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Greenville, SC.
– The talk is over, now let the casting begin. The 50 Bassmaster Classic Qualifiers spent three hours subjecting themselves to every form of media available at the 2008 Media Day event at the Greenville Hyatt Conference Room; now the waiting is over.
Friday February 22 at 7:15 AM EST will bring the firing of Skeet Reese’s Outboard as he rockets his Champion boat in hopes of Classic immortality. Behind him will be 49 other Elite Series, Bassmaster Open, Federation Nation and Weekend Series Qualifiers all with the same though; to win the Bassmaster Classic and collect the $500,000 first place prize.
Weather conditions in the Greenville area have been taking a turn for the worse over the past week as cold temperatures, freezing rain with the potential of sleet or snow storms increasing. Pre Practice periods of February 12 – 14 had several anglers hoping that the would be able to focus on fishing deep, or fishing shallow, but the current weather conditions could turn those thoughts into nightmares.
The prevalent thought by the time Media Day had commenced was that the angler who eventually hoists the Classic trophy over his head would be an angler who made the fastest adjustments and could capitalize on both deep and shallow patterns.
But as has been proven time after time, this is one of the most talented field of anglers to target black bass, and the eventual outcome will be that more than one of these anglers will figure out a way to bring heavy bags of Lake Hartwell bass to the scales.
The BASS ZONE caught up with several of the competitors at Media Day and got a sense of who is feeling confident, who is still in decision making mode, and who might be feeling that they are still off the mark.
Confidence is King
John Crews: The Salem, Va. Pro said that he is excited about getting started tomorrow, and that he feels confident in what he has found. “I have two main patterns going that I am very comfortable following,” said the four-time Classic qualifier. “I am going to be fishing fairly shallow and covering some water, my plan is to go through numbers of fish and to cull up in weight as the day progresses; I feel pretty confident that I can put solid weights together.”
Edwin Evers: The Talala, Okla. pro told The BASS ZONE that he feels like he has narrowed his plan down after the practice day on Wednesday. “I tried to fish ultra deep yesterday and couldn’t put them together, so I eliminated the thought,” Evers reported. “I am going to be fishing no deeper than 35 feet, covering a lot of water, and will be throwing a jig rod as well as spinning tackle.” He said that 13 to 15 pounds is a fairly confident prediction, but there are better fish in his areas.”
Jeff Kriet: The 38-year-old pro from Ardmore, Okla. feels pretty good about his chances. “This lake really suits my style of fishing,” said Kriet. “I am going to target mid-depth water looking to get them on a spinning rod, but won’t be totally stuck on it.” Kriet said that he would be spending about 50% of his time with light line, and the other half with his heavier gear. “Blue back Herring are going to be key, they could show up and turn a bad day good in a hurry.”
Mike McClelland: The Bella Vista, Ark. pro told the BASS ZONE that he is looking forward to getting started, and that he will be running a couple of patterns, but they are going to be shallower than he anticipated. “I’m not fishing as structure related as I usually do,” the 40-year-old pro said. “I am targeting shallower, stained water and will be moving around in two separate creeks using two or three different approaches.”
Timmy Horton: While he is unsure as to what his most productive pattern was going to be, but he said he was ready to get started. “I’m going to be fishing both deep and shallow on the first day and let the fish tell me which way I need to progress,” Horton said. “I have good water in both areas, but I will be grinding the whole tournament, there won’t be any chance for me to be eating pizza at the dock early on Sunday.”
Awaiting Final Judgment
Boyd Duckett: The defending Classic Champion feels that he has two strong possibilities, and while he said he will be starting shallow, he is going to let how the day starts dictate what he does the rest of the day. “I had some really strong shallow fish going in pre-practice, but I think the weather is going to send me to my backup stuff,” Duckett told The BASS ZONE. “I’ve got some pretty good deep water areas, but am unsure how many fish are there; I’m going to start on my best fish and adjust from there.”
John Murray: The Phoenix pro said that practice has been somewhat hit and miss, but that if the areas he found produce, he could be competitive. “I found some really good deep areas, but am not sure what the how many fish are there,” Murray revealed. “I went shallow on Wednesday and caught two solid keepers on my first two casts, and then only caught two more fish the rest of the day; I’ll see how things go.”
Derek Remitz: Last year’s Toyota Rookie of the Year said that he is still in the hunt mode after the practice rounds, but he also knows that his history shows he fishes well by the seat of his pants. “I am in hero or zero mode this week,” Remitz told The BASS ZONE. “I am going to throw my Omega football jig, because I think it is the best way to get a good bag, but I could also zero pretty easily as well.”
Matthew Sphar: The Alphabet Killer said that he is going to be running dirtier shallow backwater areas, but he also said that the weather was giving him some concern. “The fish in the clearer section of the lake seem to be deep, and I couldn’t do anything there,” Sphar told The BASS ZONE. “I was pretty confident I could average about three pounds per fish until this weather came in; I’ll just have to see what happens tomorrow.”
Off the Beaten Path
Peter Thliveros: While Lake Hartwell seems like it should play right into his hands, Thliveros told The BASS ZONE that he didn’t feel optimistic about his chances. “I’ve not been able to establish anything strong here,” said the Jacksonville, Fla. pro. “All I can do is go out and fish my strengths and see what happens. I found one spot that is decent, but with a late blastoff number, I think I am going to get beat to it, we’ll see what happens.”
Whatever the outlook is, the time for talking is over, it is time to back the boats into the water and set out on a path for greatness. One thing is for sure; one of these anglers will be the 2008 Bassmaster Classic
Champion.
The BASS ZONE
is on location at Lake Hartwell to bring the
viewers all of the details of each day of
the 2008 Bassmaster Classic. The BASS
ZONE will have two boats on the water to
provide frequent updates and exclusive
photos of the anglers in action. Mark
and "The Legend" will also be on
location at The Classic Expo in the Carolina
First Center and will bring you Wide Open
video updates periodically throughout each
competition day. It's all About being
there... Stay Tuned!
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