When the final qualifier for the 2012 Bassmaster Classic was determined last weekend, the field was set at 49 anglers from five circuits and 22 states. Click here to view the complete list of 2012 Bassmaster Classic qualifiers.
On Saturday, Allan Glasgow won the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series Championship presented by American Bass Anglers, claiming the sole remaining 2012 Bassmaster Classic seat.
“To be able to go to the Classic, to do what few anglers have done, is exciting,” Glasgow said Monday morning. “It’s just beginning to sink in today.”
From Ashville, Ala., Glasgow became the 10th qualifier from Alabama, which had already earned bragging rights as the state with the most entries for 2012. Texas boasts seven qualifiers. Florida, Oklahoma (announced last week as host state of the 2013 Classic) and South Carolina each have three.
Seventeen other states have either one or two anglers in the Feb. 24-26 world championship on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
Bassmaster Classic 2012 blends the new with the familiar. One “first” will be an entry by the reigning Mercury College B.A.S.S. champion, an honor claimed by Texan Andrew Upshaw; he is one of 12 Classic rookies. Longtime Classic veterans include defending champ and four-time winner Kevin VanDam, who will compete in his 22nd consecutive Classic. Denny Brauer, the 1998 Classic winner, will make his 21st Classic appearance.
All qualifiers arrived via one of five avenues, but the majority of the field stemmed from the 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series. Six others traveled the long road of the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation. Four emerged from the 2011 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open divisions. Mercury College B.A.S.S. and the 2011 Weekend Series each produced one qualifier.
The 2012 Classic will be the first in Shreveport-Bossier City since 2009, when Classic attendance records were broken. Daily weigh-ins will take place at Bossier City’s CenturyLink Center, and the 2012 Bassmaster Classic Outdoor Expo presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods will be at the Shreveport Convention Center.