KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Entering the final day of competition in the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota, Jeff Gustafson has a lead of nearly 6 pounds, which seems almost insurmountable on this tricky fishery, but none of the other 24 anglers still competing has yet issued a concession speech.
Many anglers, pundits and fans believe that only first place matters this week, and that this is a “winner take all” event, but everyone still out there has something to fish for – including but not possibly a Classic crown. There are 25 mini-tournaments going on out there, and multiple storylines in each one of them.
I walked the docks this morning trying to figure out what we might observe today, and to try to understand the anglers’ mindsets as they head out for Day Three. Here’s what I think I learned:
Wrapped up like a deuce – If second place is so irrelevant, why do we remember so many non-winners? Of course, there are the super-painful near misses, like watching Jim Bitter’s winning fish flop back into the drink, or Dalton Bobo missing the win by the margin of a dead fish penalty in 1997, whose leading actors would probably rather forget those days. There are also people like the late Aaron Martens – a four-time bridesmaid – who never got a chance to rectify that shortcoming. On the other hand, Jason Christie, who had several crushing “losses,” came back to win last year. When AMart came in 2nd to KVD in Pittsburgh, and broke off the potentially winning fish, it was crushing for Martens. When that pair had the same result in New Orleans, and it was never a contest, the late, great finesse specialist took it in stride.
Remembering Conroe – Brandon Lester is one of the anglers trailing Gussy who thinks that if the leader falters even slightly there’s a chance to overtake him. “We’ve seen bigger deficits before.” For example, when Jordan Lee caught 27 pounds 14 ounces to win on Lake Conroe in 2017, he came from 13-14 back. He’d only caught three fish for 8-06 on Day One and had nothing at noon on Day Two, but notched 21-0 and 27-14 to claim the first of two Classic wins. Nine anglers who competed in that event also fished this week and four of them – Drew Benton (currently in 4th), Jason Christie (10th), Greg Hackney (13th) and Jacob Powroznik (15th) – are on the water today. That was the only Classic that Lester missed in the last eight of them.
Max potential – When Lee made his comeback in 2017, he was fishing on a lake that produces numerous double-digit bass every year, where a 30-pound bag is not out of the question. That’s less of a likelihood here – Gussy’s 18-08 on Day One, and Luke Palmer’s 5-13 yesterday, are the big bag and big fish so far. Jason Christie isn’t ruling out the possibility of a 20-pound-plus bag quite yet. “I caught a 7-pounder and a 6-pounder in practice, but I haven’t tangled with one yet in the tournament. A win for me would be to prove to myself that those big ones are still swimming around out there.”
Other wins – Christie said that while his chances of winning are slim, considering the number of dominoes that would have to fall to allow it, there are other ways to come out on top. He didn’t call them “moral victories” or “pyrrhic victories,” but did note that he’s aiming to move up into the top five. If he can be the top-finishing Yamaha pro, he’ll win an extra $20,000. Right now, only Scott Canterbury was ahead of him in that race.
Mix in the jig – Gussy’s moping rig, and various moving baits like crankbaits, vibrating jigs and spinnerbaits have been the dominant lures through two days of fishing, but multiple anglers who need to get more than one big bite today are hedging their bets with another option: “I’m going to spend more time flipping a jig,” Brandon Lester said. It’s a ½ ounce full-size model, not a cut-down finesse jig. “That big profile generates big bites this time of year.” John Cox has been doing his damage with a flat-sided Frittside crankbait, but he too will keep out a ½ ounce jig with a Berkley Maxscent Meaty Chunk trailer to keep the fish honest.
Go with the flow – Bryan Schmitt was excited to see the current flowing harder today than yesterday, and the Maryland pro said he’s fishing a “low tide pattern.”
Saving water – Lester, who slipped a bit yesterday, said that he’s saved a couple of key bluff stretches to fish today. That wasn’t necessarily by choice – they were all but unfishable the past two days due to the strength and direction of the wind – but his best guess is that no one else was able to go there, either. Two or three quality bites and he’s back in it.
Green machine — Bryan Schmitt may not end up first in the tournament, but he was the first angler to the dock this morning, but a margin of at least 10 minutes. Sitting there in the dark, he assessed his goals for the day: “Take smallmouth out of this and it’s a largemouth derby. I’d like to win the largemouth derby.”
Cory Johnston assessing Gussy’s chances – “He pretty much has to crash into the bank to not win.”
