In 1990 Canada's Hank Gibson of Keswick Ontario made history. He became not only the first Canadian but the first non American to ever qualify for and fish the Bassmasters Classic - the Stanley Cup of professional bass fishing. After the Classic, Wil Wegman interviewed Hank and wrote an article about his great achievement for Angler and Hunter Magazine. Hank was so thrilled to finally have some media coverage that he sent the piece to BASS headquarters, who in turn invited Wil to cover the next Classic in Baltimore Maryland as a press angler*.

Since Wil's first Classic in 1991 he has returned again and again - and has now covered more Bassmasters Classics than any other Canadian Outdoor writer. Today let's look at Wil's unique first hand report for Fish On Line Canada of the 2008 Bassmasters Classic from Greenville South Carolina.

2008 Bassmasters Classic Greenville South Carolina

Late last year I had an important decision to make. Compete in the 2008 Canadian Ice Fishing Championship (CIFC) or attend the Bassmasters Classic in Greenville South Carolina. Both were on the weekend of February 23, 24/08. In many respects, if I had my druthers I would much rather compete in a high level fishing tournament over being there to watch one, but the choice was not that easy. As Conservation Director (CD) of the Ontario BASS Federation Nation (OBFN) I knew there were important meetings to attend with all the other CD's across the US during Classic week ... and of course I would still have the opportunity to be a press observer and be part of the action.

The plane ride to Greenville was uneventful, but it did give me an opportunity to reflect back on all the Classics I had covered, the big names in the sport I have been able to share a day in the boat with, and all the great people I have met along the way. This event would once again afford me those opportunities and I was grateful for the experiences the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (BASS) has offered me over the years.

At the 2008 Classic, not just the CD`s from B.A.S.S. Federation Nations but also the state fishery Bureau chiefs held meetings and workshops on a variety of conservation and science related issues. All the presidents and youth directors of the various federations were there as well for meetings, so OBFN's president Ken Hamilton and youth director Gerry Heels were also in South Carolina.

This year, the CD meetings focussed for two days on aquatic vegetation management issues and on the other days topics ranged from access rights to water depletion issues. It was very enlightening to see how many states either had `too much grass`, or none at all in their waterbodies. Imagine if the major lake in your community was almost entirely covered with exotic plants like hydrilla which make navigation, let alone finding somewhere to fish almost impossible. I was thankful for the relatively minor issue we (ie some people) have with weeds on Lake Simcoe.
*For the first several years when Wil attended Classics, writers were actually permitted to fish. Most only fished during the official pre-fish. Today press anglers have become press observers.

2008 Bassmasters Classic - The Stanley Cup of Bass Fishing
For those who haven't heard yet, the winner of the 2008 Bassmasters Classic was Alton Jones of Waco Texas. Alton caught a three day total of 49 pounds, 7 ounces (five bass daily limit) and took home a $500,000 paycheck for winning the World Championships of Bass Fishing. He will likely collect a few million extra in endorsements through the coming year as well. I was paired as a press observer with Alton a few years ago and can honestly say he's a super nice guy.

Here Alton Jones finds out he is the new 2008 Bassmasters Classic Champ. Photo By Wil Wegman

Competing in his 11th Classic, Alton moved from 10th place out of 50 competitors on Day 1 to take the lead on the second day, and he never let go. The 44-year-old claimed his trophy in front of a packed house of fishing fans at the Bi-Lo Center. He is a master at fishing offshore structure with a flipping jig and that is primarily what he did to win his first Bassmasters Classic.

He said he fished "all over the lake," keying in on inside edges of deep timber. "I really didn't have a Plan B. I tried all different types of things in practice and I really only had one type of location I was fishing and a few baits that were working. "The problem was that one of them, the Cotton Cordell CC Spoon, only worked for 30 minutes early. Once that bite was gone, I went to a prototype Booyah jig called the Pigskin and another one called AJ's Go-To Jig" he said.

A Day in the Boat With Aaron Martins
My one day on the water as a press observer this time was with 2006 BASS Angler of the year Aaron Martins. Martins is notorious for placing 2nd at Bassmasters Classic events and some had him picked to finally take the 1st place crown. That morning began at 4am and the weather was nothing short of brutal... 35 Degrees Fahrenheit, pouring rain and 25 MPH winds. I was sure at the time that anglers pre-fishing Lake Simcoe for the CIFC back home were warmer than we were on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina.

Aaron is 35 years old and originally from California. He now resides in Alabama to be closer to the majority of tournaments. Aaron is a famed drop shot angler but is also adept at a variety of fishing styles. He especially loves fishing deep clear water lakes. Aaron has earned well over $1.6 million since turning pro nine years ago. He was the BASS angler of the year in 2005 and is ranked 3rd overall in the Bass Fan World Ranking system. In his short career Aaron has qualified 8 times for the Bassmasters Classic, and has came second three times. His favourite waterbody is Lake Champlain that borders Quebec, NY and Vermont.

What I learned from Aaron however more than made up for any discomfort at the time. First of all, he refused to let the weather become an excuse and remained focussed the entire 8 hours. He boated a dozen keeper size bass on a small Robo worm worked in water 30-40 feet deep. It was fascinating to watch Aaron manipulate the movements of that worm by twitching the line with his left hand near the baitcasting reel.

He rigged that worm on a straight shank hook Texas style - and did not peg the worm hook. "In practice, the bass I was catching averaged three or four pounds Wil, but now they all seem to be two pound clones ... what's up with that?" He remarked. "And in pre-fish, I caught a bunch on the Scrounger jig, but it's not what they want now it seems". Oddly enough that Scrounger, not yet readily available here in Ontario, was one of the baits I did use and catch bass with while in Mexico in early February.

Aaron Martins fizzed bass immediately after they were caught. Here he uses the through the side method. Wil Wegman photo.

Aaron was the first Classic angler I have ever seen fizz bass* immediately after they were caught. Almost all the bass required this treatment to alleviate symptoms of decompression after being pulled from 35-40 feet of water. This would prevent bass from floating in the livewell and maintain their equilibrium. When we returned to shore, Gene Gilliland a biologist with the Oklahoma DNR and the Conservation Director for the Oklahoma BASS Federation Nation, checked the livewells of the pros and fizzed any bass that required it.

On the second day of the Classic, I volunteered to work below the stage during the weigh-in along with another Conservation Director and a crew from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Together, we were in charge of "fish care". After an anglers' bass was weighed they were placed in a laundry basket down to us below and put into a large aerated holding tank. Here the DNR crew would double check the bass and fizz any that needed it. At the same time they would also take DNA samples to determine the genetics of these bass - some of which were Spotted and some known as the red eye. "We are trying to do some research on the hybridization of those two species" said Ms Littleton of the SC DNR.

*The Aurora Bassmasters have been doing a bass tagging research project on Lake Simcoe, where several fizzed bass have been tagged and later re-caught by anglers months later.

Aaron took a two hour break from fishing deep offshore structure to try flipping for bigger fish in a local marina. Here he is with a nice bass that upgraded his total weight. Wil Wegman photo.

Aaron Martins ended up with 40.07 lbs for his 15 heaviest bass which was good enough for 9th place and a $20,500 paycheck. Wil Wegman photo.

Here Melisa Littleton, a fisheries technician with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources checks out one of the bass that required fizzing. Meanwhile her colleague Amy Breedlove (bottom right) fizzes a bass with the through the mouth method. Wil Wegman photo.

"Canadian Third-grader And Maryland Teen Win Bassmaster CastingKids Competition"
Other than the Classic itself that was the big news down in South Carolina.

A couple of old hands at expert casting, 9-year-old Sierra Voisin of Teeswatter Ontario, and Austin Neary, 14, of Crofton, Md., took home a trophy and a $5,000 first-place prize Saturday in the Bassmaster CastingKids National Finals. To make it to the National Finals, the two won in their respective age groups (Voisin, 7-10; Neary 11-14) at the Bassmaster CastingKids National Semifinals in November in Kissimmee, Fla.
The Bassmaster CastingKids program helps children develop fishing skills. Since 1991, CastingKids has held more than 18,000 events and awarded more than $3.3 million in cash, prizes and scholarships. Voisin defended her title, having won the 2007 national title.

Austin Neary (L), and Sierra Voisin are the 2008 Bassmaster CastingKids National Champions. Ray Scott, the founder of BASS proudly presented them each with a $5,000 Scholarship Fund. BASS Photo.

Her older sisters, including Shauny, a former CastingKids champion, helped teach her how to cast, along with her dad. Sierra admits that she enjoys winning competitions with her sisters. When I did an article a few years ago on Shauny's win a couple of years ago I asked her how she handles all the pressure at the Classic - casting at those tiny targets in front of thousands of people. "Oh, that doesn't bother me", she said. "Back home when I practice in the barn, I pretend that all the cows are people - that way I can come to the Classic and just pretend all the people, are cows!" This little trick seems to have worked for the Voisin sisters who have collected several thousands in Scholarship money from the Bassmaster Casting Kids Program over the years.

Canadian Bassmaster Club Wins Conservation Award
At one of the Classic banquets I was thrilled when The Berkley Conservation Institute presented the conservation project of the year award to the York Bassmasters. The club's restoration project on Bogart Creek in Newmarket stood out among BASS Federation Nation (BFN) club projects carried out from across the US. This prestigious award came with a $3,000 cheque earmarked for conservation. York Bassmasters are one of 26 Ontario chapters in the Ontario BFN. The club meets the last Thursday of the month at Bass Pro Shops in Vaughan. For more information on the York Bassmasters visit www.yorkbassmasters.com.

Louisiana's Judy Wong Claims Emotional Victory in Women's Bassmaster Tour Championship
Another championship event that took place in South Carolinian not too far from where the males were fishing the Bassmasters Classic, was the Women's Bassmaster Tour Championship (WBT) event. I had my hopes high for two of the ladies who had a Canadian connection. One was Dianna Clark from Tennessee who was the 2006 WBT Angler of the Year. Some of you may recall that Ms Clark fished our Bass Pro Shops Lake Simcoe Open with Canadian WBT angler Angela Mitchell from Keswick. The other lady I was routin' for was Judy Wong. I got to know this long time professional angler during the Fishing-Reality TV Series known as "The Last Cull". We were both competitors in this series (still being shown on the World Fishing Network) filmed on Lake Nipissing in North Bay. Let's say that Judy proved her prowess with a fishing rod much better than I and did not get eliminated as early.

In Greenville, S.C. Ms Wong coaxed enough fish out of her "hot hole" on the last day of competition to claim the 2008 Women's Bassmaster Tour Championship by a mere 6 ounces. Ms Wong took home a fully rigged Triton boat and $10,000 in cash, a total prize package of $60,000. Dianna Clark ended up in 3rd spot overall with 23.15 lbs and took home a $5,000 cheque.

Judy Wong, of Many, LA fishes in the mist on Lake Keowee in Greenville, SC on Day Three of the 2008 Women Bassmaster Tour Championship. BASS Photo.

Here former Classic Champ and popular television host Hank Parker explains to the crowd how this member of the audience has a chance to win $50,000 if she could cast a plug directly into the mouth of a big over-sized bass. Although the young lady missed, she did receive $5,000 cash, all kinds of tackle and four rods and reels outfits courtesy of Berkley. Photo By Wil Wegman

2008 Classic Champ Alton takes the traditional victory drive around the arena with his family. Wil Wegman Photo.

Before we knew it, the 2008 Bassmasters Classic was over. Once again it was not only a spectacular sporting event to be a part of, but the entire week was a tremendous experience.

Wil Wegman

For more information on the 2008 Bassmasters Classic please visit: www.Bassmaster.com