A LOOK BACK AT THE 2009 RED RIVER CLASSIC

Moore, OK – With the first day of competition at the Bassmaster Classic just four days away, The BASS ZONE takes a look back at the major storylines that unfolded when the Bassmaster Classic last visited Louisiana’s Red River in 2009:

MEDIA DAY (Originally posted February 19th, 2009) 

Shreveport, LA – 2/19/09 - It’s a little early to call it just yet, but from what the players have stated, this could be “the” Classic that people talk about for years to come. Over the last several days, the talk surrounding the Bassmaster Classic has gotten a little smaller. During Thursday’s Media Day, many of the competitors reduced their estimates on the total weight that it will take to raise the trophy come Sunday. There was also a buzz regarding the potential for on-the-water confrontations, with the Red River fishing smaller than expected.

Regarding anger management, everyone agrees that the Red River will fish extremely small this week. While there are a handful of pros who have found that special one-off pattern that no one else has discovered, for the most part there are only a few areas where the tournament can be won…and most everyone has found them.

The deciding factor could be who stays close to “home” by fishing in Pool 5, and who gambles, trying to flee the crowds, and ventures south in to Pool 4. Some competitors may even head all the way into Pool 3 where they’re certain to find warmer water – given that they’re nearly 100 miles further south and less traffic – but is the risk worth the reward?

DAY ONE (Originally Posted February 20, 2009)

Duckett Eyeing the Weather
As a self-described river rat, Boyd explained that he’d located two strong areas during practice. However, come Friday’s start, due to the weather, his fish had pulled out to deeper water. “The fished changed some on me and it took me most of the morning to find them again,” he confessed.

“I thought that they probably would, but after I made some adjustments I was able to find them again. I think that in a river like this, the fish are really a lot more susceptible to temperature changes. It’s the same way back home. You just have to find them everyday.”

Fralick Relaxed
Fishing his second Classic, Fralick explained that he was pleasantly surprised with the change to his fish since practice, where he explained that the “big bites were one here and one there.” However, in the opening round, the South Dakota pro revealed that “everything came out of a 200-yard” stretch of bank. It happened a little quicker than I thought.”

Fralick is confident that his secluded flat will continually replenish. “It’s the same area that I fished in 2001, and it produced the best tournament day I’ve ever had then,” he said. “The fish are in areas where they want to be, so they’ll just keep coming in there.”

Fred Junking
In his second Classic, Oklahoma pro Fred Roumbanis has put himself within striking distance of the leader – though he confesses that it wasn’t an easy day on the river. “I tried to enjoy every minute of the day, but I had everything working against me,” he said.

Fred admitted that his trolling motor is “on 100 all day long,” but he explained that it’s just how he fishes. “As the tournament progresses, I’ll start to slow down,” he said. “But right now I’m wide open, and I’m catching them several ways doing completely different things. Every 20 yards of bank will give you something different to fish, so it’s just a junk-fisherman’s paradise.”

DAY ONE STANDINGS
1 Boyd Duckett 5 20- 3
2 Jami Fralick 5 19- 3
3 Fred Roumbanis 5 18- 4
4 Aaron Martens 5 18- 1
5 Terry Fitzpatrick 5 18- 0
6 Scott Rook 5 17-11
7 Dave Wolak 5 17- 6
8 Edwin Evers 5 17- 0
9 Randy Howell 5 16- 3
10 Dean Rojas 5 15-13

DAY TWO (Originally posted February 21, 2009)

Fralick Fishing Comfortable
Coming into his third Classic, Jami Fralick felt good about his chances, commenting that the Red is “comfortable” for him. He’s proven that comfort can carry you a long way in a tournament - that and some quality bites.

Though the weather changed, his bite didn’t. With a near-mirror image of his Day One weight, Fralick once again sacked them. Still he’s sure that, just like Saturday, there will be some big bags brought to the scales amid another passing front. “Someone will weigh 20 pounds or better tomorrow,” he expressed…and he’s hoping that it’s him.

I just try to keep everything on a pretty even keel,” Jami added. “I must be pretty simple minded because I haven’t approached this tournament any differently than I have any other. I’m comfortable where I’m at and doing what I’m doing, and things really couldn’t be working any better for me right now.”

Skeet’s Day Exceeded His Expectations
In typical Skeet Reese fashion, he’s in the hunt for a tournament victory. Fortunately, he was able to make a key adjustment and had a spectacular day on the Red River. “Today I had an amazing day,” he said. “I had a game plan that I executed, and it paid off for me. It really exceeded my expectations, to be honest.”

The adjustment wasn’t in tackle or presentation, or even his area. It was an “inside move to the pretty stuff,” and it made all the difference. “I made an adjustment today by fishing the right water. I was around it yesterday, but wasn’t quite where I should have been,” he pointed out. “Today I decided to go where it looked like they should be.”

Weather Helps Evers
Fishing his ninth Classic, Edwin Evers has positioned himself to within arm’s reach of claiming victory at the sport’s biggest title. Starting the day in eighth place, he had some ground to make up. Fortunately, the weather seemed to help.

“For me, things were probably a little bit better today than they did yester,” he said, revealing that he had his limit by around 10:00, and culled several times throughout the day. “When that front came through, they really seemed to be munching.”

Making a 45-minute run into Pool 4, Evers is sharing water, though he was quick to point out that he hasn’t had a single problem with a competitor or spectator. “There are a couple of areas that I was saving and hadn’t seen a boat in,” he said.

DAY TWO STANDINGS
1 Jami Fralick 5 19- 3, 5 19- 6, 10 38- 9
2 Skeet Reese 5 15- 8, 5 22- 9, 10 38- 1
3 Edwin Evers 5 17- 0, 5 19- 3, 10 36- 3
4 Kelly Jordon 5 15-10, 5 20- 5, 10 35-15
5 Aaron Martens 5 18- 1, 5 17- 9, 10 35-10
6 Brian Snowden 5 15- 9, 5 19- 4, 10 34-13
7 Dave Wolak 5 17- 6, 5 17- 0, 10 34- 6
8 Mark Davis 5 11-11, 5 22- 7, 10 34- 2
9 Michael Iaconelli 5 15- 5, 5 18-10, 10 33-15
9 Boyd Duckett 5 20- 3, 5 13-12, 10 33-15

DAY THREE (Originally posted February 22, 2009)

1st Place: Skeet Reese
When Boyd Duckett flipped up the kicker to his winning limit in 2007, Skeet Reese was forced into second place. As everyone knows, there is no glory in the Classic unless you win. It looked for a minute during Sunday’s final moments on the water that Skeet was destined to be runner-up to the sport’s biggest trophy yet again.

But history wouldn’t be repeated in Shreveport, and Skeet would not be denied a goal that he’d set for himself. “It’s going to take a few days for this to really set in,” an emotional Skeet told the crowd gathered at the CenturyTel arena.

“After I won the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year title, I set the goal that I was going to win the Classic trophy. I can tell you right now that this grin isn’t going to leave my face for a long time.

“Preparing for this event, I decided to put myself in one or two of the areas that I felt would be key. Once I started fishing, and made the adjustment after Friday, I knew that I had the potential to win in there.”

The change that Skeet refers to was to move a little further inside the areas he was fishing towards the “pretty water” that he felt the fish would be living in. “I realized that the extreme back-end stuff was getting beat up pretty bad, so I opted to stay on the outside rather than getting way back in the junk,” he said. “I pretty much fished my own thing all week, and refined it a little each day.”

2nd Place: Michael Iaconelli
Mike Iaconelli summed up his feelings about finishing second in this year’s Classic in just two short words: “It sucks!”

“It’s pretty hard to come that close and not be able to do it,” he went on to say. “At the same time, this is a sport where you have a long life, so I feel like I’ll have another shot at it.”

Ike caught his last fish of the day with only seconds before he had to begin the 45-minute journey back to the marina. With it, he knew that he’d put himself into the mix. “It’s a great feeling to be able to catch a quality fish on your last cast of the final day of the Classic,” he said.

Staying in the same area all three days of tournament, Ike pointed to losing at least two key bites each of the first two days as his downfall. “The first two days I didn’t execute 100%, and that was the difference,” he said. “I was able to execute flawlessly today.”

Ike explained that the progressively colder air and water temperatures spurred his pre-spawn bass into biting better. “The colder water temperature, the colder water lead these fish to eat a little better,” he pointed out.

“A lot of times in the pre-spawn that colder weather will actually trigger a little better bite. That’s what happened in my area.”

3rd Place: Brian Snowden
Brian Snowden’s day didn’t start the way he’d planned as he lost his lower unit after he’d already locked through into Pool 4. “It was nearly 10:00 before I was able to get into another boat,” he said. “I was finally able to start fishing and fortunately caught a couple of nice ones pretty quick.”

Two lost fish also hampered a slower-than-normal day, which was further complicated by mechanical failure for Snowden. “They were each a couple of pounds, so it wasn’t anything substantial,” he said, “but you hate to have one come off anytime you’re fishing a tournament.”

FINAL STANDINGS
1 Skeet Reese  54-13
2 Michael Iaconelli  54- 2
3 Brian Snowden 52-14
4 Mike McClelland 52- 1
5 Edwin Evers 51- 5
6 Bryan Schmidt 51- 1
7 Kenyon Hill 49-14
8 Jami Fralick 49- 2
9 Aaron Martens 49- 1
10 Kelly Jordon 48-12