I’m going to the BassMasters Classic in Greenville, South Carolina and Lake Hartwell this week – as a media observer. Way back in 1983 in almost qualified to fish the Classic through the federation and going as an observer is a far cry from fishing it, but I went last year and had fun.

The Classic is the biggest tournament in bass fishing each year. It is often called the Superbowl of bass fishing. Last year I was quoted in Sports Illustrated saying “the Suprebowl should be called the Basssmasters Classic of football!” It is that big, and the winner can expect to earn over one million dollars during the next year in sponsorships and endorsements.

On Wednesday I will ride with one of the pros during the final practice day. I am a little worried since the weather guessers say the high will be 37 with a chance of rain, but it gives me the chance to see first-hand how the pros try to find fish and figure out how to catch them.

Thursday is media day and I will have lunch with the pros – me and about 150 other media representatives. After lunch the pros will be at their boats to do interviews. Last year one question I asked was “What advice would you give to a young fisherman wanting to be a bass pro?” The results of those interviews are in an article I wrote in this month’s Georgia Outdoor News.

Friday is the first day of the tournament and while the pros are fishing there will be a huge outdoor show at the TD Convention Center in Greenville. There will be dozens of vendors there, ranging from boat companies to lure manufacturers. And many of them will have special discounts on their products. The show will run all three days, Friday through Sunday, and it is free.

The weigh-in each day will be at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena and is also free. Live weigh-ins will be streamed on the internet so you can watch from home. And there will be a live blog each day of fishing from on-the-water observers as well as streaming video of the pros fishing, all at http://bassmasters.com.

The show and weigh-ins in Greenville are a little over three hours from Griffin. It would be a fun trip to go to the show and see some of the weigh-ins in person.