Bassmaster Classic Coming to Birmingham

Been rumored for a while. Classic's returning to Birmingham in 2020.

Guntersville likely. Lay also a serious possibility.


Major League Fishing also told its anglers last week they're not to work the Classic Expo anymore. Lot of turmoil about contract requirements with sponsors.

That cease to work was on Youtube almost as soon as it happened. I suspect it will all be worked out. Those guys LEFT BASS for MLF, and I agree they made their choices. It's that way in the business world. Contracts can be amended. More power to Boyd and company. If I'm not wrong something similar has happened in the past.

It would suit me if MLF went away. It's the most discombobulated jumble of crap, I have no idea what I'm watching, where they're fishing, what they're fishing for, why there's seemingly 3 or 4 different "trails" within MLF, why they pick who they pick, how they rank, nothing. And if I was fishing on their new trail, it would tick me off royally if I wasn't on the first day. Their television coverage is putrid, they don't show what I care to see. I do, however, very much like the immediate release of the fish. I can take or leave the "every fish counts" concept too (I do sorta like that, mostly because I don't like the "I'm fishing for 5 bites" mentality)

They could all use a lesson from FLW on how to create television fishing shows.

I bet MLF buys FLW soon. Then they will have all they need for the fishing show.

I'm tired of them fishing Gville honestly. I'd REALLY love to see them fish the Warrior, but would settle for Lay.

Ug, I hope not....I'd rather they buy out BASS. I enjoy watching "FLW TV" on YouTube, they're about 45-50 mins long, cover all days of each event, in a very logical format, and 95+% is actual fishing footage. And the fishing footage is way more detailed than the others. When I watch MLF especially I feel like they think the viewer wants to see the angler himself, maybe occasionally a hook set and fish jumping. And they're always on some "mystery oxbow" that always looks the same. Gheeez, if I see them throwing a squarebill around cypress knees one more time I'm gonna vomit. Or lately it seems all their time is up NE on smallmouth lakes....I dunno, every episode looks the same. I feel like I've watched the same tournament for a year now, and have no idea why different guys are fishing it each time.

al.com just posted a story that the 2020 Classic will be in Birmingham at the BJCC, Guntersville march 6-8

I can't get used to the idea of having to drive 1 1/2 hours to the weigh in's.

Yea, why not just host it in Huntsville?

I know they want to put on a show but dang. I hate driving to Birmingham.

How about bring the Classic to the Mobile Delta for once.

1. Huntsville tried to get the Classic 10 years ago but there was an issue with space and money, from what I was told. BASS asks for a lot of money from the host site to put on the event, basically to subsidize it. The VBC holds fewer than 10,000 and the final day would eclipse that. Not enough hotel space nearby, either, IMO. The Embassy Suites would be packed, and any fans wanting to stay would have to find lodging elsewhere and drive in-park. Parking around the VBC completely SUCKS, too. That was 10 years ago and it's not much better now.

2. As for why it's in B'ham, it's a comfort level along with everything being contained in the BJCC -- huge hotel capable of holding anglers-family, staff, all media, sponsor folks, future host site folks and fans. Parking decks, hotel and Convo center staff know what to expect, area law enforcement is familiar with the routines, airport is only 20ish minutes away, plenty of hotels and places to eat around town, interstate access right there north-south-east-west.

3. MLF reportedly may buy a portion of or all of FLW. I've heard both. Heaviest talk is "a portion" but I don't believe Boyd is "a portion" kind of guy. But we'll see. He has tried to buy BASS at least twice, unsuccessfully.

4. I think Mobile could host, easily. Would be interesting.

5. MLF's tournament format is designed to showcase its advertisers. I've only seen bits and pieces of the MLF show and don't watch any of the fishing shows or outdoor channels, though.

Way too many boats would get tore up and have to be pulled off mud bars if it was hosted in Mobile. BASS doesnt have enough money to pay for all the mechanics and tow boats that would be required if it was held there. I'd love to see it. Great fishing when the water is right and there is a ton of water to spread out across but, if they haven't yet, I doubt they ever will. The Ranger M1 Millennium tournament was held on the Mobile Delta in 2002. Bunch of stuck and tore up boats. I think there were 7 boats completely unfishable in just the first 2 hours on day one. Shaw Grigsby described it as the most treacherous place he has ever run a boat. There was not much in the way of limitation on advance local help and all of us that were fishing the bigger trails, Delta Choice, Fishing Fever, etc over there got calls to show them around. I took 2 guys from Texas and one from Arkansas and showed them around 3-4 months before tourney. David Dudley won it ($700K first place) and Jason Kilpatrick (local guy we all fished against every weekend, and quite often beat) came in 3rd. He used that money to move up and start fishing FLW.

Stupid as hell, to have a weigh in over an hr away.

Knoxville was cool, I’ll go again next year

I completely understand the need for the more room. Although it has to add difficulty for the anglers.

BS ABOLT. in the Past FLW went out of Ms coast and a long time ago the American Angler Tx Trail went out of Mobile. In both cases there were guys hung up on mud bars, but that's part of it. I think the Tx out of Ms coast saw Roland Martin run to Mobile and fish in Johns Bend. If I'm not mistaken he caught a 6.

Damn! Finally something I can agree with William on!

I can't help but believe that the pros focusing so much attention on this lake has caused the crowds and more importantly the attitudes common on that lake. Of all the lakes I fish, it's the one I look forward to the least.

This has been going on for 20 or more years, depending on the location, and anywhere from 40-60 minutes from weigh-in site to launch ramp.

Consider, though, that until BASS switched to the spring Classics they were held in August. FLW's championship was in August. After the weigh-ins they were put in a giant tank and taken back to the lake. It's hotter than 40 hells then, and although both tours touted their "fish care" and "release rates" the delayed mortality likely was higher than they said. So at least the spring temps aren't as bad.


As for Mobile and the Delta, the BASS and FLW guys have fished tournaments out of Biloxi and Pascagoula, New Orleans, the Sabine River out of Orange (Texas) the last few years, and other larger tidal waterways. Potomac, Chesapeake, California Delta. They just finished a tournament on the Cooper River in South Carolina.

Mobile and the Delta wouldn't be an issue.

The 2003 Walmart BFL Championship was held in Mobile. Those are weekend guys, the grassroots guys. They all survived.

id like to see it on logan martin

Won't ever happen cause of location and logistics but I would to see an elite series or the classic on r l harris

Some years ago there was a big tournament on the Mobile Delta. I don't remember which tour. ...and they had some kind of boat driving competition to go along....names I remember were Alton Jones, Skeet Reese, and Scott Martin. lots of motors toasted before they got to the river channel!

There was one in mobile years ago. The weigh in was at the Battleship. Shaw Grigsby showed up with his Merc laying on his back deck. He was in Briar and found a deadhead! Knocked that sucker completely off. I've seen that several times in Mobile. I met a guy one morning fishing Catfish. He was so proud of his new boat. That afternoon I saw someone towing him back. Motor on rear deck. That pipeline is deadly.

Wouldnt hurt my feelings if they never had another tournament on it. Half of them I meet on the water are the most arrogant dickheads around.

Me too and it's the one I fish all the time. There's a real reason why many of us local fishermen hate bass tournaments.

True. At least half.

Only lake I've ever fished where I felt like fighting another fisherman. I only fish there if I have to.

That's about a weekly feeling for me.

MLF today announced it would "relax" its prohibition on anglers working the 2020 Classic Expo, but after that it would enforce it. Their view is everyone associated with MLF needs to be focused on MLF and not helping anyone else.

This is pretty much what Irwin did with FLW in the early days.

when will they announce the lake?

Bead, in 1992 Robert Hamilton won the Classic on Logan Martin with a catch of 21/59.6.

Click here to watch him catch a 7.

They announced it yesterday with the main announcement -- Guntersville

i watched it a few weeks ago when i watched the 20 feet deep interview about him. pawned his classic trophy for $400

lame

That kinda stuff hacks me off! Seriously, I've fished Logan my entire life and NEVER caught a 7lb fish there, and those dudes just show up, knowing jack-crap about the lake, and catch one.

Really Ikill, kinda like a mechanic that does it for a living just driving your vehicle and knowing the problem? Those guys are experts on patterns and locations by time of the year. They look at a lake with a new set of eyes. Its more than beating water or haven't you learned anything?

So the Bass Masters Classic is coming to Birmingham but the fishing won’t even be in Jefferson County. That makes a lot of sense.

Nothing new. It's been this way for decades. Site hosts the weigh-in and expo where all the people will be, anglers fish 30-60 minutes away.

I hope every damn boat sinks.

I'm dead serious. I'd bet you my house I'm better than that guy (remember, nobody knows his name and he hocked his stinking trophy), I could point to every stump for a two mile stretch of any part of Logan Martin, I fish it almost weekly, heck I lived 10 mins from it for 20 years. I've spent a lifetime fishing it, it's simply the odds. I've fished shallow, deep, every season, won $1,000's in tournaments there, and NEVER caught a 7 lb fish there. And these yahoos just show up knowing NOTHING, and catch a 7 pounder IN THE FREAKIN' BASSMASTERS CLASSIC!!!!! You're dang right, that ticks me off!!

It's what I call "Divine providence". There are just people who were divinely appointed for a specific event at a specific time, there are people who are gifted with something you don't have, some innate ability or knowledge (not common to the majority) or even an unfair blessing to excel at a specific endeavor, and it can't be explained otherwise. There is something you are simply better at than me, and it's not because of anything you've practiced or learned, again it's as if God supernaturally sprinkled pixie dust on you and said "Perch will do this". Logan Martin is not known for big largemouth now (even though it's recently been showing out a little bit in that area), and it DANG sure wasn't known for that in 1992. Seriously, nobody does that, you just don't catch 7 lb heads on Logan, it would be like winning the freakin lottery. Yet this guy does it in the biggest fishing tournament on earth????....and you're gonna tell me he's just that much better of a fisherman than a million other people who have never done that? Hogwash.

Fishing is not like an athletic sport.... In football for example you can explain physical genetics. He's 6'-4" and 255 lbs, runs a 4.4 forty, has quick-twitch muscle fibers, etc, etc.... I'm 5'-11", 175 lbs, not fast, and prone to groin hernias ( ), there's a logical and scientific explanation. There is NO logical and scientific explanation why any of those normal looking guys can travel the country to unknown lakes and just mystically catch fish bigger than locals (who are better than average themselves and have fished it their whole lives). I have the SAME access to everything they do. Same electronics, same Google Earth, same equipment, my job gives me the time that I can spend out there too. It's divine providence, they were destined to do that thing at that time, or even for their career, it's a blessed gift.

I know guys who win ABT tournaments and contingency checks every year, they've won bass boats, they are just semi-famous in this region, frankly they could fish professionally. And to talk with them they don't even use proper grammar, they work very "elementary" jobs, they are not smart men, they exhibit NOTHING that would explain why in the cornbread heck they could qualify to fish the classic of some semi-professional series, travel to Grand Lake in Oklahoma (?) where they've NEVER been, and go win that freakin thing!!!!!!! Yes, that ticks me off!!!! (I'm saying that in a joking manner, I'm not sincerely hating on those fellas)

robert hamilton junior is his name i thought everyone knew who he was. good guy that got hooked on pain killers after 5-7 back surgeries

Legit, never heard his name that I know of. Granted, I graduated high school in 1992, wasn't following professional fishing back then (I don't follow it now other than watching some videos or TV shows).

I'm just making this point: Watch ANY professional fishing and you're going to see this.... Some dude from Indiana that nobody's ever heard of, he's like 25 years old, qualifies to fish the Classic through winning all the local then regional divisions, against DANG good fishermen who've done it years longer than him, comes to Lay Lake ALABAMA (random example)....he's never even been to Alabama, much less been on Lay. I've lived my whole life an hour from Lay, fished it a few dozen times, only ever caught a handful of nice fish, and generally caught 10-14 pounds of fish in every derby I've fished there. I've got a $60K boat with $1,000's of electronics and gear too, just like they do. Yet this 25yr old dude from 7 states away comes down here and catches 22-1/2 pounds on the first day, and maybe finishes 4th overall in the Classic over the 4 days. HOW?????????????? What did he know, how did he know it, how in the WORLD does that work??????? Explain that crap??????!!!! Yeah, he hired a guide 6 months ago, but so what....he still had to come down here on a hope and prayer and assume the info was good, the fish were there, and they bit!!! Divine providence. There's literally ZERO, nothing , not a single thing he could have done or known that ANY other fisherman couldn't also have done or known, so what's the difference?

I wasn't picking at that Hamilton guy, just saying how remarkable (actually inexplicable) it was that he'd catch a 7 pounder on Logan Martin. In the CLASSIC!! That wouldn't have been a big deal at Guntersville, but Logan??!!

Lord love a duck

I think this concept falls on deaf ears.

A local guy (me, you, anybody)...he's better than the average ol' fisherman himself. Has fished a certain lake for 30 years, won several tournaments on that lake, even some pretty dang big tournaments against other guys who have done the same. But he's NEVER caught a 7 pound largemouth on that lake (not even on the very best day he's ever had), and he's supremely familiar with it, and let's just make up a hypothetical number that he's fished it 5,000 times over his lifetime.

Then a guy from far away, who may have never fished that lake, or at best has fished it a couple of times years ago coming up through the ranks. Point is he's just not as familiar with said lake as the local guy. And then you've simply got the odds factor. Local guy fished it 5,000 times, professional fished it once (or maybe 5 times ever). Can we agree it would be incredibly unlikely that the pro would've caught a larger fish than the local guy, just simply based on odds, disregard any gap in skills. And on top of that, the pro caught said fish in the biggest tournament on the face of the planet, winning $100,000 or even more. Seriously, can you grasp the stupendous odds of this scenario???????

if youre good enough to qualify for the classic thru the opens or federation youre in the top 1% of anglers in the world. dont take this the wrong way but maybe youre not that good. me and a couple buddies are hammers on a couple of stretches of river around here but none of us can hold a candle to the tour guys that catch them day in and day out on everybody of water they go to no matter the conditions.

theres also something to be said about going to a new lake with fresh eyes.

Beadle said exactly what I was going to say. Fresh eyes can make a difference.

I've fished in places before with guys who live there or fish the lake regularly, and ask about something. "Oh, we don't do that here." or "That won't work here."

Well, WTF? That's stupid to not try.

I was in California about 10 years ago on Clear Lake and told the guy I was with that all the shoreline vegetation looked great for a frog. "Too early for frogs. We don't start throwing those until May when it's warmer." I laughed and he got kinda huffy, pulled out a frog rod and handed it to me with a condescending "Here, try it."

After three blowups and his amazement at my faster retrieve, I gave him the rod back and said frogs work all the time. This is a guy who lived there, fished that lake regularly and won local tournaments. A week later he and his partner had 55 pounds over two days with the frog to win their first big tournament of that spring.

Fresh eyes can help. Robert Hamilton hit the magic button at the right time for that 7-pounder, but he did it.

Nah...it just ain't that easy. There is NO explanation, I don't / won't buy any of it, it simply can't be explained by "fresh eyes". I swear I ain't that hard-headed or argumentative either, it just doesn't work that way. I'm not the "stuck in one gear" guy, I do it all. Bank, offshore, power fishing, finesse, topwater in January, boat docks, grass, up the river, down by the dam, 12 months out of the year, there's basically not a bait I don't use or technique I don't do, etc, you get the picture. If it was common, easy, or otherwise even realistic, to catch 7 pound largemouth on Logan Martin, I would do it...at least ONCE DANG EVER!!!! Take ME out of the equation, I'm not tooting my own horn, I run in enough circles to have a thumb on the goings on for Logan Martin, and except for a short stretch in the Spring (mostly in the recent few years) you almost never hear of ANYBODY catching fish like that on Logan, it's not what the lake is known for. Look, you fish a 100 boat tournament in March/April on Logan and someone brings in a fish like that, you know what everybody....EVERYBODY!!!!!....says????? "Wonder where they really caught that fish, Guntersville??" "They cheated!" I'm not trying to make an isolated argument here, I've had this conversation with lots of people before and we agree.

I've caught 7 to 9 lb fish on Wedowee and Guntersville, THOSE lakes are known for fish like that though, it's normal (almost expected). I've caught a nearly 8 lb smallmouth on Pickwick. I've caught a 7+ on Neely Henry before...ONCE, and lost a similar sized fish on Weiss (on a frog, just for giggles since we were talking about frogs). Neely & Weiss would be most similar to Logan, but it's not all that unusual to catch big heads there. But Logan is a different creature, and gets twice the fishing pressure. I don't consider myself a "local stick", but dadgummit they aren't THAT much better. There ain't but so much to it, it's not brain surgery.

And when you watch these videos (take that one of Hamilton that started this conversation), they aren't doing anything strikingly unusual, nor doing it in a strikingly unusual spot. Legit, I can't tell you how many times I say something like this, "Are you kidding me???????...that guy just gets on a nothing looking bank with a buzzbait and catches an 8 pounder???" They do the same things you do, with the same baits you do, in the same places that you do, but have you ever caught an 8 pounder doing it??????? Crap NO!!!!!! I've 100% legit watched FLW and BASS videos, from lakes I fish, and a guy will literally fish an exact bank or offshore spot that I fish---THE EXACT SPOT---and catch a freakin' golly-whopper on a Pop-R. WHAT THA CRAP????? It's just a blessed giftedness from God, as if the Lord speaketh a 7 pounder onto that bank at that exact time and instructed it, "Eat!!!"

Clem, that is the problem I run into on Neely. "The fish should be here right now, this time of year, on this bait in this color" type of mentality. This hurts my ability to be versatile. Also, I fish a LOT BY MYSELF and that is just the way it will always be. I can only get a couple hours here and there. If I were to be able to tag along with some good fishermen and observe them, I would be better for it. Oh well, maybe I can get with some good guys this summer and learn.

Doesn't matter how long you've done something or how good you think you are. They are doing something different that you aren't seeing that is creating the success that they are having. This applies to everything, not just fishing. We all think we are the best and our method is the best and nobody could be more thorough than we are. Just like there is always a bigger fish, there is always someone doing what you're doing from a different perspective that is having better results.

It's OK to go on past history as a starting point. I agree about what you say -- "The fish should be here right now, this time of year, on this bait in this color" -- and think probably all anglers do that, probably for everything from perch to blue cats and bass to bluegills.

But after an hour with no bites, or seeing no activity, or not getting gollywhomped on ikillbux's stump-laden flat where he can't catch a 7-pounder, it's time to change something. Location, bait, presentation, depth, colors, whatever it takes. It might be the same bait in the same location but with a faster or slower retrieve.

This is one reason I enjoy fishing smaller lakes and farm ponds. They're easier to figure out but when it's tough as nails, it forces me to do other things and sometimes out of my comfort zone. I hate fishing slowly. But if I can't get a bite on a topwater, jig, spinnerbait or T-rigged worm-tube-craw, I'll put on a wacky rig Senko or trick worm. If that doesn't work, I scream "FU*K YOU" at them and go home.


I think it was in 1997 when BASS came to Guntersville for an early spring tournament, maybe in mid- or late-February. It was back when the grass was gone, fishing was tough as nails and a 15-pound bag might win your weekend jackpot. Chris Bumgardner won the tournament.

Chad Brauer finished among the top 3 or 5 throwing jerkbaits around docks. When he said that on the final day, the crowd looked like he had read the Magna Carta in Hebrew. Jerkbaits around docks? NO ONE DOES THAT! And yet he did, because he said that's what they did at Lake of the Ozarks and Table Rock at that time of the year so he figured he'd try it and he knew no one else would be doing it. Why? Because they didn't think it works, a small jerkbait won't catch big bass and it wasn't the right time of the year for them.

Fresh eyes, different ideas. Or putting the bait in the right spot like Hamilton did.

Hamilton was fishing deep brush piles with a big spinnerbait catching 20+lbs a day.


ive heard all that cheating talk at tournaments it pisses me off. you just got whooped that day thats all there is too it.

Y'all crazy. Do y'all actually watch this stuff? They ain't in different places, they ain't throwing different lures. There's nothing "fresh" about it, which is the VERY POINT I'M MAKING! That's why I reject that notion. I don't usually (or ever) think, "wow, I wouldn't fished there or thrown that". Well, maybe so, but I'm never struck by anything except how simple they fish. For the most part, they just "stupid fish", they get on a bank with a basic power lure and take off. You're expecting to see them uncover some unknown rock piles on the perfect stretch of ledge that nobody has ever fished before, throwing some secret prototype bait with hooks that are magnetic to fish lips. But instead they are on a known stretch of bank, that you've fished your whole life, swimming a white jig like you and every-freakin'-human from Mobile to Huntsville also does, donkey-punching 7 pounders. Stop trying to simplify it or explain it. God made Peter to walk on water, and Hamilton to catch a 7 pounder on Logan Martin in the Classic!!! If God be for you, who can be against you?? You can't compete with the Lord.

Well, Jesus chose fishermen as part of his special posse so you may be right.

Look at the success Rojas has had fishing a frog EVERWHERE, all the time! Nobody saw that coming either!

What I have learned from this thread is that Guntersville will host the 2020 Bassmaster Classic, an hour is too damn far to drive for the weigh-in, mud bars are a pain the ass in the delta, and if you catch a fish bigger than ikillbux on any lake he has fished, you are just a lucky SOB with a horseshoe up your ass.

This man speaketh great truth!!!

and sight fishing with a white lizard

🤣🤣🤣🤣

it must be tough to be a legend, in your own mind!
Bob, mud bars are only problematic in tidal water when the tide is low or out. Any other time there is a couple of feet of water over them.

We've all sight fished with a white lizard at some point

And he was a carpenter

ikill, in your mind. You have the ability, but those guys are full time and on another level. 99% of them would humiliate you on your water. TC has been there, I know a bunch of them and have seen how their minds work. I was the guy sponsors and Pro's would call and fish with before off limits. It can get ugly fast when they find them. I will say this, I have a friend in Northport that is as good as anyone I've ever been with. He could have been a big name, but his family came first. He can spank'em.

A'ight. I just don't know what I don't know I suppose.

I dont live in northport dummy im in bessma.