With the completion of the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship over the weekend, the 52-man field for the 2017 Bassmaster Classic is now filled.
It’s a star-studded field that includes nine former Classic winners and three others who’ve won the Forrest Wood Cup.
There were three double-qualifiers – Edwin Evers, Greg Hackney and Kevin VanDam – who finished among the top 35 in points, which allowed three other anglers to qualify for the Classic based on their points finish. Two additional berths were shifted back to the Elite Series points standings because David Mullins (Douglas Lake Southern Open winner) and Bryan Schmitt (Lake Champlain Northern Open winner) did not fish all three Opens in their respective divisions and forfeited the automatic Classic berth.
Here’s a rundown of who’s heading to Lake Conroe and Houston, Texas next March (# denotes double qualifier; * denotes did not meet automatic Classic berth criteria, therefore berth defaults to 2016 Elite Series points standings):
2016 Bassmaster Classic Champion
> Edwin Evers (AOY points: 12th)#
2016 BASSFest Champion
> Greg Hackney (AOY points: 5th)#
2016 Elite Series Classic Bracket Champion
> Kevin VanDam (AOY points: 30th)#
2016 Elite Series Points Qualifiers (top 35)
> Gerald Swindle
> Keith Combs
> Randall Tharp
> Jacob Powroznik
> Jordan Lee
> Chris Zaldain
> Justin Lucas
> Ott DeFoe
> Jason Christie
> Drew Benton
> Hank Cherry
> Steve Kennedy
> Alton Jones
> Takahiro Omori
> Brandon Palaniuk
> Mike Iaconelli
> Bobby Lane
> Dean Rojas
> Matt Herren
> Aaron Martens
> James Elam
> Brett Hite
> Bill Lowen
> Jared Lintner
> Skeet Reese
> Todd Faircloth
> Jason Williamson
> Dave Lefebre
> Bradley Roy
> Casey Ashley
> Brent Ehrler
> Shaw Grigsby
> Clifford Pirch
> Boyd Duckett
> Randy Howell
> Andy Montgomery
> Ish Monroe
2016 Bassmaster Open Winners
> Kissimmee Chain of Lakes (Southern): Wesley Strader
> Smith Lake (Southern): Jesse Wiggins
> Douglas Lake (Southern): David Mullins*
> Arkansas River (Central): Skylar Hamilton
> Oneida Lake (Northern): Wil Hardy
> James River (Northern): Charlie Hartley
> Lake Champlain (Northern): Bryan Schmitt*
> Red River (Central): Alton Jones, Jr.
> Atchafalaya Basin (Central): Cliff Crochet
2016 Bassmaster College Series Champion
> John Garrett (Bethel University)
2016 B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifiers
> Ryan Lavigne
> Darrell Ocamica
> Timothy Klinger
2016 Bassmaster Team Champion
> Scott Clift
