The six anglers in the Bassmaster Classic who qualified through the BASS Federation Nation National Championship come from all different parts of the country, and one is from another country entirely. Next week, they'll return to their regular jobs, which include plumber, high school teacher and Buddhist priest.
They're not under the same type of pressure to fare well at Alabama's Lay Lake that their 44 professional counterparts are. They don't do this for a living, and it's probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so they're treating it as such. If they were to place performance-based expectations on themselves, it might prevent them from enjoying each moment of it.
BassFan posed a list of three questions to each of them on the eve of day 1. Here's how they responded.
What are your impressions of the overall Classic experience thus far?
> Kevin Waterman, Maryland (Mid-Atlantic) – "It's been fun, although all of the media attention and stuff like that is new to me. I've been treated real well by all of the pro anglers. It's their world and I'm just visiting, but they've all been very cordial."
> Shigeru Tsukiyama, Japan (Western) – "The fishing time, I have enjoyed very much. I've also enjoyed meeting new people."
> Royce Dennington, Oklahoma (Central) – "It's been really fun to meet all these guys I've read about and watched on TV. The fishing's been real good too."
> Chris Novack, Connecticut (Eastern) – "It's been fantastic. The part I've enjoyed the most is being in a warm part of the country when it's freezing back home. I just feel kind of bad that my kids had to stay back there while I'm out here."
> Brent Long, North Carolina (Southern) – "I've loved it. I've met a lot of new people and made some great friends, and it's a neat experience to be in the same room with all this talent."
> Terry McWilliams, Indiana (Northern) – "I've had a great time. I really enjoyed the (Junior Classic). I've got grandchildren, so I like doing things with kids."
Are you nervous as day 1 approaches?
> Waterman – "Not really. Nobody's expecting me to do much, so I plan to just go out and enjoy it."
> Tsukiyama – "Oh, yeah. I'll be nervous every day of the tournament."
Connecticut's Chris Novack has been enjoying the nice weather in Alabama over the past few days.
> Dennington – "No, I'm not nervous. Whatever happens, happens."
> Novack – "No, not at all. I'm very relaxed and I don't want anything to take away from the moment. I'm relishing it."
> Long – "I'm staying calm and relaxed because it's a situation where I don't think I can lose. I'll either catch them or I won't, and I'm still guaranteed $10,000."
> McWilliams – "I get nervous doing interviews and stuff like that. As far as fishing, not a bit."
Do you have a specific plan for how or where you'd like to fish on day 1?
> Waterman – "I've got a few areas I want to check out, but I'll have to see where all the boats are going. I'll just play it by ear and see what happens."
> Tsukiyama – "Lay Lake is a big lake – Japanese lakes are very small. For me, it'll be a long drive and short fishing time. (During) fishing time, I'll concentrate on catching one, and then two and three and four and five."
> Dennington – "I'm going to go down the lake and throw a jig. I concentrated on learning one part of the lake (the lower portion). The weather has warmed up, so that might hurt me. If it had stayed cold, I think I could've done well."
A tube got Indiana's Terry McWilliams to the Bassmaster Classic, and that's what he plans to fish while he's here.
> Novack – "I'll stick with my gameplan and do what I normally do, which is fish slow and methodical. I'll pick apart every inch of the areas I fish."
> Long – "I plan to do the same thing all day – fish shallow. I'll have two rods out on the deck, and that's all I'll throw."
> McWilliams – "I'll just try to catch one at a time and hope they're about 3 1/2 pounds apiece. I'll stick with what got me here – a tube and a Bite-Me jighead."
Notable
> Tsukiyama is the Buddhist priest, and he's also a schoolbus driver and a fishing writer for several Japanese publications. Waterman is the plumber and Dennington is a high school science teacher. Novack is a corrections officer, Long works for a floor-covering company and McWilliams is a retired police officer.
> Dennington won the Federation Nation National Championship last month with a 3-day total of 43-00 at Lake Neely Henry. He beat out Long by 2 ounces.
> This was Novack's first attempt at advancing through the various stages of Federation Nation competition. "Before, I never felt like I was capable of getting to this point. Once I thought I was ready, I decided to go for it, and I succeeded."
