When the St. Croix Bassmaster gets underway it will kick off the hopes and dreams of 225 professional anglers vying for their chance to fish the Bassmaster Classic.
For 154 of them, fishing the Tackle Warehouse EQ (Elite Qualifier), the focus will be on an additional prize; finishing the season in the top nine in points for an invitation to the Bassmaster Elite Series. Doesn’t seem like much when mentioned out loud.
That invitation, though, is quickly becoming the carrot that is driving the sport. One only needs to look at the field of the Elite Qualifiers to see its importance.
Then dig in a bit to see there is a battle of ages coming in these next nine events. That’s literal not necessarily a battle for the ages.
For instance, of that 154, who have entered all nine of the Opens to fish for an opportunity to make the Elite Series, there are 17 who have already been there. And they may be hungrier for a repeat of the Elite Series than the younger guns who have never played at that level.
Those anglers share 59 Classic appearances, one Classic Championship and numerous tournament wins.
Some of those 17 were cut from the field of Elites in previous seasons, while others quit the Elites to try new things. All of them want to come back for another shot.
Those 17 are especially heavy of anglers wanting to return after a hiatus to a different tour. It would be remiss to not make that clear. Equally remiss to hash out hard feelings pointed in any direction. But the question had to be asked: Why are you wanting to do this?
It was posed to a sampling of former Elites as they stood around together at registration. They included Randall Tharp, Russ Lane, Brett Hite, Cliff Pace, Ish Monroe and Mike McClelland, a veritable who’s who of professional anglers.
“All of us are here for the same reason, it’s personal,’’ said Cliff Pace, former Bassmaster Classic champion. “We may share some of the same feelings and we may have different ones. But all of us want to return to what got us started.”
That new start for anglers a little older in a quickly changing sport that seems to sway toward young anglers makes some of these decisions even more interesting.
Last year the average age of the nine Elite Qualifer (EQ) pros who advanced to the Elite Series was 24.8, almost six years younger than the previous Elite rookie class. You can add a 10 to 15-year average or more to the 17 former Elites working to get back.
“We also know we are walking on a thin piece of ice to make it happen,’’ Pace added.
Ish Monroe, who is in his second attempt to requalify, knows firsthand. There were far fewer former Elites in the field last season and he finished 41st in the points, while Bobby Lane just missed requalifying in 10th place.
“Bobby and I will tell you this is not what we thought it would be,’’ Monroe said, pointing to the level of competition that has become more stringent than ever to make the Elites. “You have to make it through this deal and it’s not easy. Then you have to make it again to stay qualified.
“But this is where my heart told me I needed to be. Fishing for five, making the Classic. That’s what our fans want to see and that’s what we need to be doing. This tour (EQ) has positive momentum and I want to be a part of that.”
The group expects some of them will make it back but quickly qualify all those remarks with “most of us won’t in the first year.”
It’s not a quest any of them are giving up on quickly.
“My main goal is to make it back to the Elites,” McClelland said. “I’m still young enough and I feel I’ve got a few good years left in me.”
Those good years are echoed through the group. All wanting to get back to the basics.
This type of format, fishing for five, standing in weigh in lines, “is what we fell in love with,’’ Tharp said. “I’m excited to get back to what I fell in love with.
“I miss the interaction with all the anglers, the people. Looking back my fondest memories are fishing Bassmaster Opens.”
Russ Lane agrees. “I just want to have fun again,’’ he said. “I miss seeing fish in a bag and being in a weigh-in line. It sounds crazy, but I miss talking to buddies in that line and playing the mind games that are always a part of it.
“But mostly I want to fish come more Classics. Seven isn’t enough and you can’t win one if you are not in one.”
This group of older anglers are making career decisions to try and make it back. Many of them referred to the decision as good business. But aside, it’s clear there is a younger group of anglers they want to remind that they still have what it takes.
That 24.8-year old qualifier from last season has no idea how deep the experience goes, at least for another two decades.
This season has a lot of things attached to it, but none as compelling as the clash between these groups of anglers who make up the EQ field.
