When I landed in Tulsa yesterday and made my way to the airport’s baggage carousel, the first people I spotted were Bryan Schmitt’s wife and children. Last year at this time was not so bright for them. Schmitt had finished second in the Classic and outdoor writer Dan O’Sullivan put together a painful article and photo array detailing just how tearfully despondent Schmitt’s son Dylan was with the outcome.
Now, though, the boy cheerfully waited for his suitcase adorned with fishing industry stickers and bounded off. Hope lives eternal in young boys, and when the Classic blasts off on Friday, Schmitt and the rest of the field will once again harness that hope for boys – and girls – of all ages.
Indeed, there may be no Classic venue that so repeatedly represents tales of Classic sadness and redemption than Tulsa and Grand Lake. In 2013, Hank Cherry painfully and very visibly lost what might have been the winning fish here. As it slipped from his grasp, so too it seemed did his chance at angling immortality. Then, seven years later, at Guntersville, he got it all back with a win. The year after that, he doubled down.
Likewise, Jason Christie had great opportunities to win here in both 2013 and 2016 – as well as in 2018 at Hartwell – and for a period it seemed that his time would never come. Then it 2022 all of the pieces fit together neatly and he claimed the long-awaited trophy. This week he’ll have a chance to match Cherry’s twofer.
That’s the beauty of practice day – not just that everyone’s still at zero – but everyone is just 15 casts from greatness. On today’s last pre-tournament scouting expedition I rode with Elite rookie Kyle Patrick. A year ago, most fishing fans had no idea who he was. Now, with an Opens win and a Century Belt, you’d be hard pressed to ignore his chances. Most importantly, he’s tied with Schmitt, Cherry and Christie. In deference to Kyle, I won’t talk about how or where he fished, but here’s what I saw, heard and thought on a day when there’s usually more checking than catching:
Meet the New Lake – This is my third trip to Grand, all of them for Classics. In the 2013 and 2016 iterations, I spent all four days – practice plus competition – on the water. This year, today will likely be the one stab that I get, so I was eager to see it through new eyes. That was facilitated by the fact that for the first time I wasn’t wearing 27 layers of clothing and a helmet. That 2013 derby was painfully cold, the coldest I’d ever been in a bass boat (until the Hartwell Classic two years later), a true Iditarod of bass fishing. Weather is always a factor, but it shouldn’t be an endurance factor this time around.
Same as the Old Lake – Despite seeing it through non-frozen eyes, it’s amazing how much of it came back to me immediately. I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but as we passed by certain areas I’d think to myself, “That’s a place that Cliff Pace stopped on,” or, “That’s where Christie got crowded out by his flotilla of fans.” Notably, we got barked at by only one dog, and Patrick did not drop any expletives on him.
Which Way Will They Go? – Most of the boats turned left out of Wolf Creek and headed down the lake. Notably, Edwin Evers amassed his massive final day bag in 2016 on a “right turn location.” I wonder what the split will be on Friday?
Water Temps and Clarity – We saw water temperatures from 51 to 59 degrees over the course of the day, and what amazed me was not that range, but rather how quickly they changed in a confined area. Somehow I don’t think that water temperature will be the defining factor – unless someone like John Cox or Drew Cook finds a bunch of early bedders – but I suspect that water clarity might be a major key to victory. Without getting too deep into that too soon, trust me on this one.
Doppelgangers – I’ve been to many if not most of the major tournament venues in the United States, and when I run down Grand I can imagine myself on Hartwell. The two just seem to have a lot in column (despite some notable differences, such as the type/s of bass present). No wonder Christie is so comfortable in Greenville.
Early Prediction – On paper (or pixels), Grand seems like a perfect pattern lake to me. It fishes big, has lots of varied cover and structure, and anglers should be able to run a defined plan. Nevertheless, modern Classics are almost always won on a spot or three, and I expect that might be the case again.
Loaded with Life – As I stared at the air, the surface of the water, and Patrick’s graphs, I was amazed at the sheer amount of life in the lake. There’s bait and a variety of fish everywhere. I wonder if that gives false positives, especially to the adherents of forward facing sonar?
One Criticism – Whoever packed the anglers’ lunches today made a major faux paus by throwing in a banana. Patrick didn’t flip out when he saw it, but was not pleased.
Clock Management – While the 90 minute drive to and from the lake today were relatively effortless, it’s still a grind by Saturday – or even Sunday – just one more factor for the field to master, one more set of variables that could go wrong.
