When ESPN/B.A.S.S. first announced the changes to its Tour and Open tournament schedules, it seemed at first blush that it was trying to create a sharper division between the two trails. In other words, the Tour would become more rigorous and the Opens would be how aspiring Tour pros qualified for the Tour.

But with no BASSMASTER or FLW tour events in the fall, except for the FLW Championship in September, more Tour pros are fishing the Opens this year to stay sharp and, more importantly, to qualify for the BASS Masters Classic.

Qualifying for the Classic through the Opens opens up several options for the pros. First of all, they don't have to have the Classic monkey on their backs all season. That means less stress and being able to fish for the win instead of points -- though only the Top 100 pros automatically requalify for the Tour.

Second, they have the option of "opting out" of the final four BASSMASTER Tour events, including the expensive California events. (All pros must fish the first six Tour events to fish the Classic.)

And third, pros fishing both Tours can focus more on the FLW Tour if they're already in the Classic.

Here's what some of them had to say about it.

Making the Classic

Clark Wendlandt hasn't fished the Opens for 3-4 years. But this year "there isn't much going on in the fall and it's a chance to make the Classic.

"If I couldn't make the Classic, I wouldn't be fishing them," he said. "But if B.A.S.S. allows us a chance to make the Classic before we even start the Tour, I'm taking it."

Mike Wurm had the same attitude. "I used to fish the Invitationals (Opens), then quit fishing them. But now there's just three in the fall, you fish them and you're done. There isn't anything else to do in the fall. They're also pro-ams now, which is much better.

"It would be great to have the Classic made before the Tour starts," he added. "It gives good peace of mind, and you can fish those events with a different mindset. You attack them differently."

Davis Would Rather Be Fishing

Mark Davis, No. 2 in the world and the highest-ranked angler fishing the Opens (the Centrals), hasn't fished the Invitationals for 8 years. "I didn't have anything to do in the fall," he said of his decision to fish them. "I had the time off and I'd rather be fishing."

He also said that making the Classic via the Opens, before the Tour starts, "does a lot of things for you." Notably, "you would never have to play it conservatively. You could fish to win every tournament."

Wide-Open Strategy

With only three Opens per division and only the Top 5 in each division headed to the Classic, the name of the Open game seems to be fishing "wide open." In other words, fishing for points is no good.

The pros estimate that three Top 15s or 20s, or two Top 10s and a 30, will be needed to garner one of the Classic slots.

"If you finish less than 20th in any of them, you probably won't make the Classic," said Paul Elias. "Last time (he fished the Invitationals) I had two Top 10s and one 40th and I still didn't make it. This will be a race right of out the gate. I'd say the lowest finish you could have might be a 30th place -- and that's pretty stiff when you're fishing against 175 or 200 guys.

"I'm definitely going to fish differently than I normally would if I was trying to build points for the whole season," he said. "I go into every tournament wanting to win the tournament.

"But once you practice for 3 days, you get a feel for the lake and how you're doing. If I don't feel like I can win, I'll usually go for as many points as I can get. I'll go for a small limit rather than try to catch a heavy stringer. But in the Opens I won't do that. I'll be swinging for the fence every day.

"If you can get off to a good start, you have a pretty decent chance of making the Classic," Elias noted, "though the Central Opens probably is the toughest division with all those Texas guys.

"I like the Red River, even though it was my worst tournament this year, and I like Rayburn so I figured I'd take a shot at it. Plus I've never gone 6 months without fishing a tournament and figured I'd go into withdrawal."

Davis said that at the Opens, he's "fishing to win. With just three tournaments you have to be fishing to win. You have to finish high in all three to make the Classic.

"But we're starting off on a doozy down here (the Red River). It's going to be hard. At least it has been on me."

Notable

> All the pros said that a big factor in their decision to fish the Opens is the new pro-am format.

> Rick Clunn is fishing the Opens for the first time in 15 years to get back to "level 1" form and to explore a new fishing style.

> Several top pros are fishing the Central Opens because it was the only Open division whose schedule didn't conflict with the FLW Championship.

Tour Pros Fishing the Red River Open

Following are some of the BASSMASTER and FLW tour pros fishing the Central Open on the Red River, which starts today.

ARKANSAS
Stephen Browning, Hot Springs
Mark Davis, Mount Ida
Keith Green, Arkadelphia
Mike McClelland, Springdale
Scott Rook, Little Rock
Ron Shuffield, Bismarck
Mike Wurm, Hot Springs

FLORIDA
Chuck Economou, Redington

KANSAS
Brent Chapman, Shawnee

KENTUCKY
Mike Auten, Benton
Dan Morehead, Paducah

LOUISIANA
Roger Boler, Slidell
Greg Hackney, Oak Ridge
Homer Humphreys Jr., Minden
Mark Sabbides, Ball

MARYLAND
Frank Ippoliti, Airy

MINNESOTA
James Moynagh, Carver

MISSOURI
Rick Clunn, Ava
Stacey D. King, Reeds Spring
Scott Pauley, Columbia
Tim Sainato, Branson

MISSISSIPPI
Paul L Elias, Pachuta
Jeff Magee, Mendenhall

OKLAHOMA
Jim Carnell, Muskogee
Ken Cook, Meers
Edwin Evers, Mannsville
Jeff Kriet, Ardmore
John Sappington, Wyandotte

TEXAS
Harold Allen, Shelbyville
Cody Bird, Granbury
Slade Dearman, Onalaska
Randy Dearman, Onalaska
Todd Faircloth, Jasper
David Gregg, Palestine
Elton Luce Jr., Nederland
Tommy Martin, Hemphill
Lendell Martin, Jr., Nacogdoches
Yusuke Miyazaki, Mineola
Dicky Newberry, Houston
Takahiro Omori, Emory
Mark Pack, Mineola
Bud Pruitt, Spring
Zell Rowland, Montgomery
Carl Svebek III, Sam Rayburn
Jim Tutt, Longview
Clark Wendlandt, Cedar Park
David Wharton, Sam Rayburn

Tomorrow: Why some pros are not fishing the Opens.

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