bassmaster classic

A look at Grand Lake Classic 2024

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Captions by
Mike Suchan
Living on Tulsa time. That’s what the bass fishing world will be doing this week at the 54th Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors. The greatest event in the sport returns to northeast Oklahoma, with fishing on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, for the biggest celebration in the sport.
The 56 competitors left their homes last week for Grand Lake, and they are allotted four days practice before competition March 22-24. All hold hope to have their name etched on the Ray Scott trophy and in B.A.S.S. annals. The Classic is the grandest pursuit for bass anglers like North Carolina’s Matt Arey, whose girls Reese and Wren sent him off in style.
This is the third Classic for Tulsa, which was announced 13 months ago after almost a year of planning. “We couldn’t be more excited to be headed back to a city and fishery that already hold a special place in Classic history,” B.A.S.S. CEO Chase Anderson said. Tulsa tourism official Renee McKenney said, “Tulsa has experienced profound growth since 2016 … This is an incredible opportunity to showcase how Tulsa is not only a thriving, vibrant city, but one with convenient access to world-class outdoor splendor.”
B.A.S.S. has held 11 pro-level tournaments on Grand Lake, a 46,500-acre reservoir that boasts 1,366 miles of shoreline and an average depth of 36 feet. It’s lined by fishing-crazed communities that know what’s at stake. “Since its inception, the Classic has been a tournament that changes lives,” B.A.S.S. Vice President of Tournaments Chris Bowes said. “The payday is great, sure. But the opportunity to refer to yourself as ‘Bassmaster Classic champion’ for the rest of your life — there’s no greater clout in our sport.” 
There are three previous Classic champions in the field — Hank Cherry, Jason Christie and Jeff Gustafson. The other 53 hope to become the 43rd person ever to take the title. Forty-four of this year’s competitors fish the Elite Series, with 12 qualifying from Bassmaster Opens, Nation, College and Team Series. There are 16 first-time qualifiers, including the youngest ever, Aaron Yavorsky, who turned 18 on March 15.
The competitors, prohibited from being on Grand Lake for the past two months, have but days to figure out the winning approach before Friday’s first launch. That’s when the highly rated Wolf Creek Park and Boating Facility takes center stage, complete with improvements since the Classic’s last visit.
The morning activities at Wolf Creek will be quite the sight. Anglers begin launching hours before the 7:15 a.m. CT daily blastoffs. Fans can attend free of charge, witness the pageantry and hear angler interviews with Bassmaster emcee Dave Mercer, who heralds each angler as they head out.
After their day of fishing, anglers leave a bump station at Wolf Creek, where their catch is recorded, for Tulsa’s BOK Center. The daily weigh-ins begin there at 3:30 p.m. CT Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Fans are also invited to a Kickoff Party outside the BOK Center from 4-9 p.m. Thursday.
In 2016, fans lined up to enter the BOK, where the majesty of the Classic is on full display. Also free to attend, the weigh-in shows celebrate the qualifiers as they show their fish and talk about their successes or failures on Grand Lake.
The Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo presented by GSM Outdoors takes place across the street from the BOK Center at the Cox Business Center. Visitors can find deals on all types of gear, see the latest and greatest equipment and rub elbows with B.A.S.S. icons. For times and information on activities, see the Bassmaster Classic Attend page.
In the 2013 Grand Classic, Mississippi pro Cliff Pace tied Mike Iaconelli for the Day 1 lead, but he separated himself with the biggest limit of the event, 21 pounds, 12 ounces, on Day 2. Uncharacteristically, Pace pulled out a 7-2 and 6-13 to show spectators at the Wolf Creek bump station.
Despite catching only four fish on Championship Sunday, Pace won with 54-12, holding off Brandon Palaniuk by 3-4 and Hank Cherry by 5-12. Cherry, who went on to win back-to-back Classics in 2020-21, infamously lost what might have been the winning fish in 2013.
In the 2016 Classic, Edwin Evers started the final day in third place, trailing fellow Oklahoman Jason Christie by 6-5. Evers traveled up the Elk River and caught 29-3, the largest limit ever weighed on a Championship Sunday, to win with 60-7.
Christie watched as his Elite travel mate won the title, topping him by 10 pounds. “I didn’t lose it, he just beat me. That’s all there is to it,” Christie said afterward. “This is my fourth Classic. I’ve been close three times. He’s finally got him one. I’ll get me one, one of these days.”
It would be six years before Christie found redemption by winning the 2022 Lake Hartwell Classic. In between, Christie spent two years at MLF and had a stressful 2020 requalifying for the Elite Series. Living 60 miles from Grand, Christie is among the favorites in his 10th Classic. In Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing, Christie is in Group A with two other Classic champs and the reigning Angler of the Year, and he has been picked by almost 40% of the 30,000 participants.
Christie might argue with B.A.S.S. writer Bryan Brasher giving him the highest odds ever to win at 3/2, especially considering the later date. “If there was a time for me to not have an advantage on Grand Lake, it’s that week,” Christie said. “The fish should be biting, you should be able to catch them anywhere, and you should be able to catch them a lot of different ways.”
“The time we’re having it is wide open,” Christie said. “I think the tournament could be won end to end. With what we now have in electronics — mapping, the TV shows and (all media platforms), there are no secrets anymore. A guy has to win by fishing and probably changing a lot throughout the tournament.”
The only other Oklahoman in the field is Luke Palmer, and he also predicts a wide-open, exciting event with a variety of tactics in play. “There are so many things that could happen at once,” he said.  “The thing I like about our fish in Oklahoma is they still relate to structure. They’re not those fish that just randomly cruise around. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some. Most of them, if they’re eating, they’ll relate to some type of structure — wood, rock, brushpiles.” Palmer said although a 25-pound bag might be caught, he thinks an average of 18 pounds a day could win.
Only four anglers the field have fished both previous Classics on Grand — Christie, Greg Hackney, Brandon Card and Brandon Palaniuk. Japanese angler Kenta Kimura can be considered a local because when in America sets up on Grand Lake. “That is where I have the most knowledge than anywhere else in the country,” said Kimura, who finished second in the 2021 Open there. “I need to win one this year. Every tournament has the chance to change your life completely.” Especially this one. Kimura is one of eight qualifiers who hail from outside the U.S.
Cody Huff is another qualifier in close proximity, living in Ava, Mo., where he cut his teeth fishing similar Ozarks lakes. “I’m sure a lot of guys are gonna catch them on spinnerbaits, ChatterBaits and probably flipping,” Huff said. “If the water stays really clean, I could see a lot of guys wacky worming. It could go a lot of different ways, but it has a good shot at lining up to be a power-fishing beatdown. It should line up to be a really good tournament — probably the best one we’ve had on Grand. They’ve always been a touch early, but I think this one’s gonna hit it right on the head.”
The anglers began their three-day practice session on Friday the 15th to mostly stable conditions, but a front brought in colder temperatures for Monday’s off day. The anglers convene in Tulsa on Tuesday to check-in with B.A.S.S. officials before Wednesday’s final day of practice, when the weather again gets consistent with lows in the mid-40s and temperatures climbing to the mid-60s for each day of competition.
The storm that brought tornadoes a day before the first practice mostly missed Grand, and a mild winter without major influxes of water have kept much of the lake clear. “It’s not what I was expecting. It’s not what I would want,” Christie said. “We have had (little) rain, and the weather has been really mild. It’s almost like we’ve just had a long spring. We’ve already mowed the grass at my house, and we normally don’t until mid-April. The water clarity is probably better than in years past because we usually have a couple of flush-outs in fall and early spring, but we just haven’t had those.”
The anglers are vying for a purse of more than $1 million. The full field fishes the first two days, with the Top 25 advancing to Championship Sunday. The winner receives $300,000. Second place is worth $50,000, and the payouts decrease $10,000 for third and fourth. Each participant gets at least $10,000, and there are contingencies awarded as well as individual sponsor incentives. The Mercury Big Bass, which is expected to weigh around 8 pounds, receives $2,500, and the Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag, which could approach 30 pounds, is worth $7,500. Toyota Bonus Bucks gives $7,500 to its top finisher.
Jeff Gustafson is the defending Classic champ. He became the first Canadian and the second international angler to hoist the trophy when he won last year on Tennessee River. He and reigning Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year Kyle Welcher will lead out the field, whose order was chosen by draw. Check out facts about the field.
The Bassmaster.com media machine will provide extensive coverage of the happenings, including blogs, photo galleries, articles and Bassmaster LIVE streaming video. The Bassmaster LIVE crew kicks things off with a Classic preview 7:30-8 a.m. CT Tuesday on FS2, then can be viewed on Bassmaster, FS1 and FOX. Click here for the full schedule on how to watch.

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