This was my first classic and it was awesome to say the least. We ran into Jason Christie, Chad Pipken, Jordan Lee, Ike, KVD, Justin Lucas, Bobby Lane and Classic Champ Edwin Evers.
I wasn't able to get to the lake the first morning. Edwin Evers started his day 1 fishing in a friends back yard basically. So when I got there for day 2 we decided to forgo the launch and wait to see if he showed up. Sure as heck right after the launch here he comes. I called some friends who are big fans of his to come watch also. I took a family picture of them with him in the background and we watched him fish awhile It was pretty darn awesome. He watched us take the picture and asked how we were doing so it was nice to be acknowledged.
We then decided to try and find Jason Christie, we had an idea where he was, as we got close he came roaring out of a cove and headed right by us. I snapped a quick picture....problem is...here comes about 100 testosterone crazed boat drivers chasing him and they are coming right for us. We got out of the way but had dudes come by us at about 10 feet and we took a big wave over the side of the boat...as he gets to the next cove he must of not liked it cause he does a U turn and here he and the 100 boats come again. That was quite a way to start my first ever on the water chase. Kinda scary but cool to see.
We saw Jordan Lee next, he didn't have any followers, we also ran into Justin Lucas with just a couple boats with him. Ike came by us next pretty close but I didn't get a picture of him.
After a quick bathroom break back at the house we jumped in the boat and ran into a large crowd. We eased in and I got the binoculars up and could see it was none other than KVD. He had zero fish but still..he's KVD and getting to see him do his thing on the water was so awesome. He worked into a narrow cove and everyone keep their distance well. I was watching him with my binoculars and in the cove on a dock was a little girl maybe 5 to 7 years old with her family. I watched him trolling motor over to her and kneel down to give her a high 5. I was blown away, everyone knows how competitive he is and how bad he wanted to do good in this classic after missing the last. To watch someone in our sport take the time to make a little girls day just made me feel so great about bass fishing.
We made a move to another cove and there was Bobby Lane with no one around. We watched him for a bit and he chatted with us a minute which was really cool to. Last person we saw was Chad Pipken but we didn't stick around to watch him.
The expo was awesome, any pro in the fishing industry is basically right there for you to talk with. They are everywhere and they are very friendly. I was in awe the whole time there. Enjoy a few pictures, I hope it comes back to Grand or a close lake again someday.
I tried to post in order of the story above, the boat going by is Jason Christie.
