The Zen Master and I.
Jeremy Anderson reports from the Bassmaster Classic for us. Jeremy is co-owner of Black Dog Baits.
Well, what can I say? The Bassmaster Classic is the most amazing show/tournament I have ever seen.
It is literally awe-striking to see all the professional anglers in one place. Opportunities to meet Hank Parker, Bill Dance, Ray Scott, Rick Clunn and so on abound. These guys are absolutely pleasant to speak with. I felt like a little kid. I got in line for a hot dog and stood next to Paul Elias. I pinched myself several times to make sure I wasn't dreaming.
Meeting other lure manufacturers is always a huge pleasure as well. Grant Koppers from Live Target lures has a beautiful line up of baits and his attention to every aspect of the business is incredible. I picked up some of the crawdad rattle baits, a big 5 inch perch crankbait that runs 12 feet, and a little shad crankbait. The baits scream of quality with a strong Japanese-like inspiration. The finishes are very detailed and executed perfectly. No detail is overlooked from the gill detail all the way to little hairs on the craw rattler. I cant wait to toss these around the river!
Andre Moore of Reaction Innovations has some interesting new designs in the works along with a few colorful stories that put me in tears. He currently is fishing saltwater tournaments for reds and kingfish. Sounds like a fun way to fish that presents a whole new challenge. As usual, his plastic sales were excellent at the show. His following back East is as big or bigger than the West.
Lonnie Stanley and his crew are some of my boyhood heroes. My first jigs were all Stanley jigs I bought from K-Mart. Anybody ever heard of "Hales Craworm"? John Hale is a plastics pioneer from way back. He showed me some new ringed plastic baits with special air pockets to create extra balance and action. The capabilities of these baits are endless. Ken Cheaumont showed me some new jigs and spinnerbaits with some wicked colors. They also had an awesome double frog hook for the ribbits.
I'm not quite sure in 3 days I saw everything there. The new boats were awesome along with the new outboards. The Sho from Yamaha was massive but the 3.2L 300xs stroker from Mercury was love at first sight! WOW!!!!
Baddest motor ever!!!!!!!!!! 3.2 LITER!!!!!!! Yamawhat??????????? Evincrude???????? FAIL
This motor is missing a crown for its regal status.
The Gambler Sterling….. Words cant describe this boat.
Cockpit not console.
New Jaguar. Giant badass cat! Beautiful boat and great people!
Bandit coon. This just made me laugh.
The city was beautiful and oozed old southern charm. I could easily move to Alabama.
The real wow was Kevin VanDam. We are lucky to be able to witness such an unbelievable dominant angler in our lifetime. I'm not sure there will ever be an equal of his. His third classic win along with the angler of the year title. What a stick!