2017 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Conroe - Observation

I was reading something today online and they said from a satellite view that they estimated 800 spectator boats on Grand during the Classic. Of course some of those may have been pleasure boats.

But from that here is my observation, Grand is 43,500 acres and had an estimated 800 boats on it.

Conroe is 20,118 acres..................going to be interesting.

Ok

and ??????

Don't be one of the idiots following the pro's around messing up the fishing for them. You can watch them on TV.

Reassures me I will be watching from the computer, or iPhone at the convention center. Probably stay in a condo at Galveston with the family during that time

This

+2

Food for thought is all it is.

Guys can go to the lake and watch their favorite pro. This is not a problem unless they start interfering with the tournament. The TFF members are not going to be the problem on Conroe. From what I saw during the TTBC tournaments, no one got too close or fished the anglers spots. Some years Ike and KVD had 50+ boats. Of course it just takes one idiot to make a negative impact.

My thought is that if golf fans can stand a few feet away from PGA golfers on the tee box then bass tournament fans can be a couple hundred feet from an angler. Granted a golf ball and a bass are quite different but I think you get the point.

Another point - you can only get so many boats on the water due to limited parking at the boat ramps. These lots are full during the Summer. Plus all the boats that are stored at the ramps and put in by boat ramp tractors. In June 90+% of these boats are not fishing boats. They are the much worse kind of boat and boater. So if we can put up with it on Conroe in the Summer than the Elites should be able to have a good tournament in March with some fans watching them.

Conroe is not Guntersville and Texas is not Alabama.

I rode in the TTBC every year it was on Conroe. On the Fridays there were more Anglers probably by a factor of at least 5 fishing ( not just spectating) than you would typically see on a October Friday. A few weren't respectful of the Anglers. Your always going to have someone want to prove he can catch more than KVD.

The Pros are used to it. They try not to let it get in their head. One time Tak had a boat move right in front of him while fishing docks. His response was "they aren't fishing for the fish he was going to catch." Their casts were on the outside. Taks were way to the back. He caught a couple behind them. They zeroed.

Its part of the mental aspect of the sport which definitely comes into play.

It looks to be quite a haul from Conroe to the weigh site

Not as far as other classics

People are really fixating on this. Grand to Tulsa is farther, Guntersville to Birmingham is farther. It will be fine.

You ever been on the lake during summer?

I've been there once, way too crowded for me, I'll never go back.

Worse than Lake Lewisville?

No ways it can hold a candle to Lewisville

This is in March not the summer

I don't watch TV, I will be there in a boat..........

I'll watch from the Expo at George R. Brown. Should be screens with on the water action every other booth or so.

See, I told you.

Have you ever left the lake and then driven to downtown Houston? You can't compare the distance and time from looking at a map. I assure you it will take them 2 hours to trailer to weigh in at that time.

I live in Houston.

Me? Yep, why I avoid it with a passion from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and most of the time before and after.

I would assume that the LEO's will treat this like a dignity funeral precession....pull everyone over to the shoulder and let them big dogs drive! You know, it is the Classic. All the Houstonians should bow down to the almighty.

Usually the boats get police escorts from the ramp to the weigh-in. I assume the same will happen at Conroe.

Yes the guys know how to deal with spectator boats, but that doesn't make it like having no spectator boats. And the Classic -- the stakes -- always makes it a little different.

RR you really need to see Conroe. I've been on Lewisville in the summer and you're right, it's a mess. Conroe though? With all the bulkheads, the lake turns into a giant washing machine. I will also say this, in my 3 trips to Conroe prefishing last October I ran into more jackasses than I've ran into the last 10 years combined. I had a 40' cabin cruiser intentionally try to swamp me in front of some marina I was fishing the rocks. Kept screaming I was in the wrong place... Calm water and my entire front deck was soaked from the wake. We also had a guy doing his best to cast and hit the boat as we were idling out of a marina, I couldn't get any further away from him. That lake is full of potential [censored] whippins. If Ike makes the classic, he better get his mind right before Conroe.

Rudeness and rough water, Conroe beats Lewisville in my book.

Well said my friend. You speak the truth.

Gonna be one of the 800 on Conroe. We might get lucky enough to Bunk in with a friend of a relative so we only have to launch once.

Lake Conroe is the worst pleasure boater lake of all. I lived there for 4 years. Lewisville sucks but not as bad as Conroe.

Normal Conroe March pleasure boat traffic isn't that bad. It gets bad about Memorial Day. It could be anywhere from 35 deg to about 85 deg that time of year. They held the TTBC there for a number of years. Boat traffic wasn't that bad. Being that the south end of the lake is mostly bulkheaded it gets rough real fast from just boat traffic. It can be like riding in a washing machine.

A lot of people come to Conroe deciding they will hate it. It isn't a huge lake far from a big city so if you want quiet and out of the way you won't get that. You can sack up nice stringers however it isn't the easiest lake to fish either.

You may live in Houston, but apparently you haven't noticed the contra-flow lanes on all of the major freeways. They are in between the center dividers, look closely you'll see em

I say bring it on! Texas needs to host a Classic. Should it be on Conroe? I have never been there so I don't know. It seems like it could get crowded quick, but that just puts pressure on the fish. In my eyes, it's gonna take a true pro to pull fish out each day, and it should be interesting. If Denton had a big enough convention center then I say Ray Bob, but they didn't ask me.

It is going to be a madhouse no doubt. That lake can be a zoo. Should make for excellent entertainment. Probly be a fish or two caught too I wager.

I doubt they let them change the HOV lane direction on a Friday afternoon. The HOV going south on I-45 doesn't start until FM 1960, about half the way to the weigh in. They don't need them anyway. They can use escorts to the Hardy Toll Rd. the inbound traffic on a Friday or the weekend is light. The toll rd goes directly to Minute Maid Park. Probably would take them about a hour and ten minutes.

"you're in the wrong spot!!" That lake is something else. Big fish and I were also fishing one of those three times, ski boat had the entire lake and decide right next to us was best to wakeboard. They shouldn't be out that bad in March

Many fish that are weighed in are caught early and seem to do just fine sitting in the live-well all day while anglers run from spot to spot, bump stumps, etc. There are plenty of advancements today that allow anglers to provide them a comfortable / safe ride to weigh in.

I feel worse for you living in Houston than I do those fish.

Thank you because it is bad...real bad