I've been on this forum for over 15 years and I don't remember this ever being discussed before. Since most of us are stuck in our homes, it's time to address the elephant in the room.
Will a woman ever win the Bassmaster Classic?

I know there are a few ladies out there that could give the average tournament fisherman a run for their money, and lots of ladies like to fish, but in the 40+ years of the classic why have only 2 women ever qualified, and neither came close to winning?
Fishing does not require strength, speed or size, so why hasn't a woman ever won the Super Bowl of bass fishing?
And why is there a separate trail just for women?

Trait Christ (Zaldains wife) has been trying to get there for years. She can catch em, just can’t catch a break when she needs one. She’d be my bet to at least get there and have a shot at it.

Possible, but highly unlikely. Better question is will a woman ever qualify for the Classic.

Oh ya it's possible, but the laws of numbers make it highly unlikely. Need more female participation. All three of my girls love to fish, but they just don't have that drive to fish like some boys I take fishing. It would be cool to see.

Possible but no. I still remember that young lady from I think it was Australia that qualified. Seemed like more of a PR stunt. She was attractive. Had qualified through a woman’s trail & they put her in the Classic. Was not a factor in the event. That said I know there are several women who can hold their own in bass fishing.

I certainly think a woman is capable of winning. I've fished with a couple that could hang with the guys. Just doesn't seem to be that many to try.

Lmao. That's funny

This is my feelings, too. There is no reason why a woman couldn't win the Classic. It doesn't take strength to catch fish. It's just a matter of beating incredible odds. One woman out of a 100 participants? Highly unlikely.

There were two ladies from a while back that could have held their own against all comers. One was Margaret Morgan from Lufkin. She was headed for greatness when another bass competitor ran over her in the fog. She was idling along in the fog and another competitor came out of the fog on plane and ran over her boat. The impact broke her back. She recovered but was never able to compete at the highest level after her surgery.

The other lady won several Bass N' Gals events and could catch fish like any man. Her name is Ann Thomasson from Jasper. She once hooked a big fish in a National event and the fish got wrapped up in the brush. She couldn't get it loose so she asked her partner to hold her rod and she dove into the water and followed her line down ten feet and felt around for the fish. She got the fish in her hand and unhooked it then surfaced with a six pounder that pushed her to the win.

I know BASS rules don't allow contestants to leave the boat to land a fish but that was not the case in the lady's events back those days. I know we can't turn back the clock but I would love to see either one of those two fishing the Elites today.

Sure why not

No.

Guess we will see what route Scott Martins daughter will take. She has the Youtube thing down and is a pretty decent angler.

I don’t see Trait even getting to a Classic, but neither will I.

Back when we first opened our store in 1992 Jasper was in my territory.

I would go by Ann's Tackle Shop every time I went to Jasper and she was always great to talk with.

If Kristine Fisher ever gets in a boat and start fishing the opens I think she will have a chance. She can actually catch em and has the drive and passion for bass fishing. Do I think it’ll ever happen? Probably not, but she is one that could if it was gonna happen.

Maybe that argument would hold up if not for Danica Patrick. She won an Indi race against all the big boys, finished 3rd at the Indi 500 and had multiple top 10's in Nascar. A very small fraction of women are even given the opportunity to race at the professional level, as opposed to fishing. Any woman can pay the entry fees and fish at the professional level.

BTW Ken, I have also met Ann T. she is top notch for sure. Just don't let her get you in a corner and start talking in a low voice about how guys are catching them or you'll be leaving with half the store.
She's one hell of a saleswoman!

But back to the topic.
If it's not a matter of strength, size, speed or smarts, why can't women win at the top levels of FLW/MLF or the Bassmaster trail?