Sarley: The spectacle of ‘The Super Bowl of Bass Fishing’

They call it “The Super Bowl of Bass Fishing.” It’s the Bassmaster Classic. The Classic is the biggest event in the world of professional fishing.

The site for the Classic is Knoxville, Tennessee, an incredibly lovely city that has plenty to offer besides great fishing. It’s the third time they’ve held the Classic there. The top 56 anglers who have qualified to fish the Classic will be competing for a top prize of $300,000. The total purse is $850,000.

Some people will tell you that the bragging rights for a victory and the giant winner’s trophy are the best prizes at the Bassmaster Classic, but I guarantee the winner isn’t going to walk away from $300,000.

The Classic is so much more than a fishing contest. The event is attended by tens of thousands of fishing fans. Believe it or not, a lot of people plan their annual family vacation around where the Classic is being held.

This year’s Classic kicks off on Thursday with a pro-am fishing match for charity. They’ve got TV actors, pro athletes, singers and other luminaries, teamed up with pro anglers. All of the big names will hang around to visit with the fans at a post-event party.

The Classic itself takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The fishing will take place on Fort Loudoun and Tellico Lakes. This is a 30,000-acre body of water that sits at the headwaters of the Tennessee River. It should give up some large bags of fish and some huge fish.

The Bassmaster Classic takes off each day at Volunteer Landing at 7:45 a.m. The takeoff is located conveniently right in downtown Knoxville. It’s rather exciting to watch 56 of the best boats on the water lining up for the takeoff. Those 56 boats are worth about $6 million, by the way.

The air feels heavy as The Star-Spangled Banner is played and then the boats are released in order. The roar of the 250-horsepower engines is deafening. It is quite a sight to see.

The Bassmaster Classic weigh-ins are free to the public each day at Food City Center. Doors open at 3:15 p.m.

A huge part of the Bassmaster Classic is the Classic Expo at the Knoxville Convention Center and adjacent World’s Fair Exhibition Hall. This makes the show we have here in Schaumburg look like a garage sale. It is huge and filled with everything fishing, from boats and motors to tackle and clothing. Every major manufacturer in the industry is on hand at the Expo.

You’ll see every top professional fisherman in the business (except for the ones fishing) on the floor of the Expo. You’ll have a shot at meeting legends like, Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston, Roland Martin and Hank Parker. What an experience.

When the tournament is over and the new king is crowned, it is a true spectacle. Fireworks go off endlessly and tons of confetti falls from the sky. It actually does remind me of the finish of the Super Bowl.

This year, Forward Facing Sonar will be allowed to be used. It will be interesting to watch the fishermen staring at their huge 55-inch sonar screens as they work their lures. The world has certainly changed, hasn’t it?

Bass fishing used to be considered to be a southern sport. This year there are more Canadians, Minnesotans and Japanese on the roster than ever before. Jordan Lee is looking to capture his third Classic trophy, but I’m putting my chips down on my friend Brandon Palaniuk to take home the $300,000. We’ll see how good my picking is.

The bast way to follow the Bassmaster Classic is through the live feed on www.bassmaster.com. Their coverage is astounding.

• Daily Herald Outdoors columnist Steve Sarley can be reached at sarfishing@yahoo.com.