CHICAGO, Ill. - Forty-six of America's brightest fishing stars will descend on Chicago July 20-22 for the 30th BASS Masters Classic and, in the process, likely open the fishing world's eyes to the quality largemouth and smallmouth bass fishery that exists in the shadow of the nation's third-largest city.
Chances are, the average fishing fan doesn't realize the kind of bass population that exists in the Windy City's portion of Lake Michigan, as well as throughout the Chicago and Calumet River systems. But that could change after fishing's biggest event comes to Chicago.
"It's going to surprise a lot of people," said George Liddle, Jr., a past Classic qualifier, who grew up in a Chicago suburb. "There's a lot more fish there than people who have never been to Chicago are even expecting."
"I've fished that area my whole life. The last 10 or 12 years, the lakefront and the rivers have been pretty good. The rivers have a lot of largemouth in them. Lake Michigan is primarily smallmouths. Plus, the pros will get to fish in some of the harbors in Chicago that have been closed to fishing for years and are now open to the public. In the harbors, there's no telling what they'll catch," added Liddle.
Liddle acknowledges, however, that even the slightest wind from the wrong direction could eliminate big Lake Michigan for the day.
Liddle predicts that the winning weight will be between 30 to 40 pounds. "It will be a decent tournament," he added. "It won't be the best catch they ever had in a Classic, but it certainly won't be the worst."
Fishing the big-city watery environment was an eye-opening experience for most of the Classic field. Instead of the serene, often picturesque setting that they enjoy along the Tournament Trail throughout the season, these Classic waters provide a gritty, hard-scrabble backdrop for professional fishing's Big Show.
The Classic pros spent six days exploring the area last month during the official Classic practice period. When they return for the actual tournament, the contenders will enjoy just a single day of practice before the three-day competition. Most of the pros are predicting challenging fishing conditions and a highly competitive tournament.
"I think it's going to be a tough tournament," said defending Classic champion Davy Hite of South Carolina. "But that should make for a real interesting tournament where it could be anybody's ballgame."
"I think the fishery is OK," added Missouri's Rick Clunn, the four-time Classic winner who will be making a record 27th consecutive appearance in the world championship event. "It's not anything great, but we've fished worse places before. I think it will be a very good tournament, to be honest with you, if the smallmouths will do anything.
"I think one of the most unusual aspects of this Classic is going to be the different seasonal patterns that the fish were in during the practice period and the seasonal pattern they will be in when the Classic starts. Most all of the classics we've fished since (the event was) moved to the summer, there hasn't been much difference between practice and the Classic in terms of the summer pattern. It's been a fairly stable situation with only minor differences. But with this Classic, we were dealing with a spawning pattern during practice and the fish will be on a summer pattern when the tournament starts. And that's going to make things interesting because that's a much more major transition than what we've dealt with in the past."
The 46 Classic contenders will be fishing for a $100,000 top prize and the most important title in the sport. Winning the Classic is the high-water mark in professional fishing and an accomplishment that has rewarded past winners with as much as $1 million in residual earnings.
Classic XXX is a week-long celebration for those who love the sport of bass fishing: Notable activities during the 2000 Classic Week in Chicago include:
- On Wednesday, Jackson Lake Park will be the site of the Kids Klassic contest (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and a Meet the Pros Autograph session (8 a.m. to 11 p.m.)
- Soldier Field will host the daily weigh-ins that will crown the new Classic champion. Also, the annual CastingKids national finals, will be held at McCormick Place Friday.
- Country music star Trisha Yearwood will perform a free concert immediately after the 2000 Classic champion is crowned.
- The popular Classic Outdoor Show will be open to the public Thursday through Sunday at McCormick Place. There is no admission charge.