Classic

Well, the Classic has been over for some time now, and I chose not to write about it until now. The decision was based partly on laziness, partly on wanting to let the whole thing settle down, and partly on a number of miscellaneous things. I'll start with what I wanted to let settle down: my reaction, which was that I wanted to see someone other than KVD win. I have no problems with him at all, but I just wanted to see someone else do it. But with that said the question remains: just how much greater is his legacy with this win? In my opinion, this elevates it to a degree we might not yet be able to understand. In the history of B.A.S.S. there have been two great anglers who seem to have made their reputations on either the Angler of the Year title or the Classic, but not both. Roland Martin won 7 million Angler of the Year titles (actually nine, I think), and Rick Clunn won four Classic titles. To win either seems impossible to the casual angler. To win either more than once seems ridiculous. To win both multiple times IS ridiculous. And now KVD has won both enough times to be mentioned alongside the best to have done either. He might not be knocking on Martin's door just yet, and to win another Classic is a lot to expect. But he is still in his early forties, is currently fishing the best he ever has, and he has NO pressure to prove himself. Could anyone ask for a better position to be in?
Of the miscellaneous things on my mind is something Charlie Hartley wrote about in his blog on bassmaster.com. He said that from what he heard Iaconelli had something like 18 bites the entire tournament and boated 17 fish. By his measure that meant that Ike was never on a reliable pattern and was just struggling his way to the top. How do you muster the confidence to finish in the top ten when you know you don't have a pattern going? Ike himself said he was catching fish on his favorite grub with spinning tackle, something that obviously came out of his panic box. To leave so much up to chance at the most important tournament of the year is pretty admirable.
Another thing that amazed me throughout the coverage was just how many guys were fishing in the same area. This is old news by now, but it does raise a number of points. For one thing, how can a tournament like this be held on a lake where the entire outcome is decided in such a small area? Yes, there are matters of etiquette to observe, but in a field of 50 anglers how fair is it to hold a tournament on waters that are so clearly loaded in one area? It didn't seem like the advantage was a secret, since a number of people were commenting throughout the tournament about how Beeswax Creek was a popular release point for local tournaments. Nonetheless, you have to ask yourself how KVD was able to key in on such a spot as he did. He had a small area all to himself, according to a number of reports, and he was able to find a few creek channels that were key. He seems to have that sixth sense to finding the best spots, as well as an ability to fish them well. I think this is what Rick Clunn meant in the latest Bassmaster when he said that KVD's best weapon is his mind. He seems to be able to put together details in a way few ever could before.