The 2014 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by Diet Mountain Dew and GoPro has finally arrived, and it looks to be one of the best ever. In some way we have the weather to thank for that.
Because of a miserable winter the water’s cold – but it’s getting warmer every day and it looks like that trend is going to continue right through the final day of the tournament. That’ll probably make for real excitement as the competition unfolds. The guys who had good seasons and qualified are going to have to fish under really tough conditions. They’re going to have to fish where the fish are going instead of where they are at the time.
I say that’s some of the toughest fishing around because when you find the bass they’re moving. They’re only in one place for a little while. You can’t set up in your boat and catch them. You have to catch them while, at the same time, figure out where they’re going to be in an hour or in a day and then move with them.
The one good thing all the qualifiers have going for them is that Lake Guntersville isn’t a secret to professional bass anglers. Any angler who has fished any circuit with any size to it has fished the lake. Those of us fortunate enough to fish the Elite Series have been there many times over the years.
Experience like that is invaluable when it comes to knowing what the fish are going to do, how they’re going to move and where they’re going to set-up. That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy, though. Bass fishing has always been half science and half art. Solutions are not always obvious.
All I can say is that I wish I was there trying to solve the puzzle instead of making signs.
Not all of my time up here is spent working, however. I had to laugh this morning as I was hacking around the Internet reading about the Classic. I enjoyed myself but I also realized that there are two sides to that coin.
As a fan I love it. Back in the day everything was a mystery. You had no idea what was happening unless you knew somebody well enough to call them on the telephone. And even then it was hit and miss. All we had were landlines back then. Nowadays I can go into my office and keep up to date on whatever’s happening with the push of a button.
But as an employer I have to say that it might not be so great. No business wants to pay people to spend their time following their hobby or doing whatever on their computers, tablets or smart phones. It’s expensive and doesn’t bring a penny in the door.
In my business it’s not much of a problem. I have good employees. Besides, most of them don’t care much about fishing, especially not when there’s a foot of snow on the ground.
That’s enough for today. It’s time to get ready for the action. Let’s all hope that everybody fishes safe, that records are broken and that the winner wins because he is the best angler later this week.