Walker's Classic bittersweet
Tennessee's David Walker could easily be pegged as a Top 10 favorite at this week's Bassmaster Classic. One reason: He finished a close 2nd at the Toho Bassmaster here last year. Another reason: It probably won't be a run-and-gun Classic, and he's one of the best at working an area for everything it's got.
He's got two things working against him though, at least from an observer's point of view. One, the bitter taste of his 2nd-place heartbreak here, and two, the bittersweet flavor of what might be his last Classic. Along with others, he ditched BASS competition to focus on FLW only this year.
About his 2nd-place finish, he said: "That has hung with me forever. And I was 2nd at the Terry Segraves benefit tournament here in November. That's just part of fishing, I guess."
He said the fact that this could be his last-ever BASS tournament is much closer in his mind. "We fished here quite a few times and (how I finish) doesn't have any effect on me going into the next one. I'm just more into the fact that it's probably going to be my last Classic.
"That may all change in a year, but who knows. It's bittersweet. It is. But I don't know if it'll affect my fishing because I've never been in this situation before."
> Walker's had a rough start to the 2006 season. He finished 106th at the Okeechobee FLW, then 132nd at Lake Murray. He started the year ranked No. 14 in the BassFan World Rankings, but slid to No. 46.
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