2020 BASS Masters Classic 2024
BoatSquirrel reply :
So the 2020 Classic has been announced for Birmingham, AL, and the actual fishing will take place an hour and a half north at Lake Guntersville. Say this out loud and see if it makes sense:
“We will have the tournament at the lake, then have all of the competitors drive an hour and a half south to the expo where they will all wait hours in line weighing in, then they get to drive another hour and a half back up to the lake where their hotels are, all on zero sleep.”
For some lucky anglers, they will get to do this 3 days in a row! And how great would it be to be a bass crammed into a livewell for twelve hours!
Sounds like a great way to run off three quarters of your field to a new, angler and natural resource focused league. Apparently BASS has learned absolutely nothing from their last eight months in business.
HeyCoach reply :
I’m somewhat local to the area and can set up a meet and eat somewhere that shouldn’t be too crowded those days.
I could suggest restaurants and hotels for those traveling from out of town.
Right now most of the interstate system going through Birmingham is demolished and being built, I’m hoping that it is open then. Should be.
Glenn reply :
Oh gee, the Classic at Birmingham....again. Tens of thousands of lakes and locations to choose from, and they keep going back to the same place.
Bluebasser86 reply :
They did exactly that for both Classics at Grand Lake, OK. Launching at Wolf Creek in Grove, then doing weigh in at the BOK Center in Tulsa about 1.5 hours away. There was no issues, very few fish lost thanks to the large transport tanks that they moved the fish back to the lake in. Anglers can have someone drive them back and forth, they don't have to drive themselves in their trucks.
On 4/23/2019 at 12:19 PM, Glenn said:Oh gee, the Classic at Birmingham....again.
It's getting a big repetitive it seems. I don't why they don't do a Classic on Table Rock or LOZ, both are excellent winter fisheries, plenty big with plenty of amenities by the lakes, and it would be something different for a change. Toledo Bend or Texoma would be another couple that I'd think they'd should consider.
Glenn reply :
Agreed. I mean, Knoxville was a welcome change. But it seems they keep going back to the well (Birmingham, Greenville, Shreveport, and Tulsa). Not bad places, but very myopic, predictable, and frankly, boring.
If they want to go back to previous locations, I'd love to go back to Houston or New Orleans! Draggos! 
But I'd rather see new and different venues each year.
TOXIC reply :
Dare I say, "It's all about the Benjamins". Established location with a willing fan base located in the heart of bass fishing with good amenities to support the venue. And I would guess a willing Chamber of Commerce willing to pay to bring them back.
BoatSquirrel reply :
The Coosa River lakes are actually near Birmingham and Lewis Smith is just up the road in Jasper. Or, why not have the expo in Huntsville if you want to fish Guntersville as it is only 30 minutes away? Because BASS still has not figured out that the sport is about the anglers. Having the expo/weigh-in in Birmingham is one of laziness and self importance from BASS, “Lets just have it here at our HQ and we can all sleep in our own beds”...except the anglers of course.
The MLF anglers are all laughing!
HeyCoach reply :
On 4/23/2019 at 6:59 PM, TOXIC said:Dare I say, "It's all about the Benjamins". Established location with a willing fan base located in the heart of bass fishing with good amenities to support the venue. And I would guess a willing Chamber of Commerce willing to pay to bring them back.
And the HQ being in the same city doesn’t hurt.
Logan S reply :
With all the drama in pro fishing the last year...There is no way BASS was going to have the Classic, the 50th one at that, in a new or unproven location.
Good choice IMO, repeat or not, I can't imagine not being excited about the biggest tournament in the world being held on arguably one the best bass fishing lakes in the world.
HeyCoach reply :
On 4/23/2019 at 9:03 PM, Logan S said:Good choice IMO, repeat or not, I can't imagine not being excited about the biggest tournament in the world being held on arguably one the best bass fishing lakes in the world.
Now is the time to buy stock in Spro, Stanford, Booyah, and Strike King for all of the frogs they’re gonna go through.
OCdockskipper reply :
As a lifetime member of BASS, I am partial to taking their side on decisions they make about the organization & tournaments. That said, I really believed they blew it with this decision.
I have been a huge proponent of having the 50th Classic back at Lake Mead. Returning full circle to the lake that was the first home to the Classic, to a lake the Elite series has never (& probably will never) fish and a lake that is unique compared to most Classic designations should have reason enough to choose Mead & Las Vegas as the site. But there is another reason, one of symbolism, that should have driven this decision towards Mead instead of any other locale.
The 1971 Classic was a way for a new organization to burst on the public radar, to introduce its competitors to those who may be interested in fishing, but not followers of tournament fishing. With the changes to the Elite series, the 2020 Classic will also feature many names that the casual observer doesn't yet know. The 2020 Classic could have been special if it was treated as a rebirth of both the organization and the tournament. Focus would have been on the first Classic, the current Classic and what has changed in that time. It would have given this new set of anglers a chance to help the organization start anew.
Instead, by choosing Gunterville & Birmingham, a great bass lake full of folks who are knowledgeable about the sport, the focus for the casual observers will be less on the lake and more on why all the famous names they know aren't fishing it this year. If the bite is tough and the numbers are low, many will point and say that the new anglers can't yet fish under Classic pressure like the old anglers could.
I know BASS was founded in Alabama and there isn't near the support out West that there is in the South. But this is the 50th Classic, not the 50th year of BASS. This tournament should cause reminiscing about the 1st Classic, not the one held in 2014.
I know it is too late, there is no way that BASS would ever change the location after announcing it. It is just a shame that they wiffed on this pitch.
TnRiver46 reply :
The fishing part should be cool and of course I love to see it on my home river 2 years in a row. But you sure won't catch me in Birmingham unless I'm hammered down in the fast lane on my way to a fishing vacation. I might drive my boat around again next year , @BigSkyBasserand I did this year and it's pretty cool seeing those guys go by. Does anyone know the exact dates?
HeyCoach reply :
On 4/24/2019 at 11:25 PM, TnRiver46 said:The fishing part should be cool and of course I love to see it on my home river 2 years in a row. But you sure won't catch me in Birmingham unless I'm hammered down in the fast lane on my way to a fishing vacation. I might drive my boat around again next year , @BigSkyBasserand I did this year and it's pretty cool seeing those guys go by. Does anyone know the exact dates?
Starts Friday, March 6, and goes until Sunday the 8th. Now Lake G is a little more than an hour from the BJCC if you want to go to the expo.
TnRiver46 reply :
On 4/24/2019 at 11:43 PM, HeyCoach said:Starts Friday, March 6, and goes until Sunday the 8th. Now Lake G is a little more than an hour from the BJCC if you want to go to the expo.
Gotcha thanks. I'm not much of a gear guy so I'll skip the expo and save myself a few hours of travel
BigSkyBasser reply :
Not sure if I'll go next year or not. Going to Knoxville had multiple benefits for me being that I'm favoring the possibility of moving there fairly soon. Traveling to Alabama is probably out of the question for next year. I'll likely save my money for upcoming tournaments that year provided I qualify for my state teams.
NittyGrittyBoy reply :
How bout throwing more rivers into the mix as well.
bowhunter63 reply :
Yes Rivers x2
TnRiver46 reply :
On 5/1/2019 at 9:59 PM, NittyGrittyBoy said:How bout throwing more rivers into the mix as well.
On 5/2/2019 at 2:28 AM, bowhunter63 said:Yes Rivers x2
Its going to be on the same river two years in a row. They had the opportunity to fish some shallow fast rapids in Knoxville but everyone went downstream.
Sam reply :
The Historic James, Appomattox and Chickahominy river systems would be a great place for a Classic once again, making the guys fish tidal water which is more challenging than a lake.
Everything is close by, too.
WRB reply :
Reading Bassmaster they think 2019 record crowd was all about B.A.S.S. My prediction is 2020 Classic will be a rude awakening without the top names competing. The only name who can draw a big crowd is Rick Clunn, the balance of the field are not house hold names.
Tom
TnRiver46 reply :
On 5/10/2019 at 1:25 PM, WRB said:Reading Bassmaster they think 2019 record crowd was all about B.A.S.S. My prediction is 2020 Classic will be a rude awakening without the top names competing. The only name who can draw a big crowd is Rick Clunn, the balance of the field are not house hold names.
Tom
And Birmingham is not nearly as cool as Knoxville
HeyCoach reply :
On 5/10/2019 at 7:18 PM, TnRiver46 said:And Birmingham is not nearly as cool as Knoxville
Birmingham isn’t “cool,” but there’s a great food and beer scene that’s going on.
TnRiver46 reply :
On 5/10/2019 at 8:08 PM, HeyCoach said:Birmingham isn’t “cool,” but there’s a great food and beer scene that’s going on.
Just ribbing ya! I've never actually been in the city outside of my truck. We have to take shots at bama any way we can since we can't compete on the gridiron
HeyCoach reply :
On 5/10/2019 at 10:04 PM, TnRiver46 said:Just ribbing ya! I've never actually been in the city outside of my truck. We have to take shots at bama any way we can since we can't compete on the gridiron
I played for UAB. I take pot shots at bama all the time.
But, offer still stands. I can arrange a meet and eat/drinks when the Classic is down here.
TnRiver46 reply :
On 5/11/2019 at 12:45 AM, HeyCoach said:I played for UAB. I take pot shots at bama all the time.
But, offer still stands. I can arrange a meet and eat/drinks when the Classic is down here.
I believe UAB plays in Knoxville this year. I'm a little nervous after what the dragons pulled off last season
junyer357 reply :
Talk around here is that it could possibly take 100 lbs to win too though. They should be getting there some of the peak fishing of the year. I think they are looking at that, in response to some of the response to mlf being "dink fests" and winning by catching 50 1lb fish. People talk about guntersville being "down" and still taking 20+ just to get a check, and close to 30 to win.
On 5/11/2019 at 12:53 AM, TnRiver46 said:I believe UAB plays in Knoxville this year. I'm a little nervous after what the dragons pulled off last season
You should be. Bill clark is a helluva coach. He had a good team the one year he was here at jax st and kept dicipline on the team too. I think auburn screwed up not sending the gusbus to ark and hiring clark then.
Chance_Taker4 reply :
Coming from Ohio I have to drive crazy hours to get to any Classic. I really loved the fact it was in Knoxville this year as it was only 8 hours for me. Sadly I will not be making it to this Classic as I was there in 2014 and not interested in making that journey again. I say push the classic back about 6 weeks and bring it to Erie.
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