The Outdoor Line Forum

Keep checking back often for updates and comments on the Bassmaster Classic!! Here's a link to a live blog:

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tour ... 1_liveblog

KVD

Great story on current leader Aaron Martens!

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tour ... ens_family

Boats are leaving the dock right now!
Check it out live at: http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tour ... live/index

KVD with a 3lb 10oz lead after two days!! Russ Lane leads the big fish with a 7lb 12oz hawg!!

Pl. Name DAY 1 DAY 2 TOTAL
Fish Weight Fish Weight Fish Weight
1 Kevin VanDam 5 19- 3 5 22- 8 10 41-11
2 Brent Chapman 5 18- 0 5 20- 1 10 38- 1
3 Aaron Martens 5 20- 7 5 12-11 10 33- 2
4 Brandon Palaniuk 5 14-10 5 17-14 10 32- 8
5 Scott Rook 5 19- 6 5 12- 5 10 31-11
6 Derek Remitz 5 12-15 5 17- 4 10 30- 3
7 Gary Klein 5 12- 7 5 17- 0 10 29- 7
8 Todd Faircloth 5 15- 2 5 13-14 10 29- 0
9 Skeet Reese 5 15- 1 5 13-10 10 28-11
10 Bobby Lane 5 16-12 5 10-11 10 27- 7
11 Kevin Wirth 5 14- 2 5 13- 1 10 27- 3
12 Cliff Pace 5 15- 7 5 11-10 10 27- 1
13 Dale Hightower 5 15- 9 5 11- 5 10 26-14
14 Paul Elias 5 14-13 5 11- 6 10 26- 3
15 Tommy Biffle 5 13- 5 4 12-13 9 26- 2
16 John Crews 5 13-14 5 11- 7 10 25- 5
17 Michael Iaconelli 5 13- 1 5 11- 9 10 24-10
18 Dean Rojas 2 4- 4 5 20- 3 7 24- 7
19 Boyd Duckett 5 13-12 4 10- 9 9 24- 5
20 Shaw E Grigsby 5 9- 3 5 14- 7 10 23-10
21 Terry Scroggins 5 9-11 5 13- 2 10 22-13
22 Morizo Shimizu 5 10- 0 5 12-13 10 22-13
23 Keith Combs 5 13- 2 5 8- 8 10 21-10
24 Greg Vinson 5 14- 3 4 7- 3 9 21- 6
25 Jeff Kriet 5 11- 1 4 10- 0 9 21- 1
26 Matt Herren 5 12-15 5 7-13 10 20-12
27 Mark Davis 5 7- 0 5 13- 9 10 20- 9
28 Edwin Evers 5 14- 2 3 6- 7 8 20- 9
29 Dave Wolak 5 13- 2 5 7- 4 10 20- 6
30 Brian Snowden 5 10- 8 5 9- 6 10 19-14
31 Gerald Swindle 5 10-10 5 9- 3 10 19-13
32 George Crain 2 3-12 5 15- 9 7 19- 5
33 Terry Butcher 5 9- 9 5 9- 8 10 19- 1
34 Mike McClelland 4 9- 5 5 9- 6 9 18-11
35 Randall Tharp 5 11-12 3 6-12 8 18- 8
36 Andy Montgomery 4 9- 2 5 9- 4 9 18- 6
37 Kelly Jordon 5 14- 3 2 2-15 7 17- 2
38 Brian La Clair 5 10- 3 3 6- 2 8 16- 5
39 Bill Lowen 5 7-11 5 8- 5 10 16- 0
40 Ryan Said 3 4-15 5 10- 9 8 15- 8
41 Dave Watson 5 11- 4 2 4- 1 7 15- 5
42 Greg Hackney 3 4- 3 5 10-14 8 15- 1
43 Ryan Mcmurtury 5 10- 9 5 4- 5 10 14-14
44 Sean Alvarez 5 8- 0 3 6-14 8 14-14
45 Russ Lane 0 0- 0 5 14-14 5 14-14
46 Stephen Browning 5 8-12 2 5- 6 7 14- 2
47 Jason Williamson 5 7- 1 3 6- 9 8 13-10
48 Steve Kennedy 2 2- 6 1 4- 4 3 6-10
49 Tracy Adams 2 5- 2 0 0- 0 2 5- 2
50 Clark Reehm 0 0- 0 4 0-11 4 0-11

I hear Derek Remitz has a 10 lber in the live well and according to Bass Track he is now in second place behind KVD who has a nice lead but is still within reach of the other top guys. Here's a link to Bass Track:

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bass ... /basstrakk

KVD did it for the fourth time!! He weighed in 69lbs 11oz of bass and beat the second place finisher Aaron Martens by over 10lbs. Maybe some of the more experienced bass anglers can fill me in on what makes him so good. Here's how the final board looked.

1 Kevin VanDam 5 19- 3 5 22- 8 5 28- 0 15 69-11
2 Aaron Martens 5 20- 7 5 12-11 5 25-14 15 59- 0
3 Derek Remitz 5 12-15 5 17- 4 5 26- 5 15 56- 8
4 Brandon Palaniuk 5 14-10 5 17-14 5 22-15 15 55- 7
5 Brent Chapman 5 18- 0 5 20- 1 5 16- 7 15 54- 8
6 Boyd Duckett 5 13-12 4 10- 9 5 28-13 14 53- 2
7 Scott Rook 5 19- 6 5 12- 5 5 17- 4 15 48-15
8 Todd Faircloth 5 15- 2 5 13-14 5 18- 3 15 47- 3
9 Bobby Lane 5 16-12 5 10-11 5 18- 2 15 45- 9
10 Gary Klein 5 12- 7 5 17- 0 5 15-15 15 45- 6
11 Michael Iaconelli 5 13- 1 5 11- 9 5 18- 9 15 43- 3
12 Cliff Pace 5 15- 7 5 11-10 5 16- 2 15 43- 3
13 Dean Rojas 2 4- 4 5 20- 3 5 18- 5 12 42-12
14 Skeet Reese 5 15- 1 5 13-10 5 13- 8 15 42- 3
15 Dale Hightower 5 15- 9 5 11- 5 5 15- 0 15 41-14
16 Terry Scroggins 5 9-11 5 13- 2 5 18- 3 15 41- 0
17 John Crews 5 13-14 5 11- 7 5 13- 3 15 38- 8
18 Kevin Wirth 5 14- 2 5 13- 1 5 11- 0 15 38- 3
19 Tommy Biffle 5 13- 5 4 12-13 5 11- 9 14 37-11
20 Shaw E Grigsby 5 9- 3 5 14- 7 5 13- 7 15 37- 1
21 Jeff Kriet 5 11- 1 4 10- 0 5 15-15 14 37- 0
22 Keith Combs 5 13- 2 5 8- 8 5 15- 2 15 36-12
23 Morizo Shimizu 5 10- 0 5 12-13 5 12-12 15 35- 9
24 Greg Vinson 5 14- 3 4 7- 3 5 9- 8 14 30-14
25 Paul Elias 5 14-13 5 11- 6 2 3- 0 12 29- 3
26 Matt Herren 5 12-15 5 7-13 10 20-12
27 Mark Davis 5 7- 0 5 13- 9 10 20- 9
28 Edwin Evers 5 14- 2 3 6- 7 8 20- 9
29 Dave Wolak 5 13- 2 5 7- 4 10 20- 6
30 Brian Snowden 5 10- 8 5 9- 6 10 19-14
31 Gerald Swindle 5 10-10 5 9- 3 10 19-13
32 George Crain 2 3-12 5 15- 9 7 19- 5
33 Terry Butcher 5 9- 9 5 9- 8 10 19- 1
34 Mike McClelland 4 9- 5 5 9- 6 9 18-11
35 Randall Tharp 5 11-12 3 6-12 8 18- 8
36 Andy Montgomery 4 9- 2 5 9- 4 9 18- 6
37 Kelly Jordon 5 14- 3 2 2-15 7 17- 2
38 Brian La Clair 5 10- 3 3 6- 2 8 16- 5
39 Bill Lowen 5 7-11 5 8- 5 10 16- 0
40 Ryan Said 3 4-15 5 10- 9 8 15- 8
41 Dave Watson 5 11- 4 2 4- 1 7 15- 5
42 Greg Hackney 3 4- 3 5 10-14 8 15- 1
43 Ryan Mcmurtury 5 10- 9 5 4- 5 10 14-14
44 Sean Alvarez 5 8- 0 3 6-14 8 14-14
45 Russ Lane 0 0- 0 5 14-14 5 14-14
46 Stephen Browning 5 8-12 2 5- 6 7 14- 2
47 Jason Williamson 5 7- 1 3 6- 9 8 13-10
48 Steve Kennedy 2 2- 6 1 4- 4 3 6-10
49 Tracy Adams 2 5- 2 0 0- 0 2 5- 2
50 Clark Reehm 0 0- 0 4 0-11 4 0-11

Damn that guys good! He cleans house just about everywhere he goes and is tied with Rick Clunn now for the most Bassmaster Classics ever with four. Pretty awesome!

Salmonhawk -
I think you will find that those top of the line anglers (whether bass or salmon anglers) that have succes where every they go share some pretty common traits.

1) They are just plain "fishy"; we all know fishermen whose friends claim they can catch fish in muddle puddles.
2) They are verstilble; in the bass game that means understanding both the basic and naunces of largemouth, smallmouth and spot bass behavior and being at easy with a wide variety of fishing methods, and water types.
3) They pay attention to all the details.

In addition those successful tourament anglers must have

1) huge powers of concentration.
2) A good knowledge of the waters being fished - usually this comes from a great network of locals with specific info on tournament waters
3) and maybe as important as any the ability to set aside the pressure

In short when those traits are all put together the best anglers don't hope to catch a fish or win a tournament they expect to catch fish and win.

Tight lines
Curt

Wow Curt! That is a very concise, insightful rundown of "what it takes"!

I probably know less about bass than anyone on our board but I do know this: I've interviewed KVD following his last Classic win and he emphasized strategy.

I'm looking forward to watching the ESPN Televised coverage of the event this weekend and I believe what we'll see is KVD keeping his gear in the water while others are running 55mph to the "hot spot"...