By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor


(Editor's note: In observance of the Independence Day holiday, a new top story will not appear until Monday.)

Bernie Schultz left his home in Florida last week and headed north for a pre-practice trip to the next two Bassmaster Elite Series venues – the St. Lawrence River and the Chesapeake Bay. Those will be critical events for the 60-year-old veteran as he attempts to make his first Classic since 2009.

At No. 32 in the Toyota Tundra B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year (AOY) race, he's at least a half-dozen spots inside the mark where the Classic cutoff will eventually fall – depending on the number of double-qualifiers. He hopes to improve that position considerably in the three derbies (there's also a stop at Lake St. Clair) remaining prior to the AOY Championship.

A 34th-place finish out of the 50-angler field at last year's AOY Championship, held at Michigan's Bays de Noc, knocked him out of the 2015 Classic. He harbors some resentment over that and isn't shy about expressing his opinion that the field for that tournament should be reduced by about 80 percent.

"When I got bumped out last year, that left a pretty bitter taste in my mouth," he said. "I just don't agree with the format.

"I think the AOY Championship should be contested among the guys who have a chance to win the AOY – no more than the Top 10 or 12, and even that might be a stretch. The rest of us shouldn't be there muddying up the water. The extra guys can impact the outcome in a negative way and hurt a guy's chances of going on to realize that goal."

Little Burp at BASSFest

Schultz didn't do anything truly spectacular through the first half of the current season, but his performance was nonetheless extremely solid. He was 13th in the points going into BASSFest at Kentucky Lake earlier this month, but a 98th-place showing dropped him 19 positions.

He'll try to make up that ground in the northern derbies. He's traditionally fared well in that region and has long been proficient at catching smallmouths despite his Sunshine State roots.

"I like those venues and if I fish to my strengths, I should be fine," he said. "I like the way the St. Lawrence sets up, giving you the option of fishing for largemouths or smallmouths, and I've been able to figure out both species pretty well there in the past."

He competed in the 1991 Classic at the Chesapeake, where his 11th-place showing was his best ever in the championship event.

"It was different then – there wasn't a whole lot of grass at that time. There'd been a drought period and a lack of runoff and there was a big influence of saltwater.

"There's more grass now and, being from Florida, I love grass."

Age Not a Factor

Schultz is one of only four Elite Series competitors past their 60th birthday (Rick Clunn and Dave Smith are both 69 and Paul Elias is 64) and the only member of that quartet with a shot at making the Classic. None of the other three are higher than 99th on the AOY list.

He said his relatively advanced age has no bearing whatsoever on his performance.

"I'm in good health and I feel as strong as I did when I was 30," he said. "I have no problem with the rigors of this sport and I don't even think about that.

"I'm probably an anomaly because I really didn't have any pre-determined goals when I came into tournament fishing. It was a new adventure for me, something to try, and I saw some success and made a few Classics (he's competed in eight) and that just pulled me along. I didn't grow up dreaming about being a bass pro – all I wanted to do was surf and fish. The tournament side of fishing just landed in my lap."

He does have an immediate goal, however – stay within the Classic cutoff through this year's AOY Championship, which will take place at Sturgeon Bay in Wisconsin, and punch his ticket to compete at Oklahoma's Grand Lake next March.

"The AOY Championship is the only tournament left that I have some concerns about," he said. "And that's not because of the body of water – I just don't like the fact that it can take a guy who's solidly in the points for the Classic and dump him. With the year I had last year, in any previous year I would've gone to the Classic, and that's where my resentment lies. This year has been pretty good – I had the slip-up at Kentucky Lake, but that's on me.

"I'm hoping these next three tournaments go well enough that I don't have to worry about it this time."