KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Getting there. Being there. Winning there. Those are the major considerations for the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota.
In winning the 53rd championship in his fourth appearance, Jeff Gustafson became the first Canadian and the 42nd man who can be called “Bassmaster Classic champion.” Realizing his dream, Gussy’s life is forever changed.
There were 54 other qualifiers at Classic Week who didn’t win, yet most say it was the best 10 days of the year, or even their life.
Considering how many try to earn a berth each year, just making it is quite special. The Classic experience, in which qualifiers are treated like fishing royalty, left many in awe and raring to return.
First-timer JT Thompkins, 21, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., said his week lived up to the hype.
“Absolutely. It was everything I hoped it would be,” said Thompkins, who won the 2022 St. Croix Bassmaster Open on Chesapeake Bay to qualify. “I’ve been dreaming about this since I was 5, and it lived up to every single thing, and more.
“People hype things up and it tends to mess up the experience, but I don’t think you can hype up the Bassmaster Classic enough.”
Simply reaching the Classic can be the greatest accomplishment in a young angler’s career. The landmark achievement is a point of pride, and it comes with tremendous recognition from friends, family, sponsors, fellow competitors and even strangers.
Jonathan Dietz of Corry, Pa., who qualified from the B.A.S.S. Nation, said he relished his time in Tennessee, from having his family there celebrating with him to being approached by fans on the street.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” said Dietz, 26. “To be on this stage is just incredible. There’s nothing that can describe it. Because this is a solo sport, 99% of the time, unless you win a major tournament or you make it to this event, nobody really recognizes who you are.
“This week has been insane. Hearing (emcee Dave) Mercer call my name at that first takeoff, it kind of sent chills through my spine. Then, like walking the street downtown, people are like, ‘Hey, we want to take pictures with you.’”
The competitors are bass fishing stars. Making it can be equated to rising from the minor leagues to “The Show.” Anglers get put up in a swanky hotel, receive some sweet swag and get fed numerous times, including the gala that is the Night of Champions.
If you fish competitively, you want to be there. Gerald Swindle sure does. Competing in his 20th Classic, Swindle, of Guntersville, Ala., said getting to the premier event of the sport is what makes him tick.
Even though G-Man is on a short list of anglers with two or more Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles, he said a Classic title would be the cherry on top.
“The Classic experience, that’s the driving force of my career,” he said. “Other guys say their whole dream is to win a tournament; mine is to get back to the Bassmasters Classic. That’s how much it means to me.
“It’s the biggest show in bass fishing. It’s the biggest crowd. It’s the biggest opportunity any of us will ever have to win that kind of money. It will change your career.”
The Classic has long been called “The Super Bowl of Bass Fishing.” Anglers qualify through several avenues in hopes of winning the $300,000 top prize from a purse of $1,068,500. But it’s not all about the money.
Bobby Murray, winner of two Classics including the first, said his title opened doors and solidified his position in the industry. There’s prestige in being introduced as Classic winner, a dream shared by thousands but only realized by 42 individuals.
Louis Monetti is among the dreamers, and fishing his first Classic stoked the flame.
“It was an absolute dream come true,” said the 23-year-old from Breille, N.J. “I think maybe younger me would have been a little bit more blown away, a little bit more taken aback, a little more starstruck.
“Now that I’m here, just more than ever I want to win. Everything was incredible and it kind of reignited, restarted the fire to win this.”
Monetti’s story is rags to riches. With Michael Fugaro at UNC-Charlotte, he famously won Strike King’s College Series Team of the Year out of a ratty 1996 Ranger, sending the message to just go fish by any means possible.
When Monetti won the College Bracket berth, he received paid entry to the Opens and use of a fully rigged Toyota Tundra and Nitro boat to use during those Elite Qualifier tournaments and the Classic. He put them to good use on the Tennessee River, finishing 23rd to become the third college qualifier to make the Top 25 cut.
Monetti left wishing the fishing was a bit better but had no complaints about the experience or his fellow competitors, calling them the best dudes on the planet.
“Most of these guys, if not all, are just good, down-to-earth awesome guys. Really, really cool,” he said. “On Media Day, I was one of the last ones in the boatyard. Swindle was pulling out. He throws the truck in park, jumps out and walks halfway across the parking lot, shakes my hand and says good luck tomorrow. That was one of the coolest things.”
The diminutive Thompkins just turned 21 on Jan. 15 and would have been the youngest ever to win a Classic. Mistaken for someone’s kid at a Classic venue, Thompkins said he had another funny encounter with defending Classic champ Jason Christie.
“It was one of the practice days in the boatyard getting something fixed,” Thompkins said. “I was wearing a regular old sunshirt and caught him off guard in his boat.”
After Thompkins told Christie he was a big fan and it was great to meet him, Christie asked if Thompkins was with the media. He set Christie straight, and they ended up having a laugh over it.
“As soon as I met him, he was just another guy,” Thompkins said. “You would never know he had won a Classic by the way he acts. He’s just a stand-up dude. I wouldn’t expect hardly anybody to know who I am.”
If you want to start becoming known, qualify for some Classics. It increases visibility to fans and potential sponsors. Tristan McCormick of Burns, Tenn., has become a familiar face around Classics, reaching the past two through different means.
“The Classic experience is hard to even put into words,” McCormick said. “When I try to explain to people kind of what happens, the best thing I say is, ‘You’re a king when you roll into the Classic.’
“We’re here for 10 days and every day we got something going on. It’s like go, go, go. It’s truly amazing what goes on behind the scenes.”
Knoxville was McCormick’s second Classic, which he reached by winning the Lake Hartwell Open. The previous year, he took the College berth.
“Making it through college to my first Bassmaster Classic, it was terrifying,” he said. “This is the biggest stage in bass fishing. I think I’m pretty good at talking in front of people, but when those curtains roll open, there’s nothing like it.
“I think I just grabbed my fish and stuck my head in the livewell. This year I looked for my family in the stands. It means more. My first Classic, I didn’t know if I’d be back. This can be a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
Dietz, who is also fishing the EQs, hopes to become a household name. Of the seven Classic competitors who aren’t fishing the Elite Series this year, Dietz posted the highest finish. He was happy not to “lose it” on Day 1 with 10 pounds, 1 ounce. Three fish on Day 2 hurt his chances to win, but he weighed Championship Sunday’s second largest limit of 12-2 to finish 13th.
“This is the only thing for me,” he said of a pro career. “I went to school for fisheries science with the intent of pursuing a career down this path.”
Formerly on the U.S. Youth World Fly Fishing Team, Dietz said he’s experienced high level competition. He left pleased to finish higher than the likes of reigning Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year Brandon Palaniuk, who topped him by 2 ounces in the Eufaula Open two weeks ago.
“As far as my first appearance in a Classic, I was just hoping for a strong finish,” Dietz said. “I didn’t want to be working the Expo on Sunday. Just to be here competing with these guys is insane.”
After all, the Classic is the be-all, end-all of bass fishing. And being there is extra special.
“You will never understand it until you step on the stage,” Thompkins said, “or you go to blast off your boat and there’s thousands of people watching you.
“It’s just something you won’t experience until you make it.”
