Get Hooked On Fishing At the Bassmaster Classic

Get Hooked On Fishing Will Put Smiles On Faces At Bassmaster Classic

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Hundreds of children will get a first chance to experience the thrill that comes with the feel of a fish on the line during Bassmaster Get Hooked on Fishing presented by Toyota, Shakespeare and TakeMeFishing.org at the 2019 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.

Young anglers and would-be anglers will find that opportunity daily, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. March 15-17, outside the Knoxville Convention Center where the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo presented by DICK’s Sporting Goods will be underway.

“It doesn’t matter where you’re from or who you are, if you’ve never felt a catfish tug on your line it is a thrill,” said organizer David Healy. “The chaos ensues, and the smiles and the taking photos, every time, it’s just a fantastic thing to be a part of.”

A section of World’s Fair Drive, between World’s Fair Park and the Knoxville Convention Center, will become a playground for parents and children outside the Expo Friday through Sunday, and all experiences at the Get Hooked venue are free.

This is the third year for Get Hooked on Fishing at the Classic and an annual highlight always is the catfish pond, where hundreds of aggressive catfish are stocked and just waiting to hit a line and make a child squeal with delight. Knoxville-area B.A.S.S. junior high, high school and college anglers are lined up as volunteers to help youngsters with baiting their hooks, casting and, of course, catching a first fish.

Grownups get to hang back and stand ready to take the pictures.

Get Hooked On Fishing volunteers will give out Shakespeare rod-and-reel combos each day, while supplies last, and Toyota has a build-a-bait station where children can work with volunteers to create their own spinnerbaits with a variety of choices of blades and skirts provided by Strike King. Toyota will also have a spot where kids can learn how to make their first cast and then start to test their accuracy with a bunch of big inflatable largemouth bass as targets. And all youngsters who attend will receive free B.A.S.S. activity books.

Children and parents alike will thrill at the sights and splashes of Eukanuba Super Retriever Series Super Dock dogs sometimes soaring 20 feet or more as the best dog-and-handler teams from around the country compete on the venue.

Kids will also have a chance to Meet the Elites Friday with pro anglers Bill Lowen, Harvey Horne, Brock Mosley, Clark Wendlandt, Jay Yelas, Jesse Tacoronte, Brad Whatley, Keith Combs, Shane Lineberger and Scott Canterbury at the venue.

“It really is designed for parents who have little ones, probably about age 4 to 12 is the ideal age, but anyone can come,” Healy said. “The Expo is so big and busy and full, it’s family focused, too. But it’s cool to have this area that just focuses on the kids, where they can have maybe a 45-minute experience, and it’s all about them and having fun.”

Experienced hands at helping families find their way to the water for fishing and boating adventures, the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF), creators of TakeMeFishing.org, will be on hand with activity books for the kids and lots of information for parents looking for more ways to enjoy the great outdoors.

“We are so excited to welcome the Bassmaster Classic and Get Hooked On Fishing to Knoxville, and share this excitement with our community,” said Kim Bumpas, President of Visit Knoxville. “The partnership between the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission, the City of Knoxville, Knox County, and the state of Tennessee was instrumental in bringing this event to our destination. We hope everyone from the folks who have been fans for decades to the littlest anglers will find ways to enjoy the Classic in Knoxville.”

The Take Me Fishing initiative has introduced thousands of children across the country to fishing and this year RBFF is partnering with B.A.S.S. not only at the Classic but for four more events, the first of which will be the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, May 4-6 at Lake Fork, near Emory, Texas. Three others are to be announced across the country, including one planned for Central Park in New York City, with that date to be announced.

“RBFF has a sterling reputation for their strategy and communication skills when it comes to engaging more people to get involved in recreational fishing,” said Angie Thompson, vice president of sales and director of Get Hooked On Fishing at B.A.S.S. “This aligns perfectly with our goal of exposing more kids to the sport. The outreach through their Vamos a Pescar program will also help us strengthen communication to Hispanic families to welcome them to the fishing family. Together we have a big opportunity to make it possible for many more kids to experience the excitement of feeling that vibration of the rod as you catch a fish.”

“It’s important to get to other communities and at other events,” Healy said. “It’s especially important to bring this to urban and minority communities where families might not have as much access to fishing. That’s one of the core missions, to give the opportunity to under-served kids.”

During the Classic, the Knoxville Boys and Girls Club will be bringing children to the Get Hooked on Fishing event daily as well, Healy said.

“It’s all pretty simple,” he said. “We’re trying to make kids smile, and maybe when they leave they’ll ask mom and dad, ‘can we go fishing some time?’”

2019 Bassmaster Classic Title Sponsor: GEICO

2019 Bassmaster Classic Presenting Sponsor: DICK’S Sporting Goods

2019 Bassmaster Classic Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2019 Bassmaster Classic Premier Sponsors: Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Abu Garcia

2019 Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo Presenting Sponsor: DICK’S Sporting Goods

2019 Bassmaster Classic Local Host: Visit Knoxville Sports Commission

2019 Bassmaster Classic Local Partners: Calhoun’s, Pilot Flying J, TVA

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport. With more than 510,000 members internationally, B.A.S.S. is not only home to the nation’s premier fishing tournament trails, but it also boasts the most expansive and comprehensive media network in the fishing industry. Its media include The Bassmasters on the ESPN networks, more than 130 hours of tournament programming on the Pursuit Channel, 250 hours of on-the-water streaming coverage on Bassmaster LIVE and 1 million monthly visitors to the flagship website on bass fishing – Bassmaster.com. B.A.S.S. also provides more than 4.4 million readers with the best in bass fishing coverage through Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times, and its radio and social media programs and events reach hundreds of thousands each month.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, culminating in the ultimate event on the biggest stage for competitive anglers, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. The trail also includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, BassPro.com Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series, and the Bassmaster Team Championship.

Pet Raccoons

Cute pictures on Facebook of pet raccoons eating and playing reminds me of how much I wanted one. For years I thought it would be great fun to have one, but when I got one it did not turn out so well.

In the mid-1970s Linda and I lived at Grandview Apartments. I hunted on some land near High Falls, using our VW bug as a hunting vehicle. One night as I walked from my stand back to the car, a mother raccoon and her five kits walked across my path.

I took off my heavy hunting coat and threw it over the last one in the line. It was about the size of a small housecat and it struggled and snarled, but I managed to wrap it tightly and tie the arms together, forming a bundle.

At the car I put the bundled raccoon in the small luggage area behind the back seat, got in and cranked the car. For some reason I flipped on the overhead light. All I could see were teeth and claws as the young raccoon came over the seat toward me.

Somehow, I managed to catch it again and get it wrapped back up in the coat without getting bit. This time I tied it tightly with some rope and made it home without any more trouble.

At the apartment, I carefully slipped the raccoon into the small downstairs bathroom after putting some food and water on the floor. I shut the door and we went to bed.

The next morning, I eased the bathroom door open an inch or so and peeked in, expecting the raccoon to be huddled in a corner, but did not see it. As I opened the door more I glanced up and there it was, perched on a shelf in the small medicine cabinet over the sink. I have no idea how it got up there, opened the door and huddled on the shelf.

It stayed in the bathroom a couple of days until I could build a cage for it. I made a nice one out of two by fours and hardware cloth that had legs so it sat six inches off the floor. It was four feet long and two feet wide and high, giving my new pet lots of room.

After about two weeks the raccoon gradually got less afraid of me. It stopped hissing at me and slowly started taking food through the wire. I was making progress.

Just when I had hope. Linda decided to vacuum the room with the cage. When she ran the hose under the cage, the raccoon went wild, bouncing off the wire on all sides, top and bottom. It never calmed down. Any time I got near it, it went wild again.

After a week, I gave up. I took it back near where I caught it and released it. That was my only experience with a pet raccoon and I still want one, but a tame one.

Search of Old Sawfish

SawSearch search of old sawfish goes to the United Kingdom
from The Fishing Wire

Old sawfish saw


Not only the most distinctive feature of a sawfish, the rostrum (saw) also contains vital information.

“SawSearch” has taken researchers Kelcee Smith, from Louisiana State University, and Annmarie Fearing and Dr. Nicole Phillips, from The University of Southern Mississippi, to all corners of the U.S. in the search of old sawfish saws over the past five years. Last June, with support from the Shark Conservation Fund and The Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation, this research led them all the way to the United Kingdom. SawSearch is a global initiative to find, photograph, measure, and collect tissue samples from old sawfish saws. Phillips, Fearing, and Smith are extracting DNA from the tissue samples they collect, using the data to assess the relative health of remaining sawfish populations. The DNA from the old saws provides the researchers with baseline information of what sawfish populations were like before they were heavily exploited, which can then be compared to DNA from the sawfish populations of today.

SawSearch UK might sound like a leisurely holiday, but most of their time in the UK was spent working in the basements of museums, entering data, riding trains, hauling equipment from city to city, and conducting outreach events. After a year of intense planning, the team spent a total of 30 days in the UK, travelled ~12,000 miles, visited 31 collections, collected data and samples from 528 sawfish specimens, and held 11 outreach events. The rewards of the long days of sampling and travelling came with each collection visited, every specimen pulled from a drawer, and every museum curator they met along the way.

Museums play a critical role in all SawSearch expeditions by preserving natural history specimens and revealing the unique stories behind them in their data archives. The people behind these collections, the curators, conservators, and collections managers, dedicate their time to the maintenance of these collections for decades. “We were enthusiastically welcomed into every collection we visited during SawSearch UK and everyone was so excited about our project. After long days sampling, traveling, and conducting outreach, these interactions with the museum staff really kept our energy up,” says Fearing. “During our visits, they went above and beyond by helping us take photographs, record data, searching for extra information, and even connecting us with other curators to help us find more saws. I don’t think there was a museum curator that didn’t offer us tea as soon as we arrived, even though it was 80 degrees outside. They put kindness first and I’ll never forget that,” says Smith. The team also used each visit to a museum as an opportunity to connect with the public, teaching them about sawfish and the importance of natural history collections. They often set up a table right in the middle of museum galleries, answering questions about sawfish while collecting tissue samples from the saws. “Making that connection between museums, the public, and research is one of the greatest things about SawSearch. It’s my favorite part and I know Nicole and Annmarie love it too,” says Smith.

In addition to the museums and universities the research team visited, they were also able to find a few saws at some not-so-traditional venues. During their stay in Edinburgh, Scotland, Fearing and Smith discovered a saw in an unexpected place, at a fish and chips shop across the road from their hotel. “As we walked passed a fish and chip shop, I heard Kelcee gasp and then felt her yank me backwards.” says Fearing. “She told me to look inside the fish and chip shop and there, hanging on the wall, was a green sawfish saw.” The next day, they went into the restaurant to talk to the owner, explaining how they had traveled all the way from the U.S. to sample saws just like the one he had on his restaurant wall. The owner was perplexed, but kind, and allowed them to collect a sample; excited to tell the story of how he got the saw and intrigued that it could be used in scientific research. “I mean really, what are the chances that we would find a saw across the street from the hotel? Sawfish aren’t native to the U.K.,” exclaims Smith.

One pervasive idea that the researchers came across was that if specimens do not have location data, they are not useful in research. “These saws are valuable to us and there is a longer-term vision for this initiative. The goal looking forward is to be able to take a tissue sample from a sawfish from an unknown location and be able to determine where that animal came from. Such a tool could be used for enforcement purposes, to improve our knowledge of historic sawfish populations and understand how they have changed over time, ultimately translating this data into more effective conservation strategies to promote recovery” says Phillips. “Not only are sawfish saws without location information still valuable, I hope to go back to these curators one day and tell them where these specimens most likely came from”. “One curator was so happy when we told her specimens without location data are still valuable. She had been keeping these saws in hopes that one day someone could potentially use them and was relieved that she had been keeping them in the collection for a reason. Moments like these are one of my favorite parts of using collections for this project,” says Fearing.

You can help! If you own a sawfish rostrum and are willing to donate a small sample for this important research or have seen one somewhere, please call 1-844-4-SAWFISH or email n.phillips@usm.edu.

(Samples are collected under Endangered Species Act permits # 20590 and 17787)

November Tournament Memories

Last fall 13 members of the Potato Creek Bassmasters fished our November tournament at West Point. We landed 47 keeper bass weighing about 71 pounds. There were at least four limits.

I won with five keepers weighing 9.75 pounds, Mike Cox was second with five at 7.66 pounds. Raymond English placed third with five weighing 7.55 pounds and Frank Anderson had five at 7.19 for fourth. Kwong Yu’s 2.94 pounder was big fish.

In comparison, Highland Marina held its Georgia State Championship that weekend. That tournament in invitation only that includes the top fishermen from clubs and other tournaments in Georgia. Entry fee is $300 per team and some of the best fishermen in the state, many of them West Point guides and experts, fish it. They are attracted to fish it due to the guaranteed first place prize of $12,000!

Guide Ken Bearden fished it and after Saturday, the same day we fished, was in fourth place out of 114 teams. He had 17 pounds! The two-day tournament was won with over 30 pounds. That just shows what really good local fishermen can catch on West Point!

I started slowly, not getting a bite the first hour we fished. I had heard some quality largemouth were feeding way back in the creeks and that is usually a good pattern this time of year. Shad move back in the creeks as the water cools and bass follow them.

At blast-off I ran to the back of my favorite creek. There are several brush and rock piles in it that I thought would have some feeding fish on them. Unfortunately, there is a boat ramp in it and when I arrived there were two jon boats, a kayak and a Bass Hunter boat fishing the key places.

That must have been a good pattern, since within five minutes of me getting there three boats from the big tournament came in the back of that creek, too. All day I saw fishermen in that tournament run into backs of creeks. But I never got a bite back in where I started.

After an hour I went out to a main lake rocky point and caught a keeper spot on a jig and pig, then a largemouth off a blowdown on it. So I started fishing those kinds of places. At 10:00, two hours later, I had my five-fish limit but all but the largemouth were just 13 inch spots.

I started fishing a little deeper on those kinds of places and caught my biggest fish, a 2.5-pound spot, at 11:00 and a keeper largemouth a few minutes later. With only 30 minutes left to fish I went to another deep rock pile and landed two good keeper largemouth and lost one. So I managed to cull all but one of the first five I landed and had four largemouth and one decent spot for the win.

From now to Christmas is one of my favorite times to fish. After Christmas the water gets cold enough fishing gets tough until late February, then it gets real good again. Enjoy the cool weather and good fishing while you can!

February West Point Tournament

Last Sunday eleven members of the Spalding County Sportsman Club fished our February tournament at West Point. After eight hours of casting, from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM, we brought 45 keeper bass weighing about 84 pounds to the scales. There were seven limits and everyone caught at least one keeper.

Wayne Teal found the right five and won with five weighing 12.12 pounds and his 7.15 pound largemouth was big fish. My fived weighing 11.63 pounds was second, Niles Murray placed third with five at 9.65 pounds and Robert Proctor came in fourth with five weighing 8.91 pounds.

With seven boats in the tournament, who would have ever thought two of us would head to exactly the same place on that big lake. Jay had told me he and Wayne had fished there on Thursday and caught a lot of bass. I wanted to start on the point where I had landed 14 keepers the weekend before.

When we took off I took my time, letting everyone else get out of the way and not running fast. I saw Jay was ahead of me but did not worry, until he turned into the mouth of Whitewater Creek. Sure enough, he stopped on the point I wanted to fish, so I turned and went back to another point nearby.

The wind was dead calm at first but as I fished the point and around a cove, a breeze started blowing, a good thing. When I got to the secondary point back in the cove where I caught my biggest fish the weekend before, the breeze was just right, and I got my first bite, a keeper spot, then caught another one.

After a few more casts I looked and could see the point Jay had stopped on, but he was gone. I ran back to it and quickly caught two keeper spots, giving me four at 8:30. At weigh-in Jay told me the only thing he caught there was a carp and a catfish. The wind had made the bass start biting, but he left too soon.

I fished there for another hour and finally caught my fifth keeper at 9:30. The sun had come out and moved the bass off it, I guess. I knew the sun was warming the water so I decided to try fishing very shallow to catch a bigger fish.

At 11:00 I was back in a pocket with very muddy water. I almost decided to leave it was so muddy, but as my trolling motor got stuck in the mud, I cast a spinnerbait to a stump in about a foot of water and got a thump.

It turned out to be a 5.35 pound largemouth, second biggest fish of the day. It was a miracle I landed it, it got wrapped up in my trolling motor. But somehow, I got it unwrapped. My line was badly frayed for about two feet, but it did not break.

That fish convinced me to fish a spinnerbait very shallow the rest of the day, and I landed two more largemouth and a spot, culling three of the four spots I caught early. But it was not quite enough.

Management of Menhaden

Science, Not Politics, Should Guide Management of Menhaden
By Steve Kline, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
from the Fishing Wire

Menhaden baitfish


Virginia should do the right thing and let experts guide the future of bunker, says this national conservation group.

Hunting and fishing traditions have deep roots in Virginia—residents have a constitutional right to hunt, and more than 800,000 anglers a year turn out to fish the same waters that George Washington did. But Virginia is also the only state along the Eastern Seaboard that still allows the commercial reduction fishing of Atlantic menhaden, a critical forage fish.

The last holdout of an antiquated fishing industry, reduction fishing of menhaden—or bunker, as you’ll often hear them called on docks around the Chesapeake—involves the harvest of billions of tiny fish that are then reduced to meal and oil for use in a variety of applications, from food for farmed salmon to cosmetics.

There may be many uses for menhaden outside the water, but their real economic and ecological value comes from keeping them in the water.

Atlantic menhaden comprise the very foundation of a diverse ecosystem, which includes some of the most popular gamefish species in the world. From a fisheries management standpoint, it doesn’t get any simpler than this: Fewer menhaden in the water means fewer striped bass, bluefish, cobia, redfish, and weakfish. And that means the potential collapse of a recreational fishing economy worth far more than any reduction fishery.

However, as the sea fog recedes, it becomes clear why Virginia allows this practice to continue.

The commonwealth manages menhaden not through its science-based Virginia Marine Resources Commission, but rather through its state legislature. It begs the question, if the commission is good enough to manage all the other marine fish stocks in the state, both recreational and commercial, why isn’t it being permitted to do its job when it comes to menhaden?

It’s clear to us that Virginia should not allow this reduction fishery to continue while risking the future of the state’s recreational fishing economy. State legislatures are no place to manage species, and if the Marine Resources Commission is good enough to manage striped bass, they ought to be managing what stripers eat, too.

Science should always guide fisheries management decisions to the greatest extent possible. It’s not realistic to take the politics out of the equation completely, but the state of Virginia needs to stop letting politics be the only guiding force in the management of menhaden.

Read more conservation features at www.trcp.org.

Sitting On A Deer Stand Remembering

Sitting on a deer stand on Thanksgiving Day is always bittersweet for me. I enjoy all the usual things, watching squirrels and birds, checking out the trees as leaves fall, contemplating life and the anticipation of seeing a deer. If I happen to kill one for the freezer it is like the cherry on top of an ice cream Sunday. The whole thing is good without the cherry, but the cherry definitely adds something.

The bittersweet part is thinking about past Thanksgivings. As far back as I can remember Thanksgiving involved hunting. First with my daddy, following our dogs looking for quail. Later, after daddy got rid of our dogs and stopped hunting quail, one of my friends, A.T., and I would follow his pack of beagles looking for rabbits.

If I could not quail or rabbit hunt, I would take my Remington semiautomatic .22 rifle and wander the woods looking for tree rats. There were no deer to hunt back then.

After college I started teaching school and the four-day holiday meant fishing trips to Clarks Hill. I would fish in the morning then go into town to have a family dinner. Those fishing trips are great memories, too.

Those days are gone. I know I will never be able to hunt with my dad again, and days of looking for rabbits and squirrels are over. Also gone are the huge Thanksgiving meals with my extended family. Mama had five brothers and four of them and their families lived near us. Daddy had five sisters and two brothers and some of them lived close.

Thanksgiving always meant big family gatherings. I was too young to realize the importance of family, and I was always in a hurry to get the meals over, so we could go hunting or I could head back to the lake. I wish I could go back and just sit and talk with family long gone.

I still get to enjoy thanksgiving dinner with my wife, mother in law and brother in law and his wife. That is great, but it too reminds me of all the family I have lost over the years. Life goes on and we adapt to changes.

If you have family, enjoy every minute you have with them at gatherings, not just at holidays but at all times. But do work in a hunting or fishing trip to make those memories, too.

Bassmaster Classic Week

Bassmaster Classic Week Offers Tons Of Fun Things To Do And See In Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In two weeks, bass fishing fans from across the world will descend on the banks of the Tennessee River in Knoxville, Tenn., for the 49th Annual GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.

Most are aware of the broad range of fishing-related activities that are part of “Classic Week,” but first-time visitors to Knoxville will be amazed at the diverse activities and attractions that make Knoxville a great host destination for the “Super Bowl of Bass Fishing.”

“Knoxville looks forward to not only showcasing our area’s beautiful waterways, but also all of the attractions, dining, entertainment and more,” said Chad Culver, Senior Director of the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission. “It’s the Tennessee River and our city’s incredible vibrancy that make Knoxville a one-of-a-kind destination and the perfect fit for the Bassmaster Classic.”

Before and after watching 52 of the best anglers in the world weigh in their heaviest daily limits of bass, fans will face the daunting task of deciding what to do next.

Knoxville Hot Spots

Located within a day’s drive of nearly half of the United States’ population and just 45 minutes from the Great Smoky Mountains, Knoxville is where music meets mountains, art meets adventure and no one meets a stranger.

The vibrant and very walkable downtown area — where most Classic venues are centered — offers a variety of fun and unique entertainment offerings, plus shopping and more than 80 dining options in and around Market Square. This popular gathering spot is also home to live music, festivals and more — and it’s just minutes from Knoxville’s increasingly popular “Urban Wilderness,” a 1,000-acre stretch offering more than 50 miles of walking, hiking and biking trails, connecting parks, trails, Civil War sites and recreational amenities.

In addition to barbecue (of course), Knoxville boasts a culinary scene that is receiving national attention. And it pairs well with a growing number of craft breweries and distilleries in Knoxville.

Music lovers know that Knoxville is one of America’s most vibrant cities for live music. From classical to bluegrass, country to rock, live music is on the streets, the square and stages of famous venues like the historic Tennessee Theatre, the official state theatre of Tennessee. Blue Plate Special concerts are also free to the public every Monday-Saturday at noon at the WDVX studios located inside the Downtown Knoxville Visitors Center.

History buffs will want to visit Knoxville to learn more about Civil War sites in the area, and tour earthworks, battle sites and historic homes. Art lovers make sure to visit the Knoxville Museum of Art, and families should allow extra time to see Zoo Knoxville, home of the Tiger Forest.

Fishing fans can plan their visit by going to visitknoxville.com and downloading the free Visit Knoxville App to stay up to date on what’s happening during the 2019 Bassmaster Classic.

Classic Attractions

Visitors and Knoxville residents alike will find plenty to see and do at Classic venues. Here’s a taste:

Takeoffs — Cheer on your favorite Classic competitor at morning takeoffs at Volunteer Landing on the Tennessee River at 7:30 a.m. ET each morning. Coffee and hot chocolate will be available on-site from local Classic partner Pilot Flying J.
Demo rides — While you’re at Volunteer Landing, try out the latest boats and engines from Mercury, Nitro, Skeeter, Triton and Yamaha.
Shopping spree — The Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods at the Knoxville Convention Center and World’s Fair Exhibition Hall spans almost 250,000 square feet of exhibit space filled with the newest and hottest in lures, tackle, gear and boats and motors. Expo hours are noon-7 p.m. Friday, March 15; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, March 16; and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, March 17. All events are free to attend.
Dramatic weigh-ins — Doors of Thompson-Boling Arena on the University of Tennessee campus will open Friday through Sunday at 3 p.m. for B.A.S.S. Life and Nation members and at 3:15 p.m. for the general public.
Get hooked — Bring the kids to check out the Bassmaster Get Hooked On Fishing presented by Toyota, Shakespeare and RBFF in World’s Fair Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday to Sunday. Activities include casting lessons, a kid’s fishing pond, a long-jump dog competition, and more.
Meet the Elites — Several 2019 Bassmaster Elite Series pros will be stopping by the B.A.S.S. booth in the Expo to meet fans and sign autographs.
Free spooling — Bring your reels (up to three) to the Pure Fishing booth, where you can get them filled with Berkley, SpiderWire or Stren line. Berkley plans to give away 1.5 million yards of line during the three days of the show.
Go LIVE — Watch Classic LIVE hosts Tommy Sanders, Mark Zona and Davy Hite as they provide analysis and live updates of fishing action from the LIVE set in the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo. Classic LIVE is streamed on Bassmaster.com and on the ESPN app.
Student anglers — See the rising stars competing in the Bassmaster High School Classic on Saturday, March 16, and in the annual College Classic Sunday, March 17, with weigh-ins on stage in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Help conservation — Head over to the TVA booth and find out what you can do to help control the Asian Carp population. Also check out the fish tank containing the species of fish you can find in TVA fisheries.
Support the troops — Come out to the weigh-in on Friday and help us honor our country’s military service members. The first 300 to show their designated military ID at the B.A.S.S. booth will receive an official Bassmaster hat. Many other exhibitors will also be offering discounts and promotions for service members.
Be a B.A.S.S. winner — Enter the Fish with Chris and Trait Zaldain Sweepstakes at the B.A.S.S. booth and other points around the Expo.
Thank a first responder — Come to the weigh-in Saturday to show your support and salute our first responders and law enforcement officers. The first 300 to show their official ID/badge at the B.A.S.S. booth will receive an official Bassmaster hat.
Get the T-shirt — The official Bassmaster Classic T-shirt is the ultimate Classic souvenir. Get one, and check out other logo products at the B.A.S.S. merchandise booth.
Watch the clock — Be present in the Nitro/Bass Pro Shops booth for their hourly giveaway items. You can also register for special promotions.
Toyota attractions — At the Toyota booth, kids can meet the Paw Patrol on Saturday and Sunday, racing fans can check out the NASCAR Racing Challenge, everyone can meet and thank Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer on Friday, and Toyota owners can receive a prize by showing the key to their Toyota vehicle.
Watch the winner — Witness history in the making as the 2019 GEICO Bassmaster Classic champion is crowned at the conclusion of Sunday’s weigh-in.

2019 Bassmaster Classic Title Sponsor: GEICO

2019 Bassmaster Classic Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2019 Bassmaster Classic Premier Sponsors: Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Abu Garcia

2019 Bassmaster Classic Local Host: Visit Knoxville Sports Commission

2019 Bassmaster Classic Local Partners: Calhoun’s, Pilot Flying J, TVA

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport. With more than 510,000 members internationally, B.A.S.S. is not only home to the nation’s premier fishing tournament trails, but it also boasts the most expansive and comprehensive media network in the fishing industry. Its media include The Bassmasters on the ESPN networks, more than 130 hours of tournament programming on the Pursuit Channel, 250 hours of on-the-water streaming coverage on Bassmaster LIVE and 1 million monthly visitors to the flagship website on bass fishing – Bassmaster.com. B.A.S.S. also provides more than 4.4 million readers with the best in bass fishing coverage through Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times, and its radio and social media programs and events reach hundreds of thousands each month.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, culminating in the ultimate event on the biggest stage for competitive anglers, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. The trail also includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, BassPro.com Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series, and the Bassmaster Team Championship.

Lake Mitchell In January

Two years ago I went to Mitchell Lake and fished with Auburn Bass Team member Cameron Mercer for my January Alabama Outdoor News Map of the Month article. Mitchell is a small Coosa River lake just northeast of
Montgomery and is between its more famous sister lakes, Jordan and Lay.

The lake is basically a river with its dam on the headwaters of Jordan and ends at the Lay dam. There are several big creeks feeding it and its shoreline is lined with rocks, docks, grassbeds and wood cover. Big Coosa River spots live in it as do big largemouth and it is a fun lake to fish.

Auburn has 42 members on its team and is one of the best teams in the nation, producing several pros, including a Bassmasters Classic winner, over the past few years. Cameron has finished high enough within the team to make the top 12 travel team.

We had a good day, catching a few spots although the big ones we hoped for did not hit. The skills and knowledge of college fishermen constantly amaze me.
I have been bass fishing all my life and competing in clubs for 43 years, but many of them are much better fishermen than I am.

Mitchell is about three hours from Griffin, but it would be a good weekend trip. There are several motels about ten miles from the lake on I-65 and plenty of places to eat in the area.

Can You Catch Bass Under Ice?

Bass Under Ice
from The Fishing Wire

you can catch bass under ice


Underwater optics reveal the hardwater habits of America’s #1 sportfish

Crosslake, MN – A certain notion says bass don’t much care for the cold. That when winter arrives and seals lakes with ice, big green and brown bass skulk about, but certainly don’t care to bite.

Right?

Well, the actual truth is, a small group of exploratory anglers in Minnesota and Ontario have been quietly going about the business of bassin’ through augered holes in frozen lake surfaces. They’ve lipped plenty of largemouth and smallmouth bass. Big ones, too. But perhaps more importantly, the exploratory anglers have proved a few notions of their own, thanks largely to underwater optics documenting the antics of frigid water bass.

Mike Hehner, photographer and producer for Brainerd, Minnesota based Lindner Media Productions has been on the forefront of the hardwater bass movement. Hehner, as well as Ontario angler Aaron Wiebe, believe winter bass are worthy of more angling attention due to the species’ sporting qualities. But both anglers also beg for careful conservation, catch-and-release and selective harvest of small specimens only.

“Honestly, you can catch some of the biggest largemouths of the year right in the middle of winter,” says Hehner. “Winter bass can be pretty stacked up if you find them in the right places. They’ll feed relatively competitively, though they won’t strike as aggressively as they’ll hit say, a spinnerbait in summer.”

“Because winter bass like to hide and hunker down in cover just like they do in summer, I’ve always got my little handheld underwater camera—an Aqua-Vu micro Revolution—along for the ride. The camera shows fish in true-life color, while sonar can have a tough time picking up fish signals between aquatic plants.”

Debunking and perhaps confirming long-held conceptions in equal measure, Hehner reveals some of his more surprising underwater discoveries, and offers a few suggestions.

Winter bass usually feed best from midday until about an hour before sunset. “On camera, they’ll often sort of vanish from shallow vegetation areas as the sun begins to drop in the sky.”
Look for active largemouths around healthy pondweed, cabbage, elodea and mixtures of different plant varieties. “Bass often frequent these shallow zones to hunt small sunfish, so seeing sunnies or crappies on the camera screen can be a tip-off that bass are also present.”

Avoid water deeper than 20 feet. “Smallmouths, in particular, will especially seek out deeper winter locations, where they congregate and form massive schools. Pulling them out of deeper water causes barotrauma (rapid expansion of the swim bladder that creates hyper-buoyancy and an inability to remain submerged.)

Just as in summer, bass exhibit different moods on different days.

Use the temperature gauge on the Aqua-Vu to find the most active bass. “We look for warmer 39- to 41-degree water under the ice, which often holds the biters.”
Immediately release all bass in extra cold temperatures (below about 20oF.) In lakes with ample populations of small and medium size bass, consider harvesting some fish less than 15-inches, while recycling all larger bass.

Big bass willingly bite panfish-size plastics. One to 2.5-inch worm-like baits on small tungsten jigs work very well.

Best to find larger concentrations of shallow bass. “If I see just one or two bass in an area with the camera, I might not catch them. But if I find a concentration of five to ten fish, there’s a great chance bass will be competitive enough to bite.”

“One of the best baits is a live 3- to 5-inch shiner minnow tethered to a #1 wide gap hook. We’ve found it’s best to restrict the minnow’s movement by anchoring it slightly in place with split shot. If the minnow gets too wild, bass can lose interest and stop chasing.

Use the camera as a fish-attractor. “Lots of times we’ll see bass come right up to the camera. Occasionally, they’ll bite the camera head. If you don’t see bass around at first, leave the camera down there for a minute or so; any curious bass in the area will likely swim over to inspect it.”

Use the camera to sight fish. “This is what makes winter bass fishing so much fun. It’s incredible to watch bass chase, nip and bite your baits. Also, use it as a hookset gauge. If you’re using livebait, and the bass has the minnow in its mouth, set the hook immediately—don’t wait until the bait gets swallowed too deep.”

“It’s amazing that a fish with such a large mouth can pick tiny baits to pieces. We often see them nipping just the last ¼-inch of a minnow’s tail, or just barely mouth the head of a jig, without engulfing the hook. How do they do that?”

“Bass are a lot more active under the ice—all winter long—than most folks realize,” says Hehner. “Chasing them and getting them to bite is incredibly fun with an underwater camera. And you learn a ton. Winter days on most lakes—even with dozens of other anglers around— rarely is anyone else paying attention to what might be the best big fish game in town. Amazing.”

About Outdoors Insight, Inc.

Creator of Aqua-Vu, the original Underwater Viewing System, Outdoors Insight, Inc. has led the underwater camera category in design, innovation and quality since 1997. The Central Minnesota based company builds many popular outdoors products, such as the iBall Trailer Hitch Camera (iballhitchcam.com) and Odor Check Moisture and Odor Control System (odorcheck.com) featuring Scent-Lok Technology. For more information on Aqua-Vu, visit www.aquavu.com.