By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
John Crews hasn't competed in a Bassmaster Classic in an odd-numbered year since the 2015 edition at Lake Hartwell. On the flip side, he hasn't missed a single one in an even-numbered year over that same time period, so he's due to be among the field at Grand Lake next March.
He's got a bit of work to do to get there, however. He doesn't need to accomplish anything spectacular, but he likely can't afford a stinker finish in either of the final two Bassmaster Elite Series events – a back-to-back affair that begins this week at Lake Champlain before moving to the St. Lawrence River.
The veteran from Viriginia is currently 45th in the Angler of the Year points race. At least the Top 41 will get into the 2024 Classic (an extra spot became available when Jody White won the Open at the St. Lawrence and didn't fish the division's full slate), and it could go to 42 if reigning Classic champion Jeff Gustafson slides up a few positions on the list.
Crews hopes to avoid having to get in via one of those back doors. He's less than 20 points from where he needs to be and comes into the week with at least a bit of momentum, having posted solid finishes in the last two derbies (37th at Lake St. Clair and 18th at the Sabine River). He figures that an average finish of 31st in the two remaining tournaments should get the job done.
"After Okeechobee (the season-opener where he placed 33rd), I had some flat events and that's what's cost me to this point," he said in reference to a four-tournament stretch in which he ended up somewhere between 58th and 69th in each outing. "But since then, I feel like I've had a little bit better practice plans and I've been executing better. I've been able to dial things in a little quicker."
One incident that hindered him big-time occurred at Lake Seminole (66th). On Day 2, he incurred a 2-pound penalty for fishing with six fish in his livewell.
"That cost me at least 20 points, if not more, because I didn't get a chance to fish on Day 3," he said. "I put that in the same bucket with a lost big one or motor trouble costing you two hours."
He said it probably took him 30 minutes – until he caught another keeper – to realize his miscue.
"I looked in there and thought, man, there's a lot of fish in there. It was like they had a dang party going on in there. It was the first time that's ever happened to me. I had a little system (for keeping track), but I started catching them pretty quickly and then the system failed.
"I've revised it a little bit and I promise that I'm paying a lot closer attention now."
His record at Champlain over the years is somewhat of a mixed bag, but he's had enough success on the New York-Vermont border venue to give him confidence going into the week. He said the lake fishes differently on each visit and he enjoys that aspect of it.
He has a couple of money finishes at the St. Lawrence on his ledger, but quite a few bombs as well. He ended up in the middle of the field (50th) on last year's visit.
"I really feel like I'm on the cusp of clicking on that place," he said. "Without proof, that might be hard to believe, but I think I've got a pretty good concept of how to adapt on a day-to-day basis. I've just done a poor job of putting it into action. I've had some good days there, but I haven't been able to string them together.
"Sometimes it's not easy to pull the plug when you're catching 3-pounders, but you'd better be catching 4-pounders or you're going home."
