With two regular season events left, these ten covet a Classic slot
Story
by Pete Robbins
Posted
- June 7th, 12:24am CST
Norman, OK - When the Elite Series season begins, only the crème de la crème of the field has the luxury of assuming that a Bassmaster Classic berth is theirs, no ifs ands or buts.
For the rest of the field – indeed, the vast majority of them – making the Classic is the number one goal. They may engage in a bit of puffery and say that they’ll be satisfied with nothing less than a run at the Angler of the Year title, but when it boils down to it few can say that a Classic berth is guaranteed..
Photos
by Mark Jeffreys & Matt Pangrac
This year is a perfect example. With two regular season tournaments to go, if the season ended today the 37th place man, Brent Chapman, would be the last to qualify through the Elites (although the field may end up dipping a bit further, depending on how the three Open divisions play out). Immediately behind Chapman is a stellar cadre of professional anglers. In fact, of the ten immediately trailing him, seven fished in the 2010 Classic and three have previously won the title. Complicating the race even more, the angler ten spots behind Chapman, Casey Ashley, has only 40 fewer points. Twenty places behind Chapman, 57th place fisherman Randy Howell is only 97 points back.
Chapman himself is less than 200 points outside of the top twelve. The bottom line is that with a quarter of the season left to fish, a lot of movement is possible, or even likely. No one covets upward mobility more than the ten who sit just outside of the cut. The following presents a few facts about them, including their past efforts on the next tour venue and their Classic track record, particularly as it relates to next year’s site:
Late Inning History: After a blistering start to his rookie Elite Series campaign last year, Herren fell a bit at midyear. Over the last two tournaments he held onto his 28th place position but lost the Rookie of the Year race to McCaghren’s late season charge.
Kentucky Lake History: Herren has only fished Kentucky Lake once in BASS competition. He finished 57th in last year’s Elite Series tournament there.
Classic History: Herren has fished the last two Classics, qualifying first out of the Opens and second in his rookie season on the Elite Series.
New Orleans Classics: Herren has not fished a New Orleans Classic.
Miscellaneous: While Herren may have been an Elite Series rookie last year, he had six years of FLW Tour experience under his belt and qualified for that circuit’s championship five times. He finished 84th and 98th in FLW Tour competition on Kentucky Lake in 2003 and 2004, respectively, but earned a 9th place finish there in 2006.
Late Inning History: Niggemeyer has improved his standing over the last two events in two of the last three years, rising three spots (from 29th to 26th) last year and an amazing 23 places (from 67th to 44th) in 2007. The one year he fell was 2008, when he dropped 6 places from 69th to 75th.
Kentucky Lake History: Niggemeyer’s two Elite Series stabs at Kentucky Lake have ended up with him at opposite ends of the standings sheet. In 2008 he finished an admirable 23rd before ending up a disappointing 98th there last year.
Classic History: Niggemeyer fished the 2007 and 2010 Classics, qualifying for the latter through the Elites for the first time in three Elite Series seasons.
New Orleans Classics: Niggemeyer has not fished a New Orleans Classic.
Miscellaneous: While Niggemeyer currently hails from Texas, he’s demonstrated considerable prowess on river systems. He was 7th on the Delta in his native California in March. Last November he came in 10th in the Open on the Atchafalaya a few months after earning the last check on the Mississippi in Iowa.
Late Inning History: In each of the three years he’s fished the Elite Series Duckett has improved his position over the last two events, anywhere from 3 to 18 spots. In each of the last two years he’s been outside of the Classic cut with two tournaments to go and found himself in the field when the regular season ended.
Kentucky Lake History: Despite a long history on Kentucky Lake, Duckett’s BASS finishes there have been a mixed bag. He came in 15th in a 2006 Open there (en route to making the Classic that he won in February 2007). In Elite Series competition he came in 38th in 2008 and 72nd in 2009.
Classic History: Duckett has fished the last four Bassmaster Classics, winning in his first attempt (2007 on Lay Lake. He has qualified every season he’s fished the Elite Series.
New Orleans Classics: Duckett has not fished a New Orleans Classic.
Miscellaneous: Duckett was the 2007 Ultimate Match Fishing Champion on Kentucky Lake.
Late Inning History: In his first year of Elite Series competition McCaghren rose 29 places over the final two events to make the Classic and wrest away the Rookie of the Year title from Herren.
Kentucky Lake History: In last year’s Elite Series tournament on Kentucky Lake, McCaghren finished 63rd. His only other BASS effort there was the 2008 Open, in which he finished 33rd.
Classic History: McCaghren qualified for the 2010 Classic in his rookie season on the Elite Series.
New Orleans Classics: McCaghren has not fished a New Orleans Classic.
Miscellaneous: While it’s unclear whether McCaghren has figured out Kentucky Lake enough to bolster his position in the standings, he’s known as a river rat. He nearly won last year’s event on the upper Mississippi. That bodes well for the final tournament of the year on the Arkansas River.
42. Paul Elias (1113 points, 26 behind Chapman) 2009 Finish: 85th
Late Inning History: Over the past three years, Elias has worsened his position as the results of his last two tournaments. In 2007, when he finished 62nd overall, he dropped only three places. The next year he dropped three places again, but it was from 76th to 79th. Last year he dropped 12 places, all the way down to 85th.
Kentucky Lake History: Elias first fished Kentucky Lake in BASS competition in 1979. His Invitational track record there was mixed – 34th, 9th, 48th and 178th – but in Elite competition he’s been strong the last two times out, 16th last year and 5th in 2008, following up on a 67th place finish in 2006.
Classic History: Elias has 14 Classic berths under his belt but none since 2004 (Lake Wylie) and only two since 1994.
New Orleans Classics: Elias competed in one New Orleans Classic, finishing 9th in 2001. He was 16th in the 2000 Louisiana Top 150 and 103rd in the 1998 Louisiana Top 150, both held on the Delta.
Miscellaneous: At the 2008 slugfest at Falcon, Elias showed that he can still hang with the best when the structure bite is on. Given his two good finishes in the last two Elite Series derbies on Kentucky Lake, can he kneel and reel his way to his first Classic slot since before half of the anglers on this list were fishing at the tour level?
Late Inning History: Over the past three years Tucker has remained within 8 slots of his position over the final two events. In 2008, he improved 3 places, while last year and 2007 he dropped 8 and 2 places, respectively.
Kentucky Lake History: Kentucky Lake has been an albatross for Tucker since the start of the Elite Series. He finished 62nd there in 2006, but suffered 94th and 96th place efforts in 2008 and 2009, respectively.
Classic History: Tucker has competed in seven Classics, including five of the last seven.
New Orleans Classics: Tucker finished 26th in the 1999 Classic held on the Louisiana Delta. He finished 94th in the 2000 Top 150 and 27th in the 1998 Top 150.
Miscellaneous: Tucker ended up in a three-way tie with Jami Fralick and Matt Reed for 37th place last year and made it into the Classic field when Niggemeyer double-qualified. Reed was the odd man out through the BASS tiebreaker system. Tucker would no doubt prefer not to have to wait for someone else’s aid to get into the big dance.
T43. Ish Monroe (1112 points, 27 behind Chapman) 2009 Finish: 79th
Late Inning History: Monroe has fallen over the final two events in two of the last three years, but never by more than 7 places – in 2007 he dropped from 8th to 15th. Conversely, the one year he improved, 2008, he rose from 40th to 31st and thereby made the Classic.
Kentucky Lake History: Monroe has yet to notch a top finish on Kentucky Lake, nor has he had a bomb. He made the money in 2006 and 2008 (43rd and 27th) before falling out of the money last year (70th).
Classic History: Monroe has fished in six Classics. He missed the 2010 Classic, his first absence since 2004.
New Orleans Classics: Monroe came in 54th (out of 61) in the 2003 Classic in New Orleans. His two Top 150 finishes there were equally poor – 113th in 2000 and 132nd in 1998.
Miscellaneous: Monroe is currently in 3rd place in the FLW Tour standings and is thereby on pace to make that circuit’s championship this summer on Georgia’s Lake Lanier.
Late Inning History: This is uncharted territory in Elite Series competition for Eaker. He’s never been fishing for much with two events left. Last year he was 78th and that was the best he’s been with two to go over the past three years. He fell three places last year, two in 2008 and rose four places up to 88th in 2007.
Kentucky Lake History: Despite his long career with BASS, Eaker has only fished Kentucky Lake six times in BASS competition. His best finish was 26th in the 1987 Super Invitational. In Elite Series competition, he finished 61st and 86th in 2006 and 2008, respectively, before squeaking into the money line with a 50th place check last year.
Classic History: Eaker has fished 10 Classics, but none since 1992.
New Orleans Classics: Eaker has not competed in a New Orleans Classic. He finished 36th in the 2000 Top 150 and 84th in the 1998 Top 150.
Miscellaneous: Eaker, having announced that he will retire from BASS competition after this season, is a sentimental favorite. He started off the season with three consecutive checks, including a 3rd place finish at Clear Lake, but hasn’t made the check line in the fourth, fifth or sixth events.
Late Inning History: Once Jones gets established in a range, he seems to stay there. Last year he held at 3rd overall over the final two events. During the same timeframe in 2008 he rose from 6th to 5th. The prior year he rose 7 places from 38th to 31st, thereby qualifying for the 2008 Classic on Hartwell, which he won.
Kentucky Lake History: Jones has made the money in all three Elite Series events on Kentucky Lake. He barely snuck in at 49th in 2006 before turning in strong finishes of 13th and 19th in 2008 and 2009, respectively.
Classic History: Jones has fished 13 Classics, including the past four and 13 of the last 15, missing only in 2005 and 2006. He won the 2008 Classic on Lake Hartwell.
New Orleans Classics: Jones is the only member of this group who fished all three previous New Orleans Classics. He finished 29th in 1999, 40th in 2001 and 7th in 2003. In two Top 150 tournaments on the Louisiana Delta he finished 51st and 67th.
Miscellaneous: Of the four anglers who made last year’s top twelve but are currently outside the Classic cut, Jones is the highest-ranked. Kelly Jordon, Randy Howell and Mark Menendez, 50th, 57th and 59th, respectively, are all within striking range.
Late Inning History: In his three years on the Elite Series, Ashley has never moved more than five places over the final two events. He’s always been inside the Classic cut at this point in the season (30th, 31st and 21st over the past three years) and has never finished worse than 32nd.
Kentucky Lake History: Ashley finished 76th in the Elite Series tournament on Kentucky Lake in 2008 before moving inside the money cut (37th) last year.
Classic History: Ashley has made the Classic through each of his three prior Elite Series seasons.
New Orleans Classics: Ashley has not fished a New Orleans Classic.
Miscellaneous: Ashley finished 19th on the Misssissippi River last year. In his one Louisiana Classic, he came in 13th on the Red River in February of 2009.
