Chris Zaldain called his 18-pound 11 ounce limit a “Ray Bob starter pack.”
The veteran pro, currently sitting in lucky 13th, explained that Ray Roberts, hosting this week’s 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, is a “flip floppy lake.” He doesn’t expect the winning catch to consist of three roughly equal catches, but rather a varied mix – perhaps 30 pounds one day, 16 to 20 another, and then 24 or 25.
“I burned my bad day on the first day,” said the pre-tournament favorite and Fort Worth resident. He noted that fishing immediately after a massive front like the one that just blew half of Texas to the other side of the state is often the toughest time to get bass to bite. That’s an explanation, not an excuse, and is his uphill climb is doable but formidable. He finds himself behind a laundry list of hammers, including multiple pros born after the turn of the century, anglers from three different foreign countries, a cheesehead and the one guy in the field without forward-facing sonar.
Survive and advance, baby. It’s a big stage in a big state, but with the lake fishing small every mistake is magnified tenfold.
Here’s what I learned, saw and speculated on a less-windy-but-still-gusty Day One from Texas:
Top Texan – Maybe it was sandbagging, but many members of the field argued prior to the tournament that this one favored the locals more than the typical Classic – simply because the lake has a comparatively low fish populations, and there tend to be a lot of one or two fish spots. Confirming that rumor was the fact that all of the Texans – born-and-raised and adopted residents alike – seemed not to lack for confidence. Lee Livesay is in 5th with 23 pounds, Zaldain is in 13th, and Nebraska native Ben Milliken is in 43rd with two fish for 8-2.
In a Barbie World – Yesterday, at media day, I asked Lee Livesay about being a “girl dad” and he proudly stated he’s all-in on the process, going to every tea party, ballet recital and doll extravaganza he can find. Today he took it one step further, catching all of his fish on a pink chatterbait with a pink trailer.
War Eagle – The three Auburn grads, Connor Jacob, Jordan Lee and Logan Parks, find themselves in 23rd, 37th and 38th, respectively.
Record Setter – One of the constant themes leading into this Classic was whether the three-day, five-fish limit weight record of 69-11. That mark, set by Kevin VanDam at the Louisiana Delta in 2011, translates to an average of just a hair under 23-4 a day. Of course, in true KVD fashion, he got better each day, starting with 19-3, then adding 22-8, and closing it out with an insane 28-pound limit on Day Three. Right now, four anglers are on pace to get it done. We won’t start the serious speculation until after tomorrow’s weigh-in, but if conditions improve, as many suspect they will, Ray Roberts could easily enter the pantheon of big weight Classics.
Lee Livesay (5th, 23-0) – “I picked a bad area this morning and tried to make it work way too long.”
Twenties – There were 11 bags of 20 pounds or more today. Of those catches, only one of them consisted of fewer than a five fish limit – Wes Logan in 11th with 20-9.
The Importance of Three Limits – When Hank Cherry won here in 2021, he caught a limit each day, but six members of the final top ten failed to do so, with 10th place finisher Patrick Walters weighing in a mere 11 fish. Today, as noted above, Wes Logan was the top finisher to miss boxing five. There were 27 limits overall. Several anglers told us at Media Day that 2- and 3-pounders are rarer here than big fish, but this week the final outcome could very easily come down to some angler’s failure to sack five every day, even one last bare keeper. So much depends on every bite – getting it and capitalizing.
Cut Weight New Math – Normally the Day Two cut weight at an Elite Series event is somewhere between twice the first day cut mark and twice that weight plus a pound. The Classic is a different animal, though. Just “cashing a check” is effectively immaterial, so the competitors are more likely to take major risks on Day Two – which sometimes results in major plunges for a few of them. Ray Roberts makes it even tougher because bites are generally scarce. That affects the cut weight as well as the scoreboard. Someone with 20 pounds one day could catch 5 the next, or vice versa. Today’s cut weight of 14-14 (Justin Hamner) would put the mark in the range of 30 to 31 pounds, but it’s anyone’s guess what’ll actually happen. Tightening conditions could skew the results, as could a warming trend that loosens up the bite.
Cartman Speaks – I haven’t confirmed it, so don’t hold me to it, but I suspect that the 2025 Classic sets a record for Kyles in the field, with three. Unfortunately, they struggled today, with Kyle Patrick landing in 39th, Kyle Austin in 44th, and Kyle Norsetter in 51st.
The Cut Last Time – At the 2021 Classic, there were three catches of over 20 pounds on Day One, led by Steve Kennedy’s 23-0. Tenth place was 16 pounds even and 25th was 12-15. On a weather-delayed Day Two, the team fell off the pace and it only took 25-13 to squeak into 10th over two days, and a mere 21 pounds to make the top 25. In other words, the difference between 5th (31-01) and 25th (21-0) was one bite. Of course, that was a June tournament. In March, you’d expect the weights to be higher, and so far, they have been. The fish should generally be at or near their heaviest, too.
Trey McKinney – “I know how to catch a few bass, but other than that I don’t have much going for me.” In the grand scheme of things, that seems like a good trade. Depending on how things turn out this week, it might end up going down in the history books as the most significant deal since Robert Johnson at the crossroads.
Haters’ Hopes – A little bit after 1pm, McKinney’s forward-facing sonar seemed to give up the ghost. “I took a few big waves in the monsoon,” he explained. While it was certainly frustrating, the fact that he had 26 pounds in the livewell certainly provided some solace. I’m sure that people throughout the sport who resent the younger anglers and the minnow pingers took some joy in his misfortune – but based on his early success, anyone who finds a thrill in young Trey’s occasional difficulties is going to have a difficult path going forward. The self-owns are likely to decrease, the trophies are going to pile up, and the unavoidable mechanical malfunctions should be mere blips.
Drew Benton – “I was worried I could zero coming into this tournament. It was tough to get around and tough to get a bite. Today was about making sure we caught enough to stay in it.”
International Division – We have four Canadian anglers in the field, but Cory Johnston (2nd, 25-9) is the only one currently inside the cut. Jeff Gustafson, Chris Johnston and Cooper Gallant are outside the cut in 26th, 29th and 53rd, respectively. There are two Japanese pros, Kyoya Fujita and Taku Ito, who are in 7th and 36th, respectively. And of course Carl Jocumsen is the only Australian in the field (albeit not the only native of that country to make it – Kim Bain-Moore beat him to the punch). He’s in 12th with 18-14.
DDs – Preston Clark and Rick Clunn remain the only anglers to catch double digit bass in a Classic. That’s been the case since February of 2006, as both big fish came at the Toho Classic won by Luke Clausen. Today’s big bass was John Garrett’s 8-12. I expect we could add at least one more by the end of this event.
The Classic Hits Just a Little Different – I watch hundreds of Elite fish catches in a year, and of course these guys are all masters of getting fish in the boat, but they hit a different gear when it comes Classic time – or perhaps they back it off a notch. There are fewer boat flips, fewer efforts to rush a still-green bass into the boat. They circle more, they bow to the fish more, and then they swoop in. Still, fish get lost. We saw reigning AOY Chris Johnston lose a 3 ½ pounder at the boat early this morning after it thrashed around for a while. There’s not necessarily a science to the process. Indeed, sometimes the difference between heartbreak and happiness boils down to just a smidgen of luck.
Veteran Wiles – In the era of Live and ubiquitous cameras, it’s harder than ever for anglers to keep their baits and techniques a secret or to lie about what they’re using. Young Trey McKinney, however, is a master of the practice. “To have a small profile, he can hide those lures,” Davy Hite said.
Justin Hamner — “Whoever said that Chicago was the windy city ain’t never been in Fort Worth in March.”
Title Bigamists – There have been a handful of anglers in angling history who’ve won both the Bassmaster Classic and the Forrest Wood Cup (or its predecessor, the FLW Championship – Luke Clausen, David Fritts, Davy Hite and Dion Hibdon. It’s been nearly two decades since someone has sealed that deal, as Clausen was the last to do so with his 2006 Classic win. There are four anglers in this week’s field who could join that elite/Elite group: Greg Hackney (won the Cup in 2009), Scott Martin (2011), John Cox (2016) and Justin Atkins (2017). With a victory, Hackney would actually be the first to lock down championship and AOY titles on both of those circuits. Atkins (50th, 3-12) had the largest climb to get back in it, but Cox (6th, 22-0), Martin (16th, 17-14) and Hackney (18th, 17-6) are all clearly in the hunt.
Connor Jacob (23rd, 15-13) – “Everything about this event is supersized and crazy except for my bag.”
Chris Zaldain on Ray Roberts — “It’s just like the chick we used to date in high school. She’s a five or a six…but once you get to know her personality, she’s a 10 out of 10.” A few seconds later he was talking about warming up hard, rocky bottoms. What happened in high school, should stay in high school, CZ.
Cody Huff (54th, 0-0) – “A bad day being a professional bass fisherman really isn’t all that bad.”
Stetson Blaylock (14th, 18-8) – “I think I had more bites in the first two hours today than I did in all of practice.”
Music to My Ears – Even when he’s not near the top of the standings, even when he’s fishing a lake that’s primarily known for big largemouths, if it doesn’t bring a smile to hear Taku Ito’s “Smallmouth Disneyland” then you probably don’t have a soul.
