Another Shot At Glory
Schmidt Vows To Hold Nothing Back At 2010 Classic

Photo: ESPN Outdoors Texan Bryan Schmidt is just the third angler to qualify for back-to-back Bassmaster Classics via the Federation Nation.

Luck was on his side this time – he gained his berth in last month's Fed Nation Championship at Florida's Harris Chain of Lakes by virtue of his defending champion's status. He managed just a 12th-place finish, but that was tops among the nine Central Division entrants.

"I had that in my back pocket and I thought about it all throughout the year," he said of his free ride to the Championship, "I fished the first two (Bassmaster Central) Opens and didn't do well, but I did do well fishing locally and in team tournaments.

"The closer (the Championship) got, the more I kept thinking that this was my opportunity to go back to the Classic and I needed to make the most of it. I went over there and got fortunate. I feel kind of bad that the guys in front of me fell apart on the last day, but it's kind of like a golfer making a 40-foot putt – they don't draw a picture of the putt on your scorecard."

Different Strategy This Time

Schmidt, a 39-year-old planner for a company that builds crop dusters, made the Top-25 cut at this year's Classic in 18th place. Then on day 3, he clobbered a massive 22-pound sack to climb 12 places and to within 4 pounds of winner Skeet Reese.

He thinks he might've cost himself a place or two in the final standings with an overly conservative approach on day 2, when he stayed away from his primary area.

"I didn't have a lot of experience with 3-day tournaments and I ran into a fish-management issue," he said. "Those fish bit in the morning and then turned on again in the afternoon, with the better quality coming later. The first day I caught a limit early, then went back later and culled three of them out.

"I caught them early again the second day, but I never went back in there. I was trying to save them for the final day and I ran around looking for other stuff. It probably cost me a couple of places, but I did learn a valuable lesson. Those guys are good, and if you make a mistake and let them put some distance between them and you, there's no way you can catch up. I had a stellar final day, but it wasn't nearly enough."

Hopes to Collaborate

Schmidt hopes that the six Federation Nation anglers can form a strong alliance at Lay and share practice information for the benefit of all of them. He already knows Freeman and Ohio's Jody Adkins (he and Adkins comprised boat Nos. 1 and 2 at the Championship), and Freeman knows Long. They'll just have to pull in reigning Championship winner Randy Phillips (Massachusetts) and Don Hogue (Washington).

He's never been to Lay, he has little experience on reservoirs where current is a big factor (as will be the case at the Classic) and he's caught relatively few spotted bass, which are prominent on the Coosa River impoundments.

"We have some spots around here, but we just catch them (incidentally) with our largemouths," he said. "And they're not 3- to 5-pounders, either – more like 14 or 15 inches. I don't know a lot about those Alabama spots other than what I've seen on TV or heard people talk about."

He'll go in with the same goal that he far surpassed this year – make the Top 25 and fish the final day.

"It was such an awesome experience. First off, it was a dream come true just to go there and compete as an amateur. Then to have such a strong performance, it was everything a guy like me could ask for."

He'd still like to fish full-time someday, but his experience in this year's Opens (193rd at Toledo Bend and 184th at Rayburn) told him that he's probably not ready for that yet.

"I've tossed it around a few times, but I know it's a tough road. I used the (Classic finish) as a steppingstone to go on and compete in the Opens. If I can get to the point where I'm competitive in the Opens, then I'll look toward fishing professionally."