"I hope I've got enough cards," he said, pulling out a five-inch stack of trading cards with his smiling image on the front and his personal vitals and tourney statistics on the back. Schachten is the first angler from Idaho ever to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic, and he was ready to meet the crowds of fans and children that flocked to Lafreniere Park on Thursday.
Some of those fans had come a long way for the free fishing derby. Bob Parker flew up from Key Largo, Fla., to watch his grandson, Brandon McMullen of La Place, La., land a fish or two.
"Our daughter called and told us that BASS was coming to town," he said. "They registered Brandon in this and we flew up. He's a good fisherman. His dad, Bob, always says to watch the Classic, because Bob plans to be on it. I think Brandon will be up there one day."
"It's cool," said Trey Gaudet, 9, of Kenner, La., who clearly was impatient to get back to his Zebco rod and reel and the bream on the end of it.
The Kids Classic is a 20-year BASS tradition; on Thursday, the event put rods and reels in the hands of 1,150 children. BASS Youth manager Stacy Twiggs spent most of the past 12 months working toward the Kids Classic and the CastingKids finals, which are slated for Saturday.
"We work all year, and seeing it set up and executed is fun," Twiggs said. "To see it finally come together is awesome. The kids have been excellent, and their excitement makes all the work feel better than worthwhile."
In addition to a fishing derby and autograph session with the 61 Classic contenders, the festival also featured free gifts for the children and entertainment that included jugglers, a disc jockey and a squad of Yamaha cheerleaders that performed chants throughout the morning.
Meanwhile, back at the autograph stand, the line wasn't getting any shorter.
"I'll sure know how to sign my name by the end of it," Schachten said, picking up his pen and turning to the next fan.