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Grove City, OH –
Gary Klein's newly earned record is bittersweet.
The good news is that he's about to fish his 26th Bassmaster Classic. The bad news is that he's yet to taste victory in fishing's biggest event. At Hartwell he'll pass Roland Martin for the most Classic appearances without a win.
"It's not a bad title to have, but I'm not going to hang a shingle advertising it on my wall," he said.
But he believes that victory will happen and the "only way to win is to be in the game," so in that respect he welcomes rather than dreads next month's event.
"Ask (my wife) Jana. Once the Toho tournament was over, I was already thinking about Hartwell so I'd be prepared in advance. I was excited because I'd never fished it before. If you look back at my career, I always do better on new bodies of water."
He spent six days on the lake immediately prior to the mid-December cutoff, and characterized himself as "very pleased" with his practice period.
"Now I understand what those fish do. Not that I slaughtered them by any means, but I caught quality fish. Good quality spotted bass and some nice largemouths, too. Nice four and a half pound chunks. I could have pushed the issue and caught more, but I was there to learn, not to fish."
Like much of his competition, he predicted that it would take upper teens each day to claim the winner's trophy. "As good as everyone is now, there will be quite a few 13 to 14 pound limits and 20 plus wouldn't surprise me. One thing that will happen, and I experienced it, is that the opportunity will present itself to have 16 one day, 16 the next day, and then catch a 22 pound stringer in six casts. If it does happen, it's history."
He envisions a closely-fought contest in which the top five going into Sunday are separated by no more than a couple of pounds, and feels that in that case he might have an advantage over less seasoned anglers who've tasted only limited Classic competition.
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"I'm there to do one thing and that's to maximize the efficiency of my day on the water. Now that I'm not wrapped up in emotion anymore, it's actually easier to fish," he said.
Ater three decades as a full-time touring pro, he still relishes both the competition and the time on the water: "Even if I wasn't competing, I would still fish just as much. I'm going to fish X days whether I'm a tournament angler or not. So if I fish 180 days a year, it might as well be in tournaments. I keep myself motivated because I enjoy the competition. I take it day by day, fish by fish. I never get up thinking I have to catch 28 pounds. I'm just looking for my first bite, then my second bite. I'm constantly adjusting and re-evaluating."
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He's been close to Classic victory before. At the Ohio River, he actually had the winning fish in his livewell, but couldn't get through the lock on time. Doesn't the apparent hole in his otherwise stellar resume gnaw at him?
"If I retired today I would still feel satisfied with my career," he said. "I've been very fortunate to accomplish what I have. Look at the history of the Classics. Kevin VanDam has a streak of 18 or whatever. I've done that. To qualify for 26 and never win, that's never been done. Only Clunn is ahead of me (in total Classic appearances)."
He's also proud of his contributions to the history and development of the sport and feels that his versatility gives him a leg up, even against today's virtual robo-anglers.
"I'm one of, if not the most, versatile anglers around. From shallow to deep, from light to heavy. I created a lot of it, from flipping to light line. When I won in 1985 on Lanier, I did it with spinning tackle and 6 lb. line. When I won in 1988 at Bull Shoals, I caught my fish out of 45 to 60 feet of water. Anglers started to take notice."
On the opposite end of the fishing spectrum, he was one of the early adapters of the now-standard flipping technique. "Dee Thomas was just like my father. He raised me with a 12 foot true dipping stick. I still talk to him on a weekly basis."
"In 1979, I brought it back from the west coast. Dave Gliebe had already been here for two years. I won the second BASS tournament that I fished and I led the Angler of the Year race all year but Roland beat me out in the last tournament by one pound, four ounces. I kept seven flipping sticks in my rod locker all year. I knew that bite existed somewhere and that it would be unmolested if I found it. That enabled me to compete with Jimmy Houston and Rick Clunn."
Other than his eventual second place finish in that year's AOY race, his one other disappointment was at the Classic. He led the tournament after the first day, but loaned a flipping stick to Hank Parker, who used it to win the crown.
Given his high level of versatility, does he feel a particular set of conditions will enable him to win at Hartwell and claim the title that has eluded him?
"I hope the weather stays cold and miserable. I would love to see water temperatures in the 40s, although they'll probably be in the low 50s. But the more miserable the weather, the happier I'll be."
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