The official 3-day Bassmaster Classic pre-practice ended last night, and the early verdict is in: The Red River near Shreveport, La. is fishing even smaller than anyone expected.

The water has been stable and clearing for several weeks, the fish are in pre-spawn with some already spawning, and the field's right on top of each other

in traditional, predictable areas.

Water temps vary from the mid-50s to mid-60s, and judging by the weather forecast, it looks like that's going to hold.

It's therefore likely that:

  • Day 1 should kick out some 20-pound-plus bags, but it might be hard to follow up with even 14, as the areas could get depleted quickly.

  • There's bound to be a lot of territorial activity. Remember the problems at the 2005 Pittsburgh Classic between George Cochran and Jimmy Mize? Emotions are always heated at the Classic, but since the entire field expects cramped conditions, look for cooler heads to prevail with plenty of negotiation and sharing.

  • Pool 3 should see little activity. It's just too far to run with plenty of 3s and 4s for the taking in Pools 4 and 5.

  • There remains the chance that somebody could find something isolated and hidden, but chances at this point are remote. The Red's just too combed over to hide any secrets.

  • The backwaters are clear, and the river's perfectly stained. Therefore wind, rather than water level, is the big wildcard right now.

    Following are some notes from anglers collected after the conclusion of practice:

    Ish Monroe -- Hughson, Calif. -- 5th Classic

    "I definitely haven't found what I'm looking for, and I don't think I've found the fish to win. I'm catching fish, but definitely not the right five – not 18 to 20 pounds.

    "Everybody was on top of each other, plus the local boats. It's scary because of the fact that every place I got a bite, there's boats around. Everywhere I didn't get a bite, there's no boats around."

    Kenyon Hill -- Norman, Okla. -- 4th Classic

    "My practice was all right. It wasn't awesome – just kind of a typical river practice with just a few spots they'll bite in. It'll be crowded – that's just the way the (Red) fishes. I don't think anybody will have anything to themselves. We'll all just have to get over it and share some fish."



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    Photo: ESPN Outdoors

    Aaron Martens thinks 17 to 18 pounds is more like the winning mark.

    Aaron Martens -- Leeds, Ala. -- 10th Classic

    "It's crowded everywhere. I wish I could find something hidden, but it seems like everybody knows what the good stuff is. I knew it would be like that.

    "And (fans) might be thinking 20 pounds (a day), but I don't think the anglers are thinking that. That would be tough to get 3 days in a row. There's definitely the fish in this river to do it – the quality's there – until everybody starts sticking them in the good fishing areas. I can see 22 or 23 coming in the first day, but if everything goes right for me, I hope to get 17 or 18 a day.

    "As long as we don't get a real cold (front) and wind, I think the bite should stay about the same."

    Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, Fla. -- 2nd Classic

    "I looked at all the areas I wanted to look at, kind of felt around where the fish were, thought about where they might be with colder weather coming – where they might go, like little ditches and stuff. I covered everything I wanted to cover in 3 days and I'm pretty happy with practice, actually.

    "I had boats around me everywhere I went. I kept running around and looking at new areas and I eliminated a lot. I have a gameplan to where I don't have to run out there blind.

    "I was in Pool 5 (yesterday), 4 the day before, and 3 the day before that. If I had to guess, I'd say there'll be about 35 guys in Pool 5, 14 in 4 and a couple in 3. About 65% of the field will probably fish Pool 5."