By Lynn Burkhead
OSG Senior Digital Editor
On the surface, the Bassmaster Classic and the state of Texas might not seem to have much in common.
After all, despite the Lone Star State’s many storied bass waters – Lake Fork, Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend, Falcon, and Amistad come to mind – the Classic has never visited that group of famous lunker factories lying between the Red River and the Rio Grande.
In fact, despite those storied venues and the state having more than 200 major lakes, this week’s 51st Classic, to be held at Lake Ray Roberts from Friday through Sunday and headquartered in downtown Fort Worth, marks only the third time that the so-called Super Bowl of Bass Fishing has visited the state.
The first time was in September 1979 when B.A.S.S. founder Ray Scott and Classic No. 9 visited Lake Texoma, an 89,000-acre striper factory just up the road from this year’s venue. It’s worth noting that the Texoma event, which was the first of two Classic wins by Hank Parker, was held in Grayson County. Why does that matter this week? Because the northeastern waters of Ray Roberts also spill into Grayson County, marking one of the rare times that the event has occurred in the same county ... on two separate water bodies!
The second time the Classic visited Texas was just a few years ago when the derby was held on Lake Conroe with weigh-ins taking place at Houston’s Minute Maid Park. That event was won by Jordan Lee, the young gun angler who was on his way to back-to-back Classic championships to join Kevin VanDam and Rick Clunn as the only anglers to accomplish that feat.
In both cases, the Classic’s previous visits to Texas were won by two of the sport’s biggest names. Parker went on to a Hall of Fame career and Lee, the reigning Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year, seems headed in that same direction.
Few Turned Out
It’s worth noting that while things are often said to be bigger and better in Texas, that wasn’t true in terms of attendance at either of the previous two Classics held in the state. In all fairness, the Classic in 1979 then wasn’t quite the mega-show that it has become with the the huge payouts, the TV cameras, the massive weigh-in crowds and, of course, the ever popular Classic Expo.
When Houston got its Classic turn four years ago, there were several things that might have limited attendance. One of those is that Conroe isn’t the trophy factory that it once was. Another is that Houston is as big a saltwater angling town as it is a bass town. And finally, the tournament’s mid-March dates fell during the prime-time lunker season when the state’s serious bass anglers are going fishing, not watching others do it.
Whatever the reason, the H-Town Classic drew only 115,000 fans over its three days in 2017 as Lee claimed the win, compared to 143,000 fans a year later in Greenville, S.C. when Lee won again. The crowds were even bigger at the 2019 Classic in Knoxville, Tenn., when hometown hero Ott DeFoe claimed the trophy in front of a Classic record crowd of 153,809 fans. And last year in 2020, another Top 5 crowd gathered in Birmingham, Ala. as 122,814 fans assembled to watch Hank Cherry win the 50th Classic just days before the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If Texas hasn’t won the battle of the bassin' crowds – and it may not do so this week in the aftermath of the waning pandemic – the state does have plenty of other things going for it when it comes to Bassmaster Classic lore. For starters, it's seen residents (or former denizens) of the state qualify for the event 328 times, far more than Arkansas’ 198 and Alabama’s 191.
Those Classic qualifying berths include 32 by Rick Clunn, a four-time Classic winner (1976, 1977, 1984, and 1990). While the Hall of Famer has lived in Missouri since the late 1990s, he was a longtime Texas resident and former guide on Lake Conroe when he started carving his path toward the top of professional bass fishing.
Jay Yelas, a native Californian who now lives in Oregon, listed Tyler, Texas as his hometown when he won the 2002 Classic.
In addition to his four Classic wins and being the first angler to record back-to-back triumphs, the sport’s original GOAT still owns the largest margin of victory in the Classic, a 25-pound, 8-ounce victory over runner-up Greg South at the 1984 event on the Arkansas River.
For what it’s worth, Clunn’s 32 Classic appearances – 23 of them while he lived in Texas – are only two more than Mingus, Texas pro Gary Klein, the co-founder of Major League Fishing and a competitor on the Bass Pro Tour now who has fished in 30 Classics. Klein, a Hall of Fame angler who had a chance to claim the 1979 Classic at Texoma, was once a longtime fixture in B.A.S.S. events and a two-time Angler of the Year on the circuit.
Clunn and Klein aren’t the only Classic qualifiers with deep Texas ties, either. Tommy Martin of Hemphill won the 1974 Classic on Alabama’s Wheeler Lake with 33-07 to become the first of the nine Classic champs who lived in Texas at the time of their victory. The others include Clunn’s four titles; Larry Nixon (now an Arkansas resident) when he captured the 1983 title on the Ohio River; Jay Yelas (now an Oregon resident) when he won the 2002 title on Lay Lake in Alabama; Takahiro Omori’s 2004 triumph on South Carlina’s Lake Wylie; and Alton Jones’ 2008 victory at South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell.
There’s also a bit of a Texas Classic-winning connection going in the other direction. While Denny Brauer hails from Missouri and lived there when he won the 1998 Classic on North Carlina’s High Rock Lake, he was so smitten with the big-bass riches of Lake Amistad a number of years ago that he built a home there and moved to the Del Rio area, where he regularly fishes today in retirement.
A Haven for Heavyweights
If Texas figures prominently in the Classic’s history concerning anglers who have competed in and/or won the event, it also plays a key role in the heaviest bass portion of the record book. In fact, it features two of the top five heavyweights ever caught in Classic competition (the other three all came from the Kissimmee Chain near Orlando during the February 2006 Classic).
Those big Texas Classic hawgs include Brent Ehrler’s 9-12 bruiser (No. 3 in the Classic records) at the 2017 Lake Conroe event, along with Ott DeFoe’s 9-pound lunker in the same tournament (No. 5 in the records).
Finally, it might be worth noting that the Lone Star State may have not held more Classics because many of its most storied waters are somewhat remote and a long way from the kind of facilities that today’s rock concert type of derby require. That includes Sam Rayburn Reservoir in deep East Texas, despite the fact that "Big Sam" is one of the country’s most famous bass lakes and has hosted B.A.S.S. events a record 34-times.
Overall, Texas has hosted 68 B.A.S.S. events, trailing only Alabama’s 113 and Florida’s 85. So it would seem certain that the state could host more Classics, if only the logistics could be figured out.
Those things have been determined for this week however, as the 51st Classic visits Fort Worth and Lake Ray Roberts. And by the time the TV cameras have stopped recording, the crowds have dispersed and the confetti is being cleaned up, it’s quite likely that the state of Texas will have added yet another interesting chapter in its surprising Bassmaster Classic lore.
We’re about to find out because Classic Week has finally arrived at "Ray Bob."
