This week sets up to be a near duplicate of what happened last week at Lewis Smith Lake and the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open. That was the last event of the season. And so is this Central Open on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. Here are the storylines, which I will cover in detail this afternoon for a feature on Bassmaster.com.
First, the tournament winner must have fished the two previous Central Opens in order to qualify for the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. The pro roster is stacked with local anglers from Oklahoma. So there is a chance the winner misses out on the Classic.
Mike McClelland and Carl Svebek III claimed the first two spots. McClelland won Central Open #1 last April on Table Rock Lake. Svebek won on the Sabine River. All both anglers had to do was show up and fish this event to validate their Classic invitations.