CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Little fanfare will accompany the launch of 53 boats into Lake Wylie on Wednesday, but for the pros guiding them, the day holds a special significance: it is the last chance to practice before this weekend's CITGO Bassmaster Classic presented by Busch Beer.
The three-day world championship will award a $200,000 top prize and the most important title in professional fishing, but much of Classic pros' success will depend on how they spend their time on Wednesday - the final practice day for the highly competitive event.
For the first time in a month, the anglers will be back on Lake Wylie, the 12,455-acre reservoir straddling the North and South Carolina border. The pros only have eight hours to scour the lake, checking conditions and revisiting the best spots they found during the official five-day practice period before the lake went off-limits a month ago.
"The single practice day has gotten more important over the years," said 22-time Classic qualifier Gary Klein. "It used to be that we had two practice days, which allowed you to check on things and even establish new patterns. With one day, you pretty much have to choose between the two."
"This is a much easier Classic because everybody got to see every inch of this lake," 2001 Classic champion Kevin VanDam added. "It's not like New Orleans last year where we were dealing with such a vast area. From the dam to as far as you can go the river to the next dam: I'm sure everybody saw it all.
"So this one's going to be about who does the best job of analyzing the lake and then adapting to the change in a month's period."
When it comes to the Classic practice day, the pros employ various philosophies. Some won't check their best spots so that they aren't seen fishing there by a competitor. Others will hit those spots to make sure that the bass haven't moved. Still others will spend the day searching out new locations for the summertime largemouth.
Here's a sampling of strategies:
. Chad Brauer, Missouri: "I'll check a few of my spots, but not many. I'll check just enough to see what the patterns are that I'll be fishing in the tournament. That's the most important thing. Once I know that, then I'll be able to spend my time getting the right lures and tackle for the conditions ready."
Zell Rowland, Texas: "I really think it would be bad for me to try to go over some of the same water where I practice a month ago. I feel like I can probably go back to those areas and catch some. Tomorrow, I may whip into those areas and see if I can get one bite.
"Mostly I'll go do something out of the ordinary and look at fishing some of that deeper water out there. I'm mostly going to look for new stuff, crank some creek channels and river bends and look at some of the deeper stuff. I do know that the lake level is down about 18 inches from when we were here a month ago. So I'll also look at some of the docks to see if any fish have moved onto them."
Paul Elias, Mississippi: "Normally with what I consider to be a ledge lake and a structure time of year, I wouldn't check places that I found fish on. But these fish in this part of the country right now tend to suspend. So I will check some of my deep places to see if they've changed or moved.
"My goal in practice is to check my deep places, hopefully find that they're there and then fish shallow the rest of the day. I'll have my hooks covered so that I don't catch fish. I just want to get a bite on the places where I found them a month ago. I found 12 places that I am confident I can catch a fish or two. A couple of them had several fish on them. So I'm just hoping that stays the same.
"I concentrated on deep structure for this tournament and I'm really banking on it. So if they have suspended it could very well affect my performance."
BASS is the world's largest fishing organization, sanctioning more than 20,000 tournaments worldwide through its Federation. The CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail presented by Busch Beer, which includes the all-new Bassmaster Elite 50 series, is the oldest and most prestigious pro bass fishing tournament circuit and continues to set the standard for credibility, professionalism and sportsmanship as it has since 1968.
Sponsors of the CITGO Bassmaster Classic presented by Busch Beer include CITGO Petroleum Corp., Busch Beer, Purolator, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Lowrance Electronics, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, MotorGuide, Bass Pro Shops, and BankOne.
Local Sponsors include the Charlotte Regional Sports Commission, Visit Charlotte, the Auditorium-Coliseum-Convention Center Authority, the Rock Hill Sports and Tourism Council and Time Warner Cable.
For more information, contact BASS Communications at (334) 551-2375 or visit www.bassmaster.com.
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