BassMasters Classic

I have been lucky enough to attend a few BassMasters Classics and also to work behind the scenes at two of them. If you get a chance get on down to one they are quite exciting and fun for the whole family. The first one I worked at was the 2005 Citgo BassMasters Classic held in Pittsburgh PA on the three rivers. This classic was John Crews’ first classic and I got to ride with him for practice and day 1. The following is an account of the first practice day. I will post a follow up for day 1.

July 27, 2005

Started on the Monongahela River

7:15- 7:20am threw a buzzbait around a water inlet with a small point

7:23-7:34am threw a brown/orange wiggle wart at old barges

                7:23 catfish

Run up to the locks

7:40 am pulled into the locks with several other boats/ woofed down a sandwich

8:02am locks opened

8:06am fished a train bridge just above the locks, worm on a jighead

8:26am moved up into small tributary

8:30am back up the main river, fished corrugated wall with brush laden shoreline (small point with brush/ topwater bait)

8:34am smallmouth 8 ½”

Shad everywhere and drum jumping

8:40 switched to a baby brush hog

8:54 made u turn moved down to boat docks and a lighthouse/ fished the docks with the brush hog

Fished the shoreline above the docks (rip rap) with a wiggle wart till 9:08am

9:09am idled to bridge piling, fished with spinnerbait till it hung and broke off. Fished with a blade bait

9:17am moved to other side of the river, trees, brush and blowdowns. Fished with a worm on a jighead and worked up the shoreline to another bridge piling

9:35am stopped at a water pipe with lots of water moving in fished it with blade bait.

9:37am watched two drunken guys drive their Chevy Blazer down a foot path to the river knocking over brush and saplings along the way. They got to the river and drove parallel to it, half in the water and half out until they hit a tree. Both guys then fell out of the truck and started to wrestle around fully clothed in the water. (Strange sight for 9:30 in the morning)

9:39am jumped up river to some sort of industrial plant and fished the worm till 9:44

9:45-9:53am worked up the shoreline with the wiggle wart

9:58am fished the wiggle wart just below a bridge

10:05am stopped to fix an eyelet on his rod

10:12am went back down the river to some old beached barges and fished with the wiggle wart

10:26am ran down river to small water inlet pipe and fished that with the wiggle wart, continued fishing down river on a corrugated wall with the worm

10:34am moved out to a channel marker buoy (the Mon meets another creek) threw a Rapala crank bait

10:40am switched to topwater, threw towards shore then back to the Rapala (1 follower)

10:43-10:45am fished the blade bait

10:47am moved down river to some brush, fished around with buzz bait

10:50am switched to a spinnerbait

10:58am moved down to a bridge, fished with spinnerbait till 11:02am

11:07am back in the lock

11:28am fished around the lock with a drop shot till 11:39

12:05pm stopped at a point just outside a no wake zone and threw the Rapala

12:09pm switched to a tube which hung on the first cast

Moved to the Ohio River

12:16pm pulled up to a creek and started flippin a tube

12:23pm switched to the worm

Idled further into creek and fished with the tube

1:14pm moved down river to the dam threw the spinnerbait, tube and the worm

1:38pm moved to a small island fished with the tube, spinnerbait and a 3” Senko

1:43pm moved up river about 100yards fished with tube

1:57pm swing and a miss (tube)

Moved to the Allegheny River

2:16pm went up river and fished around a submarine, crank bait

One guy asked from shore “Did you catch any live fish today?”

Drove up river to dam, idled around to check it out. Found hump next to an island where the old locks used to be

2:56pm stopped at a bridge down from the dam threw the blade bait till 3:02pm

3:15pm check in at ramp