By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
The Bassmaster Classic is never lacking in star power, but this year's version will be without four of the Top 5 in the BassFan World Rankings. None of that quartet competed on the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2014, although No. 5 Brent Ehrler will do so this year.
The other three in closest proximity to top-ranked Jason Christie remain committed to the FLW Tour, but all badly wish they were preparing to compete at Lake Hartwell next week.
"I'd be lying if I said I haven't dreamed of fishing the Classic my whole life," said Cody Meyer, who'll begin the 2015 campaign at No. 4 in the Rankings. "I've never fished it, of course, but I've worked the Expo the last 4 years. This is no disrespect to the (Forrest Wood) Cup, but the Classic is amazing."
Said No. 2 Andy Morgan, the two-time defending FLW Tour Angler of the Year: "I've always wanted to fish a Classic and I'm a little disappointed I haven't made more of an attempt to do it over the years. I won (a Bassmaster Open) back in '05, but that didn't qualify you for the Classic then.
"I'd like to fish it for the prestige, the money and all the other benefits, but mostly it's just the time of year. I like to fish in February and when the Classic comes around every year I have to just sit back and say, 'Damn, I wish I was there.'''
Would Pay to Play
Morgan and Meyer both said they'd readily fork over $10,000 (double the amount of a tour-level entry fee) to get into the field at Hartwell. Thrift, who resides just an hour and a half from the lake, said he'd likely part with only half of that.
Lake Hartwell is well-suited to Cody Meyer's style.
"I despise blueback herring lakes," he said, referring to the nomadic baitfish that routinely make their predators difficult to pin down or pattern. "I never go there to fun-fish. For fun, it's hard to beat Norman (his home lake)."
The FLW Tour has stopped at Hartwell three times in the past four seasons and Morgan, Meyer and Thrift have all posted Top-5 finishes during that stretch. However, Thrift has bombed out the last two times – after logging a 5th in 2011, he was 65th the following year and a dismal 107th last spring.
"My last two finishes there are the reason I couldn't afford to give them much (of an entry fee)," he said with a chuckle. "If I was going to cherry-pick a Classic, it wouldn't be on Hartwell.
"The year I was 5th, I had a home area that I was concentrating on. Then the last two times I've tried to fish the whole lake every day and it's too big to do that. I'd go to one place and fish for 10 or 15 minutes, then I'd start thinking about another place 10 miles away and run up there. I think I let myself get spun out."
The other two have no such prejudices against the venue.
"It's a lake where I'd love to go and fish the Classic," Meyer said. "If it was on a place like the Red River, I'd love to be there, but I'd be more comfortable at Hartwell and the fishing is more my style. If I had to pick and choose, it's one of the places I'd choose."
Bryan Thrift lives just an hour and a half from Hartwell, but doesn't like the lake.
Added Morgan: "It'd be a preferred location for me and I'd feel pretty good about it. I'll be paying attention to how it goes down, but like I said before, it's going to be hard to sit back and watch. I'll see somebody do something and I'll say, 'Well, I might've done that a little differently.'''
Whom Do They Like?
When asked whom they think stands a good chance of hoisting the Classic trophy 10 days from now, Morgan and Thrift quickly rattled off the same two names – both with extensive experience on the venue.
"Casey (Ashley) and Andy (Montgomery)," Thrift said. "Looking at the weather, there's going to be a major cold front for three or four days in the middle of next week, and that's going to play right into their hands. Between those two, they know the lake better than anybody else who's going to be fishing."
Meyer tabbed three favorites.
"My gut feeling tells me it's going to be Jacob Powroznik, but I also like Justin Lucas and Aaron Martens. Those guys know how to find the right schools that are going to replenish every day and allow them to keep catching those 4-pounders."
Morgan threw in a darkhorse pick – fellow Moultrie's The Hit List co-host Gerald Swindle, who's had a difficult time at the Classic since it switched to a late-winter timeframe in 2006.
"All I've ever done at Hartwell is junk-fish and Gerald can do that," he said. "And I might've told him about a few places he should go look at and a couple things that might be going on. I'm expecting him to do pretty good."
