Four-time Bassmaster Classic winner Rick Clunn confirmed today on Bassmaster LIVE that he’s long believed that his catch of 75-9 from the 1984 Classic is the “real record” – not the 69-11 that KVD tallied on the Louisiana Delta in 2011. Of course, Clunn’s catch came during the seven-fish limit period, not the later five-fish era, but it was also a summertime Classic on a venue that isn’t known for producing giants like most of these Texas fisheries.
“I can’t believe since they moved the Classic to this time of year that it hasn’t been broken,” he said.
Well, now it has.
Easton Fothergill’s 76-15 has made any dispute that might have existed in the minds of titleholders, title-aspirants, pundits and fans completely moot. Heading into the day with a massive lead, most of us presumed the young Minnesotan would come out on top, but he certainly didn’t reach the Champion’s Toast through a back alley or side entrance. He slammed the door and made history in dominating fashion.
There were a few other competitors who made a run at it, including Trey McKinney, who lost a big fish in the afternoon that might’ve made it close had Fothergill not landed an 8-pounder shortly thereafter. McKinney’s time will surely come sooner rather than later. Still, we entered the day with most of the field not having much of a chance. All but four of them started more than 10 pounds back and 12 of them started more than 20 pounds back.
There are no pyrrhic victories at the Classic. In all but the rarest cases, second place is an afterthought. Nevertheless, all of the 25 anglers were fishing for something. It might be redemption or personal satisfaction, or just to avoid having to hear over and over on the Expo floor, “Why aren’t you fishing on Day 3?”
The savviest ones will use the opportunity to pick something up and file it away for later. Greg Hackney told me on Media Day that he was able to win $500,000 on Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers in 2009 as a direct result of laying down a goose egg there in 2005. It may not seem like it in an era where not-yet-23-year-olds win Classics with 19-year-olds directly behind them, but fishing history has a long gestation period. Things develop gradually and then suddenly. The story of this Lake Ray Roberts Classic hasn’t been fully written. In fact, Fothergill’s win is in many ways purely prologue.
Here’s what I saw, thought, heard, read, speculated and dreamed on a day that ended up having more drama than expected:
John F. Kennedy – “There are no faint hearts in Fort Worth.”
Personal Bests – For five members of the Super Six, this was their best Classic finish. It was Trey McKinney’s first Classic and champion Fothergill’s second – he finished 16th last year at Grand. Cory Johnson’s (fifth this year) previous best was sixth last year at Grand Lake, when Lee Livesay (thirrd this year) finished fifth. Hunter Shryock (fourth) had never finished better than 25th (Guntersville 2020). John Cox was the only one who missed the mark – he came in sixth after finishing fifth at Knoxville in 2023.
Rick Clunn on Fothergill’s opportunity – “There is no safe lead, but I’d love to have his lead heading into the final day.”
Aluminum boats – The Super Six included two anglers in aluminum boats: Lee Livesay (Xpress) and John Cox (Vexus). Jeff Gustafson (Lund) remains the only angler to win a Classic out of a metal rig.
20/20/20 – Heading into today, four anglers had a chance to catch at least 20 pounds all three days – Easton Fothergill, Cory Johnston, Hunter Shryock and Lee Livesay. All but Johnston achieved that feat.
Had Fothergill stayed home today – He still would have finished ninth.
Wait for the second half – We were halfway through today’s weigh-in before anyone passed Fothergill’s two-day weight of 54-05. Patrick Walters (ninth, 55-12) dropped 19-14 on the scales and temporarily slid into first place by a margin of 7 ounces. It was the best Classic appearance for Walters in six attempts.
Best ball format, family style – If the Johnston brothers could have taken their best three bags and combined them, they would have totaled 69-2, which would have put them in second instead of fifth (Cory), and eighth (Chris), respectively.
Winning margins – When Clunn won on the Arkansas River in 1984, his winning margin was a ridiculous 25-8 over Dr. Greg South. The largest margin of Classic victory in the Elite Series era was Kevin VanDam’s 10-11. Fothergill beat runner-up Trey McKiney by 8-07,
Ups and downs – Fourteen of the top 25 anglers had their worst day on Day 3, including five of the top seven. Only two anglers had their best day on Day 3.
Defending champ Justin Hamner (10th, 53-3) was the only angler in the Top 25 whose weight went up in weight each day while seven saw their weight decrease each day.
Trifecta – Fothergill’s three Bassmaster wins have come in three different states – his native Minnesota, Oklahoma and now the Lone Star State.
Straight up truth from Mercer – “It’s not the Oprah Winfrey Show. We’re not all winning here.”
Man of his word – As promised, Tyler Rivet (16th, 46-12) shaved his hair into a mohawk to comply with his bet with Dave Mercer. He reported that the wind tunnel tested hairdo allowed him to drive his boat 2 miles an hour faster.
Ben Milliken (15th, 47-0) – “I was fortunate enough to find the winning area. I found the winning fish, so I’m proud of that.”
Same state, different era – The first Minnesotan to win a Bassmaster tournament was the legendary Al Lindner of In-Fisherman fame, who was victorious at Lake Gaston in March of 1977, just over 48 years ago. The early years of B.A.S.S. were far more southern-focused than the tour is today. The first professional Bassmaster event held in the land of the Golden Gophers took place on Lake Minnetonka in August of 1995. Jim Bitter, who recently passed away, won that tournament with a four-day catch of 79-03. The tour returned the next year and Classic champion David Fritts won with 54-14.
Broadcast brilliance – Mark Zona is sui generis and will be dearly missed at every event he’s not on from now until the end of eternity, but Tommy Sanders is our Jon Facenda. I don’t know how much longer we’ll have him, but we should enjoy every syllable he utters and every pithy point that he makes.
The best of the worst – Fothergill’s lowest weight came on Day 3, when he brought “only” 22-10 to the scales. Three days of that still would have put him in second behind McKinney. On the flip side of that, if you’d taken their best individual days and multiplied them by three, only McKinney and Milliken would’ve beaten Fothergill’s actual weight.
Twenty-pound bags are so 2024 – There were 13 bags over 23 pounds this week, including four over 26, two of them from runner-up Trey McKinney.
Double digits – We saw 8-pounders every day, but the double-digit bass simply did not show up. There’s no doubt that they reside here – multiple competitors including Tyler Williams and Lee Livesay reported catching them in practice – but once fish get to that size they’re a different beast. Much more has to go right in order to fool them and get them into the boat. Preston Clark’s Classic record of 11-10 is safe for at least one more year, probably more. We didn’t match the best fish from Conroe in 2017, either. That year Brent Ehrler had a 9-12 and Ott DeFoe landed a 9-9.
Let the fat lady sing – Mark Zona, when Easton Fothergill caught the 8-pounder that sealed the deal at 2:32pm: “I believe in the fish gods and they just showed up.”
Missed opportunities – Fothergill was the only angler to top KVD’s three-day, five-fish Classic weight record. None of the past Classic winners in the field (Jeff Gustafson, Justin Hamner, Jordan Lee) added to their resumes or their trophy cases. Nor did any of the Forrest Wood Cup champs in the field (Justin Atkins, John Cox, Scott Martin, Greg Hackney) join the elite group who’ve won that title plus a Classic.
Lee Livesay on his drive to keep on competing – “There’s a reason Hackney’s still showing up.”
Veteran admiration – As Fothergill battled a 2 3/4-pound bass a little bit before 1 p.m., the angler pundits on the live broadcast marveled at his demeanor. “Look at how calm he is,” said 2023 Classic champ Jeff Gustafson. To which Wes Logan responded, “He’s got it. He’s got the ‘it factor.’”
John Cox – “I fished my area like I was trapped in there.”
Historical fact – The only brother of Congressman Ray Roberts was named Roy. He did not have a lake named after him.
Hometown Heroes – Other famous people from Grand Rapids, Minn., include Judy Garland. While Gerald Ford was from Grand Rapids, Mich., the Gerald R. Ford Museum celebrating the life of the 38th president is in the Minnesota city of the same name.
See you next year in Knoxville. Thanks for another great Classic.
