As many BassFans know, former Bassmaster Classic champion and three-time BASS Angler of the Year Mark Davis will make his first Classic appearance in 4 1/2 years next month at the Red River.

He missed the 2005 Classic after he fished the Wylie Classic in 2004, then moved over to FLW Outdoors

competition. He fished the 2007 Forrest Wood Cup at his home lake (Ouachita), but all told, one championship in 4 1/2 years could be considered a drought for one of the sport's premier champions.

Talk to Davis right now about the upcoming Classic and there's a recurrent theme. In a recent conversation with BassFan, he used the word "cold" over and over again. It's cold in Arkansas. It'll probably be cold at the Red. And he's trying to escape the cold this week for a pre-Classic warm-up.

"I'm going to Falcon today to brush up – I need to go somewhere where the fish are biting and it's warm," he said. "It sounds like that place (Falcon) ought to fill the bill on both accounts."

After his Falcon soirée, he'll spend a week at home in Mt. Ida, then head for the Red.

About getting back to the Classic after so many years, he said: "It's been a while. It's good to be back in the Classic, obviously. It's the biggest event in bass fishing, and it's good to be a part of it again. It's the most important event you can win, without a doubt."

A few other notable clips from the conversation...

  • Can he win this one? "I always think I've got another win in me – you just never know when they're going to show up."

  • His thoughts on the Red? "I can't say I'm just really looking forward to fishing the Red River, especially with it being cold. It looks like it's going to be a late winter – there's just a lot of really cold weather coming through that region and a lot of really cold runoff. But it could still turn around and start to warm up. I'm not a big fan of fishing rivers this early in the season. I'd much rather be on a lake. But someone's going to win. It might as well be me."

  • Does his dislike for rivers this time of year take him out of the favorites column? "I'm by no means a favorite. I've won tournaments on rivers, but they're my least-favorite type of water to fish – especially when it's cold like this. I've said that many times over the years, so I think the fans know that. But it's now always about whether you like (a certain fishery) or not. That doesn't necessarily mean you can't win, or get on some fish to win. It's all a matter of who gets in the right area and has the right thing going on down there."

  • Any hints on what the "right thing" might be? "You don't really know until you get down there what the thing will fish like. Is it strictly backwaters? Or if the river's clear, that could open up a lot of other fishing. But I don't believe the river's going to be clear. It could be – we've not had a lot of rain. But it doesn't take much rain for that river to live up to its name. If it does, it can be really nasty. It's full of fish, but we won't know until after practice how the thing will fish."

    Classic Record

    Below is a look at Davis' finishes in his 13 Classic appearances.

    > 2004 Wylie -- 28th
    > 2003 Louisiana Delta -- 31st
    > 2002 Lay Lake -- 21st
    > 2001 Louisiana Delta -- 23rd
    > 1999 Louisiana Delta -- 21st
    > 1998 High Rock -- 17th
    > 1997 Logan Martin -- 32nd
    > 1996 Lay Lake -- 10th
    > 1995 High Rock -- 1st
    > 1992 Logan Martin -- 23rd
    > 1991 Chesapeake Bay -- 6th
    > 1988 James River -- 8th
    > 1987 Ohio River -- 32nd

    Notable

    > Interestingly, two of Davis' five BASS wins came on rivers – the Alabama River and the Tenn-Tomm. Both were Elite 50 events held during summer conditions in 2004.