on the outside edge of the grass,” Kevin revealed. 

Kevin is smart enough not to give up on the fish even when they change their habits. “I went right back to what was working,” he explained. “I caught what I could today, it just wasn’t enough.” 

Fourth Place: Terry McWilliams
McWilliams, a former State Trooper, came to the Classic as a Federation Nation qualifier. No one gave him a chance to do anything other than have a decent showing. The showing that he had was better by far than decent – he came close to being only the second amateur angler in the history of the event to win. “I had a wonderful time out there today,” McWilliams said. “It was probably one of the most emotional days I’ve had fishing.”

“In this event you have to put together a solid three days of fishing.” 

McWilliams flipped a tube in the grass to get the majority of his fish through out the tournament. “I caught all but one fish this week on what is called a Stupid Tube,” he said. “It is a tube rigged on a Bite-Me jig head. It is the rig that got me here and I stuck with it all week. 

“These fish were in the rocks and behind the structure. This setup comes through the cover real well.”

McWilliams was up the river and, as a result of his amateur status, didn’t have a lot of company along a commonly known community hole. His kicker came in the first five minutes of the tournament…unfortunately it was a striper. “I focused on an area of the lake that had current flowing all the time,” he said. “I came in this morning and they were just eating. I thought I would be able to really have a great day with my first bite of the day, but it was the wrong species.”

McWilliams made an enormous statement with his fourth-place showing – the talent pool is extremely deep in the Federation Nation. “I had a great tournament,” he said. “The week that I’ve had, and the way that I’ve been treated, was just awesome.”

Final Standings

CLICK HERE TO COMMENT ON THIS STORY