Pete Gluszek had one objective this year when he decided to fish the Bassmaster Northern Opens – a Top-5 finish in points, which would guarantee an invitation to the fish the Elite Series in 2013.
While his win this past weekend at the Cayuga Lake Open didn’t clinch him an Elite Series invite, he’s plenty satisfied with the parting gift – a spot in the Bassmaster Classic at Grand Lake next February. It’ll be his third career Classic.
“That was my objective – to qualify for the Elites next year. That’s the direction I want to go in,” he said. “It’s hard to be disappointed with a Classic berth. I got really what I wanted which was a Classic berth. I’ll be forced to sit out the Elites next year, but that’s fine with me. I’ll fish the Classic and the B.A.S.S. Opens again next year and cherry-pick some tournaments here and there.”
Not fishing the Elites does have an upside, though.
“The silver lining of not qualifying for Elites is that I have a 3-year-old son and I’m going to be fishing close to home all next year with the exception of the Classic and that’s real good news for me,” he said. “It means I get a whole other year to spend with my son.
“I get to fish the big dance and still get to hang out with my boy.”
As far as Grand Lake is concerned, he’s never been there, but as a northerner he’ll be ready for anything once late February rolls around. He intends to make at least one scouting trip to take a look at the lake prior to the off-limits period.
“I don’t know anything at all about Grand Lake, but what I do know is that February that far north can sometimes be a monster,” he said. “But that’s okay. I’m good at cold-water fishing. I fish in February where I live. I’m really excited about the event. I love going to lakes I’ve never been to before because you have a blank slate to create your tournament on. I’m looking forward to starting my research and getting prepared.”
Details of his Cayuga Lake winning pattern will be published tomorrow.
