Ever since I was in grade school, the Bassmaster Classic was the the pinnacle of bass fishing to me. It was everything. I dreamed of hoisting the Ray Scott trophy over my head. I will always remember watching the video of Takahiro Omori catching his Classic winning fish on repeat for hours. It was my obsession for a good few years. Erik and I would always wake up to watch the Elite Series events live on TV on Saturday morning. Professional bass fish was my sole focus in this world.
Fast forward 12 years, Erik and I were having one of our weekly Tuesday meetings, and Erik came up with a wild idea. What if we took a day off of work, and drove down to Oklahoma, and watched the Classic on Grand Lake O the Cherokees. I'm always down for an adventure, so naturally I said yes. We booked our campsite that night and made our plans. (Pro tip: camping is usually a tenth of a cost of a hotel, and it's usually more fun) We made these plans several months in advance, and I honestly forgot about it for a while.
Once we got closer to April, every time I saw Erik, I'd say, "I'm excited for the Classic in a few weeks." The hype slowly built as we got closer. I had no idea what to expect, having never been a professional fishing tournament.
The day came for us to finally leave for Oklahoma. Erik, our cousin Jordan, and I hoped in the Jeep at 5 AM and went on our way. We stopped by Roaring River State Park to catch our dinner for the night. Arriving at the campsite at about 9:30 with our fresh fish, we set up camp and got to cooking. There may have been a few drink involved as well.
Saturday morning came around after a cold night in the tent, and we started our day off with watching Austin Felix fish a marina in Disney, Oklahoma near the dam. After that we made the hour drive to Tulsa for the Classic Expo. If you like fishing stuff, the Classic Expo is absolute heaven. Every big brand in the fishing space was there. Most booths gave out free stickers, koozies, hats, or even beer. It was cool to see all the new products released at the Expo, as well as the the Expo exclusive release colors. I learned that you better bring a lot of money for the expo because there will be one in a lifetime deals from some vendors and it can get expensive real quick. I bought a Kistler Chromium 8.1:1 baitcaster for $100 which is $200 off MSRP. I walked 10,000 steps at the expo alone. Many of the pros who were not fishing the classic work at various booths. We got to meet many of these pros including Rick Clunn, Seth Fieder, Jordan Lee, and Mike Iaconelli.
After the Expo, we caught the weigh in across the street at the BOK Center. The Classic weigh in is by far the coolest sporting event I've ever been to. BASS does such a good job of putting on the event and making it special. You can tell that they put a great amount of thought to all the details. We had more fun at the Expo and the weigh in than we've had at any event. Oh, by the way, the weigh in and the Expo were both free to attend.
Sunday morning rolled around, and we woke up early to watch the Top 25 Take Off. There was magic in the air that seemingly swirled around in the wind, This was a day that all these guys dreamed of since they were kids. You could almost cut the excitement with a knife. One by one, the names were called as the boats went by to start off their final day of the Classic.
We bank fished a couple spots around the lake during the day while we waited for the doors to open for the final weigh in. One of the spots we fished on the Arkansas River wasn't the nicest part of the town to say the least. After our run in with tent city, we found our seats in the lower bowl of the BOK Center. To start off was the College Classic weigh ins. All of those college guys are absolute sticks. Congrats to Tyler Cory and Scott Sledge on Montevallo University.
Next up was the top 25. Nineteen anglers took the stage, weighed their fish, and thanked their sponsors. Now it was time for the Super Six. BASS plays this amazing video with Dream On playing by Aerosmith. The video really sets the tone for what's to come next. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. All six anglers make a lap around the arena and then take to the stage. After a dominate weekend, Justin Hamner took home the trophy with 58 lbs 3 oz. I encourage you to go watch the press conferences and the weigh in videos. They'll be linked at the bottom of the post. They're something special, and Justin Hamner's story is absolutely incredible.
As a final recap, I want to say. the Classic is something everyone should go to at least once in their life. It was truly an unbelievable experience. There is no better sporting event that is FREE to attend. The Expo is amazing, the weigh in is amazing, everything was amazing. Next year's Classic will be at Lake Lay Roberts in Fort Worth Texas, from March 21-23. Hopefully some of you will be able to make. I promise the trip will be worth it.
- Paul Hoffman
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