Bassmasters Classic
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The CITGO Bassmasters Classic is the most prestigious competition in professional bass fishing. It was first held in 1971 in Lake Mead, Nevada.
The event has turned into a three-day spectacle, complete with a theatrical presentation of the weigh-ins and hours of television coverage. The purchase of the Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society (BASS), which organizes the event, by ESPN has increased the Classic's profile.
The field consists of 55 anglers: the top 40 in the season-long BASS standings and 15 regional qualifiers.
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[edit] Rules and procedures
The Bassmaster Classic takes place over three days. All fish are caught under catch-and-release rules, must weigh at least 14 ounces, and must be alive at the time they are presented for weigh-in. There is a cut after the second day, in which only the 25 best anglers, based on total weight, advance to the third day. The highest total weight after three days wins the competition.
Contestants can only fish in specified areas at the competition venue. This is usually a lake, but the 2005 competition was held along the Three Rivers that make up the Pittsburgh area.
[edit] Past winners
- 1971: Bobby Murray, Hot Springs, Arkansas
- 1972: Don Butler, Tulsa, Oklahoma
- 1973: Rayo Breckenridge, Paragould, Arkansas
- 1974: Tommy Martin, Hemphill, Texas
- 1975: Jack Hains, Rayne, Louisiana
- 1976: Rick Clunn, Montgomery, Texas
- 1977: Rick Clunn
- 1978: Bobby Murray
- 1979: Hank Parker, Clover, South Carolina
- 1980: Bo Dowden, Natchitoches, Louisiana
- 1981: Stanley Mitchell, Fitzgerald, Georgia
- 1982: Paul Elias, Laurel, Mississippi
- 1983: Larry Nixon, Hemphill, Texas
- 1984: Rick Clunn
- 1985: Jack Chancellor, Phenix City, Alabama
- 1986: Charlie Reed, Broken Bow, Oklahoma
- 1987: George Cochran, North Little Rock, Arkansas
- 1988: Guido Hibdon, Gravois Mills, Missouri (first winner from outside the South)
- 1989: Hank Parker (had moved to Denver, North Carolina)
- 1990: Rick Clunn
- 1991: Ken Cook, Meeks, Oklahoma
- 1992: Robert Hamilton Jr., Brandon, Mississippi
- 1993: David Fritts, Lexington, North Carolina
- 1994: Bryan Kerchel, Newtown, Connecticut (first winner from the East Coast)
- 1995: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Arkansas
- 1996: George Cochran (had moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas)
- 1997: Dion Hibdon, Stover, Missouri
- 1998: Denny Brauer, Camdenton, Missouri
- 1999: Davy Hite, Prosperity, South Carolina
- 2000: Woo Daves, Spring Grove, Virginia
- 2001: Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Michigan
- 2002: Jay Yelas, Tyler, Texas
- 2003: Michael Iaconelli, Woodbury Heights, New Jersey
- 2004: Takahiro Omori, Emory, Texas (but born in Japan; first foreign-born winner)
- 2005: Kevin VanDam
- 2006: Luke Clausen, Spokane Valley, Washington (first winner from a West Coast state)
[edit] Trivia
- Murray won $10,000 for winning the first event; Clausen won $500,000 in 2006.
- After years of being held in July, the Bassmasters Classic was moved to February in 2006, leaving only nine months between events.
- Michael Iaconelli is the only college-educated winner of this competition; he went to Rowan University.
- First-place money has grown from $10,000 in 1971 to $200,000 in 2006.
- Clausen's total catch of 52 pounds, nine ounces in 2006 is a record.
- The 2007 competition, to be held near Birmingham, Alabama, will include women for the first time. They will compete in a separate event.
- Bryan Kerchel in 1994 was the first BASS Federation member to win the classic. The Federation is an organization of amateur and semi-pro anglers.
