We’re ready for the Classic!!!

This place is ready to go. I’m telling you there isn’t any part of Guntersville, Ala., that isn’t into the 2014 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by Diet Mountain Dew and GoPro. It’s the talk of the town, regardless of where you go or what you’re doing.

This place is ready to go. I’m telling you there isn’t any part of Guntersville, Ala., that isn’t into the 2014 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by Diet Mountain Dew and GoPro. It’s the talk of the town, regardless of where you go or what you’re doing.

I’m hearing the same thing about Birmingham. They say it’s pulling out all the stops to make this happen.

And it looks like the weather is going to cooperate, too. Right now the ground is covered in snow and we’re getting a wintery mix of rain, snow and sleet. It’s cold, but not brutally cold. By Thursday we’re supposed to be in a warming trend that’ll last all the way into late next week.

The official practice days — Friday, Saturday and Sunday — are predicted to be between 52 and 59 degrees with a minimal chance of rain. After that, they’re saying it’ll go into the 60-degree-plus range. That’s pretty close to perfect. We don’t have a forecast for the actual GEICO Classic days but you have to figure it’s looking good as of right now.

If this pattern holds, you can expect monster bass and monster weights. The fans will be able to watch their favorite anglers catch bass after bass. It’ll be a really exciting event with nonstop action.

Of course, we always have to be careful of nasty, late winter cold fronts. If we were to get one of them, the fishing will be a lot tougher. I still think, however, that most of the guys will catch good bass. Classic anglers are the best of the best and Lake Guntersville has never been accused of being subtle.

The action won’t be limited to the water, though. All of our (Guntersville and Birmingham) hotels and motels are ready to go. They have plenty of staff to handle the crowds and plenty of food to keep everyone’s belly full.

We even have special tattoo parlors set up. You can get Classic themed tattoos if you want. Now, to be fair, they are temporary tattoos. They won’t last forever but they will last long enough to help keep you in the mood through the final weigh-in on Sunday. (I’m sure you can get a permanent one, too, if you’re of such a mind. Just ask around. Somebody will point you in the right direction.)

Parking and travel shouldn’t be a problem, either. We’re big enough to know how to handle a crowd and small enough so that out of town people can navigate pretty easily.

The Expo will be just as good. It’s totally filled up with companies from all over the world. Darn near everything you could possibly need or want will be available, and there’ll be a lot of experts there to help you make the right choices including a substantial number of top pros from around the country.

What I’m trying to say here is that things are coming together in a really great way. This will be one for the ages. Don’t miss it if you’re a fan of professional bass fishing or even if you’re just a casual angler. This Classic is the complete package.

Chris Lane’s column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Twitter and Facebook or visit his website, www.chrislanefishing.com.