By John Johnson
Managing Editor

Stephen Browning will make his eighth career Bassmaster Classic appearance next month at the Red River in Shreveport, La., but it'll mark the first time he's competed in the sport's premier event on a river system. Such venues are his specialty and he recognizes this as a distinct opportunity to claim one of the game's most prestigious prizes.



The 45-year-old from Arkansas didn't even come close to qualifying for the Classic the last time it visited the Red (2009). He had five finishes of 70th or lower during an 11-tournament 2008 season and ended up 78th on the points list.

"Missing it the first time, after what I wouldn't consider one of my better years, has really lit a fire underneath me to make a good showing this time. And by that I mean I really hope to still be in contention on Sunday.

"This is one of the first years that I'm not fishing any events prior to the Classic and I really want to focus on the little things. I don't want to say that I haven't really prepared for past Classics, but there were times when I found the right areas and I went away thinking that I wasn't as prepared as other anglers who did well in those areas."

No Recent Experience

Browning has a considerable amount of history on the Red, but none of it was particularly recent and none was in February.

This won't be his first tour-level championship appearance on the fishery – he placed 12th in the 2000 Forrest Wood Cup (then called the FLW Championship) there, a late-summer event that was won by Dion Hibdon.

"That was a tournament that I really felt like I let slip away," he said. "I didn't make the right adjustments on day 2 and I failed to make the cut (to the Top 10), but it was very close. With them zeroing the weights after day 2 like they did back then, that was definitely one that I felt like I had a premier chance to win.

"I had an area of the river to myself on day 1 and I fared extremely well there, so I went back on day 2 and caught a lot of fish, but the quality went down. That may be something that I'll put in the bank and kind of carry with me this year – if I feel like the quality is falling, it'll be time to adjust and go to another area."

All of his movements will be made in his regular fiberglass boat – he won't take a tin rig to Shreveport. Such crafts sometimes allow anglers to access backwater areas that anglers in standard boats can't reach, but he considers their lack of speed to be too limiting on a multiple-pool venue that stretches across such a vast distance.

"In years past in other events on systems like this, like the Ouachita River, I've carried an aluminum boat with me, but I just don't feel like I'd be able to make the right adjustments. If you're taking an aluminum, you'd better be pretty well set about where you're going to fish by the time you get there, and I don't want that to be the case.

"I think you're reducing your ability to change areas quickly. I'm not taking one, but I hope everybody else does."

Got an Early Look

Browning spent 2 days cruising around on the Red before it went off-limits in mid-December. His fishing was limited to just a few casts in a couple of backwater locales.

"It was during duck season, and one morning I actually waited for most of the duck hunters to leave because I didn't want to get in their way," he said. "What I really wanted to do was refamiliarize myself with how to get in and out of some of those places so I don't waste several hours of an official practice day figuring out how to do that.

"As far as the fishing, everything's going to depend on the weather. Those 8 to 10 days before official practice starts will tell the tale of how the fish are going to be setting up, and the weather after that will set the stage for how they're going to bite."

Although he won't do any competitive fishing between now and then, he will make a trip down to the lower Arkansas River in a quest to refine some techniques. A good friend of his owns a cabin there and he'll be able to focus on his objectives without distractions.

"I'll spend time in areas that are similar to some of the situations I'll see in Shreveport. The Red is still a good distance south of there and that makes a big difference as far as what the fish are doing, but I feel like I can still catch a few and hone in on some things."

Notable

> Browning's best Classic finish to date came in his debut appearance – a 7th at Logan Martin in 1997.