2014 Bassmaster Classic Contenders – How They’ll Fish and Who They Think Will Win
John E. Phillips 02.21.14
Chris Lane of Guntersville, Alabama, who is fishing his fourth Bassmaster Classic, is one of the favorites to win $300,000 in this World Series of Bass Fishing this weekend, because he lives on the lake.
“Lake Guntersville has giant bass in it,” Lane explains. “We’ve had warm weather for the last four days, and the weatherman is predicting stable temperatures throughout all the competition days.” Lane thinks the winner of the Classic will be fishing a jerkbait, a jig, or a swim bait, since historically those lures have won Guntersville tournaments. Although the lake is slated to have wind and rain on Thursday night, he doesn’t think that weather will bother the bass. If Lane doesn’t win, he thinks his brother Bobby Lane from Florida, Aaron Martens of Alabama, or Kevin VanDam of Michigan, who’s won a tournament on Guntersville, will be most likely to win.
According to Chris Lane, “My brother has been in the top 6 in every bass tournament he’s fished. In practice, I caught a 5-1/2-pounder out of a big slough and plan to return there on Friday for my first stop.”
Skeet Reese from Auburn, California, is fishing his fourteenth Classic but says, “Guntersville isn’t how it was when I won a bass tournament there in 2010. I was catching 100 bass a day back then. I realize the bite will be tougher for this Classic than when I won that tournament.”
When Outdoor Hub asked Reese on what part of the lake he thought the 2014 Classic would be won, he smiled and said, “Wherever I’m fishing. You can find the caliber of bass required to win this Classic in every section of Lake Guntersville.” Reese thinks the angler who wins will have to weigh in over 80 pounds of bass for the three Classic days. He also is convinced that one angler will come in with a 5 bass limit of over 30 pounds one day of the Classic. Reese picks Gerald Swindle of Alabama, Randle Tharp of Florida, or Kevin VanDam to win if he doesn’t.
Gerald Swindle of Warrior, Alabama, has fished Guntersville for most of his life. Outdoor Hub asked Swindle how he thought the anglers would fish the lake. Swindle believes that many anglers will be fishing with lipless crankbaits. “I’ll need to catch at least 25 pounds a day to win the Classic. The high winds on Thursday evening will muddy up the shallow water, so there will be less water suitable to fish. I’ll use an Xcalibur XR 50 rattle bait and the XCalibur One Knocker in water 4-6 feet deep. The warmest water in the lake is 50 degrees right now, so the bass will move into that shallow water to feed.”
Swindle picks Jason Christie of Oklahoma, or Hank Cherry of North Carolina as the anglers who’ll win if he doesn’t.
Mark Davis from Mount Ida, Arkansas, is fishing his seventeenth Classic and explains that this Classic will be won by power fishing.
“I plan to fish a Strike King Redeye Shad, a spinner bait, a Square Bill crankbait, and probably a jig,” 50-year-old Davis reports. Davis won the Bassmaster Classic in 1995 and says if he can win the 2014 Classic, he’ll be much closer to retiring than he is now.
“The way this Classic is setting up, there will be a good number of big bass caught shallow,” Davis says. “So I’ll have to pick Bobby Lane to win, since he’s such a good shallow water fisherman. But you never can count Kevin VanDam out. I think the Classic will be won by the best shallow water power fisherman in the tournament.”
Steve Kennedy from Auburn, Alabama, is fishing his seventh Classic, and mentions that in practice, he’s learned the Guntersville bass will bite a swim bait. He bent the barb on his hook down to keep from catching any of the bass that bit his bait.
According to Kennedy, “I had two really strong bites in practice. I’ll start fishing on the lower end of the lake and work my way up the lake on Friday. On the first day of the 2014 Classic, we’ll have 70-degree temperatures and strong winds coming from the South, so the water will really warm up.”
Kennedy selects Kevin VanDam to win, if Kennedy doesn’t, but he also mentions that anybody in the field of competitors who gets on a big school of 7-10 pound bass can win.
“I think the winner will have to take over 83 pounds to win this Lake Guntersville Classic,” Kennedy explains. “I won’t be surprised if the winner has to catch 90 pounds of bass this weekend. Too, I believe the biggest bass in the tournament will weigh 10 pounds.”
The wind, the rain and the warm weather shouldn’t affect the contestants very much. Each day at the weigh-in, spectators should see a show of monster bass, because the best bass anglers in the world are fishing on one of the nation’s best bass lakes at the time of year that Guntersville historically has produced huge bass. The angler who walks across the stage hoisting the 2014 Bassmaster Classic trophy high over his head on Sunday, February 23, probably will have caught more big bass in the three Classic days than most anglers see in a lifetime.
Outdoor Hub will be reporting from the Classic each day with videos and photos of the contenders and the fish they catch.
Register to win copies to be given away of John E. Phillips’ Kindle eBook, “Hot Weather Bass Tactics.” Click here to submit your answer as to how many total pounds of bass will be caught by all anglers in the 2014 Bassmaster Classic. Those who answer correctly will have their names put together and a random drawing made for the winners.
Or, you can register for John E. Phillips’ #BASSContest2014 on his Facebook page. Prizes include a selection of his bestseller bass books!
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
