World's best
If you've been reading their press releases, BASS and FLW Outdoors have been trying to outdo each other with "world's biggest," "world's leading"-type language. That's natural when the two companies are competing to be the biggest dog in bass fishing.
The two organizations also claim that the "world's best" pros fish their championships, when it's more accurate to say that some of the world's best pros fish each league's championship.
With the Classic right around the corner, we took a look at the field (like we do every year) using the BassFan World Rankings as an indicator. Here's what we found.
> Avg World Rank of 2006 Classic anglers (excluding unranked anglers) = 51.2
> Median World Rank of 2006 Classic anglers (excluding unranked anglers) = 34.5
> Avg World Rank of 2005 Classic anglers = 31.5
> Avg World Rank of 2005 FLW Tour Championship field = 58.7
Here's the list of 2006 Bassmaster Classic qualifiers by World Rank:
Place -- Angler -- City -- State -- World Ranking Points
1. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo -- MI -- 229.366
2. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales -- LA -- 212.690
4. Michael Iaconelli -- Voorhees -- NJ -- 193.406
5. Edwin Evers -- Mannsville -- OK -- 191.876
8. Davy Hite -- Prosperity -- SC -- 185.616
10. Skeet Reese -- Auburn -- CA -- 184.249
11. Terry Scroggins -- Palatka -- FL -- 183.959
13. Marty Stone -- Linden -- NC -- 179.566
14. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery -- TX -- 176.140
15. George Cochran -- Hot Springs -- AR -- 176.032
16. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch -- AR -- 175.549
17. Gerald Swindle -- Hayden -- AL -- 174.888
18. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood -- KY -- 174.688
19. Stacey D. King -- Reeds Spring -- MO -- 173.821
20. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore -- OK -- 173.511
21. Dean Rojas -- Grand Saline -- TX -- 171.060
22. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Springs -- MO -- 169.135
26. Dave Wolak -- Warrior Run -- PA -- 166.867
27. Jay Yelas -- Tyler -- TX -- 166.525
31. Aaron Martens -- Castaic -- CA -- 160.902
32. Andre Moore -- Scottsdale -- AZ -- 159.148
34. Gary Klein -- Weatherford -- TX -- 159.076
35. Rick Clunn -- Ava -- MO -- 158.585
37. Ron Shuffield -- Bismarck -- AR -- 154.882
38. Jeff Reynolds -- Platter -- OK -- 154.676
39. Tim Horton -- Muscle Shoals -- AL -- 154.173
46. David Walker -- Sevierville -- TN -- 151.125
48. Luke Clausen -- Spokane -- WA -- 147.948
50. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner -- OK -- 147.218
51. Randy Howell -- Springville -- AL -- 146.445
52. Mike Reynolds -- Modesto -- CA -- 146.047
55. Mark Tucker -- Kirkwood -- MO -- 143.516
57. Chad Morgenthaler -- Coulterville -- IL -- 141.212
62. Jimmy D. Mize -- Ben Lomond -- AR -- 137.676
65. Ish Monroe -- Hughson -- CA -- 136.807
68. Mike Wurm -- Hot Springs -- AR -- 136.126
73. Scott Rook -- Little Rock -- AR -- 134.336
93. John Crews, Jr. -- Jetersville -- VA -- 125.472
96. Chad Brauer -- Osage Beach -- MO -- 123.540
132. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista -- AR -- 106.363
159. Rick Morris -- Lanexa -- VA -- 96.151
193. Preston Clark -- Palatka -- FL -- 84.794
213. Mark Menendez -- Paducah -- KY -- 77.731
223. Greg Gutierrez -- Red Bluff -- CA -- 75.629
Unranked anglers in the 2006 Classic
> Jeff Coble -- Manson, N.C.
> Joe Conway -- Colorado Springs, Colo.
> Anre' de Villiers -- South Africa
> Jimmy Johnson -- La Crosse, Wisc.
> James Kennedy -- Lacombe, La.
> Joel St. Germain -- Cumberland, R.I.
> Bob Soley -- Trenton, NJ
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