The 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro ended with a bang, and Edwin Evers will barely have time to put the trophy down before it’s time to slide over to Florida for the new season. The Elites will start off on the St. Johns River, a venue that’s exceptionally familiar to most of them, as the circuit visited early in 2011, 2012 and 2014.
While we were in Tulsa last week, I heard some rumblings about what’s going on down in Palatka. One member of the media told me he’d talked to a friend down there and that the current numbers are insane. In one just-concluded team tournament, there were multiple five-fish bags heavier than 30 pounds, and 25 pounds didn’t sniff a check. An Elite Series pro confirmed that made sense, as the harsh winter had held the fish back beyond their normal start date for the spawning migration, and he thought that with the first sustained warm, stable weather, the big girls would flood the banks.
Maybe they’ve all been picked off by now, but I’m betting that the big ’uns will continue to roll up and be easy pickings for the 100-plus best anglers in the world. Typically, I try to look for dark horses, but in this case I’m banking on experience, success — particularly in Florida — and anglers who are exceptional sight fishermen. If they have a century belt already, that’s even better.
Here are my Fantasy Fishing picks:
BUCKET A: JONES
This may be the toughest bucket I’ve ever had to pick from. Looking at it from top to bottom, almost any member of the field would be a reasonable choice. They include Classic winner Edwin Evers, who won here in 2011. Down the way, you’ll find sight fishing virtuosos like Dean Rojas, Jacob Powroznik and Keith Combs, as well as Floridians Bernie Schultz, Chris Lane and Bobby Lane. There are also first-ballot Hall of Famers like Aaron Martens, Skeet Reese, Greg Hackney and Kevin VanDam.
Almost Picked: Chris Lane
Lane is a strong starter who won the season opener on the Sabine River last year as well as the Elite tournament on the St. Johns in 2014. He’s been in the money every time he’s visited the St. Johns with B.A.S.S. Coming off a Classic performance that was solid but not exceptional, he’ll be hungry to return to the Sunshine State.
My Pick: Alton Jones
Jones may be promoting Miracle Ear on his wrap this year, but his eyes don’t need any help. His name often gets lost in the discussion of the best sight fishermen in the world, but it shouldn’t. Most importantly, he seems to have the St. Johns wired, with first-, third- and fourth-place finishes there in Elite Series competition. He knows where they live, and coming off an eighth-place finish at Grand Lake, it should fall right into his wheelhouse.
BUCKET B: FAIRCLOTH
Almost Picked: Ish Monroe
Ish Monroe is one of the few pros on tour who is consistently on the verge of busting a 100-pound weight in states like Texas, California and Florida. He’s great with the frog and the flipping stick, but also sight fishes extremely well. He’s a gamble, but one that could pay off in a big way, were it not for the money choice below that I can’t resist.
My Pick: Todd Faircloth
Todd Faircloth’s record at the St. Johns is almost as good as Alton’s — maybe it’s something about the way their near identical jerseys blend into the Florida sky. He’s been second, fourth and 10th there, another Texas grass fisherman who understands Florida-strain bass in the springtime. Like Jones, he had a great Classic, ending up sixth.
BUCKET C: SCROGGINS
Almost Picked: Shaw Grigsby
Florida-strain bass, and especially those that live in Florida, are finicky, and few anglers know their moods better than Shaw Grigsby. He has three Top 10 finishes on the St. Johns in B.A.S.S. competition, including a victory and a runner-up finish, but all of those were in the 1990s. In Elite Series competition, he’s been less consistent.
My Pick: Terry Scroggins
Terry Scroggins has probably forgotten more spots on the St. Johns system than much of the rest of the field will ever know. He’s fished six B.A.S.S. events there, finishing in the Top 7 on four occasions, including a win in the 2001 Open, and never worse than 27th. At some point, he’s going to bust through with his first Elite Series win to go with his five Open-level trophies — four of them won in Florida — and this may be that time. After missing the last two Classics, he needs to get off to a strong start on home cooking.
BUCKET D: THARP
Almost Picked: Kelly Jordon and Cliff Prince
Like Scroggins, Cliff Prince is a St. Johns hammer, with decades of knowledge on the river, but last time out, he stumbled a bit, finishing 56th. Jordon, once one of the fastest-rising stars in the sport, has struggled of late, missing five Classics in a row after fishing five in a row. He’s due to bust a big weight, and this venue plays to his strengths, but his results on the St. Johns in recent years, like those across the board, have been inconsistent — seventh, 39th and 80th.
My Pick: Randall Tharp
After last year’s truly un-Tharplike season, Randall Tharp was probably upset that he couldn’t keep going after a near-victory (second place) at the season-ending Southern Open on Seminole. He started off this year 27th at Kissimmee, which probably didn’t satisfy him, although it shows how even poor-for-him finishes in Florida still tend put him near the top of the scorecard. When the Elites were here in 2014, he finished 13th, and that, combined with his years of experience, makes him a Bucket D bargain.
BUCKET E: BENTON
Almost Picked: Adrian Avena
Bucket E is always a tough one in the season openers because you’re dealing with largely unknown commodities, so it pays to latch onto any little hook that indicates bomb-avoidance, and the young Adrian Avena has shown himself to be a versatile angler in all sorts of waters in his years on the FLW Tour. He’s young, but he’s hardly a rookie.
My Pick: Drew Benton
The 280 or so miles from Panama City to Palatka doesn’t quite make Drew Benton a local, but he knows Florida fishing, as a victory at Lake Okeechobee in his first FLW Tour event showed. He won’t be fazed by the fishery or the bright lights.