Classic Report

[frogtosser]

but in the summer most of their target audience is out fishing. Good job Alton.

[bassNspear]

i was glad to see him win, as he should have for the fish that he was on. I wish KVD would have played mr. upseter in the late stages of the tournament. Hes my favorite along with G-man, who fishing bad. This was a great classic to remember, and it was something that you could watch, and see something new all the time. It was awesome to see the leader board change over and over again.

[Steve Eddicus]

I agree on the better coverage. I was so pumped to watch the Classic. Had to record it to watch. Already new who won before I watched Day 3 so it was kind of a let down for me. Maybe next year they will have 50 helicopters.

[fishin58]

Anyone know when a replay will air??

[bassNspear]

check espn or bassmaster.com.

[Tman2]

Highlight show on Sat Mar 2 at 8am, ESPN 2.

I'm going to set my DVR to record anything that has the tile in it, in case in comes on basic channels.

[HellaBass]

If anyone would like to meet Classic Participant Brent Haimes, see below -

March 1, 2008 at the Medina Entertainment Center

seminar 9:30am Dale Richardson Rod & Reel Repair and Maintenance

seminar 10:15am Brent Haimes Road to the Classic, Fishing the Classic

main meeting Tim Weyandt Battery Tips & Deals

silent auction: MinnKota 101 Maxxum Pro

April 19, 2008 at the Medina Entertainment Center

seminar 9:30am Tim Wedandt Batteries FAQ's

seminar 10:15am Mark Fisher Crankbaits

[Daze Off]

I guess I am with the other guys that figure if we can watch umpteen hours of live tennis from Yugoslavia or wherever, we can certainly watch the "World Series" of bass fishing live. There are countless other events we watch live as well.

In thinking about it, I would eb fine if they just went live for the final day and then they could use all the edited footage from the previous two days as filler.

I can do without the artificial drama they create with their editing. I'm betting that the fish that were shown being caught by various fishermen we not caught in the order they were shown.

I thought most of the pro's who they brought on as commentators did a very nice job and added decent information.

Still a big THUMBS DOWN to ESPN....

[Craig Plummer]

Who was the announcer on the right hand side of the screen wearing black....that guy was so annoying I wanted to puke

[eyehead]

Mark Zona, he is the John Gillepse of bass fishing

[frogtosser]

I like Zona, he keeps it interesting.

[prov1900]

Have you seen his show on ESPN, "Worlds Greatest Fishing Show"? Super funny. I like this guy. He was talking yesterday how he has fished against people from the Classic for many years. What and where did this guy fish? He made it sound like he has been on the circuit or a circuit. Watching his show, although entertaining and hilarious, it appears that he is "junior grade" at best. Anyone know?

[bassNspear]

great guy and a class act on and off the water

[prov1900]

OK, my next trivial question...I believe it was Stephen Kennedy and he was boating past Charlie Hartley?? Kennedy's boat had a plastic bag over the motor. Why? If they were bringing their own boats, why would he have to cover it up...unless he switched sponsors just before the classic???? Wierd. The detective in me comes out

On a side note, there is no better sport to watch on TV then the Classic...period. Better than the Final 4, NCAA Football Championship, Super Bowl, whatever. Maybe it is because I could actually see myself there. If someone asked me what my ultimate dream come true...Classic Champion. My only complaint is during final weigh in, they could make it more "mysterious" if they wouldn't line the guys up in order. You pretty much knew that Alton was going to win it when he was seated last. Hate to see it over and I wish they would do all day, every day live coverage. Pay Per View, pick the angler that you want to watch all day with live satellite link in every boat. Now we are talking "reality TV"!!!!!

[Deitz Dittrich]

I just got done watching it on DVR... fun stuff.. the best angler this weekend won.. no doubt in my mind...

I would be willing to bet the motor cover issue was a contract issue...

very good coverage, and I didn't mind Zona all that much, guy loves the sport!!!

Cudos to Alton Jones! Great win!

[bassNspear]

i believe he runs a Evinrude on his boat, and they are not a sponsor of the Classic.

[Fluker]

I didn't see the covered motor, but I doubt that it was a sponsor issue unless something happened at the VERY last minute. Many of you may or may not know, but Steve Kennedy only have 2 sponsors, PERIOD! Kinami Baits and Kistler Rods. He's been fishing the same boat and motor for like 4 or 5 years now. And last I new, the motor was a Yammy.

They had a segment on him in several weeks back. He basically said that he doesn't like to do tackle shows and speaking engagements. He's an engineer by trade, and he wants to work with sponsors in that manner by helping design new baits, and that is it. On top of that, he has won enough money from his fishign results that he doesn't need the sponsors right now, so he's not eagerly tryign to find any new ones.

I thought this was crazy! Seemed to show how frugal the guy is. Seems like they don't spend much, so they don't need much.

If he did sign on with a new sponsor, you would think they would have something ready for him by the biggest event in our sport. Oh wait, unless it was TRITON! (Deitz, long story over a beer sometime)

[Fluker]

Bass N Spear. Crews, Koto, Ike, etc etc all runs BassCats and they aren't sponsors of the Classic. Alton Jones uses a Hummingbird, and they don't sponsors the Classic. I can't imagine this was BASS's doings (but it sure as heck wouldn't surprise me). If it were anything of this sort, I would think it would be that kennedy got a new sponsor last second, wasn't able to get the new motor on, and covered it up. Sure doesn't seem like him though.

[olski]

He has black tape over the Yamaha stuff on his motor and yes it's because they are not a sponsor of his.

[Fluker]

Interesting. I would assume he has a sponsorship deal inked with a motor company then. Otherwise I can't imagine BASS letting him cover up a primary BASS sponsor.

[Daze Off]

Zona fishes or used to fish the BASS circuit in the northeast at least (maybe more)- especially the Great Lakes. I guess that is where he became such good friends with VanDam since both are from Michigan. Seems like he is putting his fishing in the background for the TV thing - kind of like Joe Thomas in that sense.

[Bushwacker]

I am a big Zona fan. It is rare on today's BASS and FLW coverage that any personality at all is shown, but Zona is one big personality. I think when he was talking about fishing against a guy for 15 years he was referring to Charlie Hartley, who would have been fishing the same MI, OH region BASS circuits.

It seems like every year more and more people tune into the Classic, but their coverage continues to be less and less. A couple years ago on Toho they had live Friday night coverage of the weigh in, live Saturday morning fishing coverage, Saturday night weigh in, live Sunday morning coverage, and the final weigh in Sunday night. I haven't seen this years ratings yet, but I know it has been on a pretty steady increase of the past couple years. Why less and less coverage?