I thought it might be interesting and fun to see if we can pick this year's winner of the Bass Master Classic:

Contestants:

2003 Busch BASS Angler of the Year
Jay Yelas, Tyler, Texas

From the CITGO Bassmaster Tour
Alton Jones, Waco, Texas
Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark.
Roger Boler, Slidell, La.
John Murray, Phoenix, Ariz.
Shaw Grigsby Jr., Gainesville, Fla.
Mike Wurm, Hot Springs, Ark.
Kelly Jordon, Mineola, Texas
Zell Rowland, Montgomery, Texas
Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif.
Bud Pruitt, Spring, Texas
Mark Kile, Payson, Ariz.
Gary Klein, Weatherford, Texas
Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Elton Luce Jr., Nederland, Texas
Brent Chapman, Shawnee, Kansas
Dustin Wilks, Raleigh, N.C.
Jeff Kriet, Ardmore, Okla.
Ishama Monroe, Phoenix, Ariz.
Mike Reynolds, Modesto, Calif.
Tom Mann Jr., Buford, Ga.
Jeff Reynolds, Platter, Okla.
Harold Allen, Shelbyville, Texas
Jay Kendrick, Kingston, Ga.
Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas
Peter E. Thliveros, Jacksonville, Fla.
Ron Shuffield, Bismarch, Ark.
Kenyon Hill, Norman, Okla.
Randy Howell, Trussville, Ala.
Jim Bitter, Fruitland Park, Fla.
Tim Horton, Muscle Shoals, Ala.
Curt Lytle, Suffolk, Va.
Kevin Wirth, Crestwood, Ky.
Mark Menendez, Paducah, Ky.
Roland Martin, Clewiston, Fla.
Jack L. Wade, Knoxville, Tenn.
Gerald Swindle, Hayden, Ala.
Takahiro Omori, Emory, Texas
Tommy Stiles, McMinnville, Tenn.
Matt Reed, Madisonville, Texas


From the CITGO Bassmaster Open — Northern Division:
Koby Kreiger, Osceola, Ind.
Lee Bailey, Amston, Conn.
Michael Iaconelli, Woodbury Heights, N.J.
Randall Romig, Barto, Pa.
David LeFebre, Erie, Pa.

From the CITGO Bassmaster Open — Central Division:
Greg Hackney, Oak Ridge, La.
Edwin Evers, Mannsville, Okla.
Mike Gough, Gainesville, Fla.
Homer Humphreys, Minden, La.
Chad Morganthaler, Carbondale, Ill.

From the CITGO Bassmaster Open — Southern Division:
Jason Quinn, Lake Wylie, S.C.
Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn.
Todd Auten, Lake Wylie, S.C.
Michael Johnson, Talking Rock, Ga.
Tom Hamlin, Macon, Ga.

From the CITGO BASS Federation
Jerry Shawver II, Jacksonville, Fla. (Southern Division)
Joel St. Germain, Cumberland, R.I. (Eastern Division)
Cole Garrett, Calvin, La. (Central Division)
Karl Guegold, Westerville, Ohio (Northern Division)
Tom Schachten, Driggs, Idaho (Western Division)

2002 Busch BASS Angler of the Year
Davy Hite, Prosperity, S.C.

davy hite...just cause he is my man...from my home state...i always pull for the home team...o and by the way my friend and i had a 10 dollar bet goin on about this....we had our top 5 picks, yelas was my number 1 pick lol
-patrick

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Catch and Release!

I'd kind of like to see Skeet Reece take it. I think it would do the sport a lot of good to have a guy, who is as funny and outgoing as he is. What a character... The plus is that he's from CA, of course.

If I have to take a "dark horse" if there is such a thing... I'll take Tim Horton. If I have to put money on this whole thing, I'd bet on Jay Yelas to repeat. He's on such a roll. It's also hard to bet against Kevin Van Dam.

But I'll take Shaw Grigsby to win it all. He's having a great year and he's the kind of guy I can root for.

Gotta go with our new Pro-Staffer Mike Reynolds. He's just a hard working fisherman who can catch them on almost any pattern. Especially the shallow water stuff that he'll be encountering in Louisiana.

Of course any one of these pro's could win, but I'll take a long shot on an angler I like, Michael Iaconelli. But I think it would be a "come from behind" type of win. He's pretty good under pressure. Like the comment made about Reese, Iaconelli is a young outgoing guy that I think is good for the sport.

"IKE" as of the cut-off is on good ones. He said that he feels more confident about this tournamnet than he has in the past. My pic is Jeff Kriet. He's a sleeper that not too many people know about and is a stick on the LA Delta. My money is on him. I always pull for the underdog.

OH...He's also on my pro staff.:-)

SWMB8R

Alton Jones he's on a roll and he can handle the delta type water fluctuation.

Homer Humphreys, Minden, La.

Because he is a local guy shares my last name and his first name is Homer

Doh!

I like Timmy Horton....He's DUE!

"ROD"

I'd have to say either Chuck Nelson or Al Bacore. I hear Nelson is on virgin water and people say Bacore is unstoppable. Whatt'ya think Chris?

When is the Classic going to air on TV?

I'd have to say, Chuck, Jimmy, Nick, and David H. My .02

I'm going to say....

Skeet Reese

Just because I want him to win, but if I were betting....Van Dam or Yelas

I think that Hernandez is definetly the man to beat. Problem is I don't know which name he is going under for the Classic. I heard he's seen the 'balls in Louisiana and he knows how to work them.
BTW Kev, Al Backore has only been in about 12 times since you left with his cooler/tackle box/backpack. Only cool thing is that he's been warming up to Bryan L while I've been hiding out...LOL.

I'm gonna pick local guys. I'd really love to see Ish Monroe or Skeet Reese win. Mike Reynolds could do it too. Not only are they all locals but they all have lots of Delta tide water experience.

CJ is right when he says David Lee is gonna win this one. Aside from Liberace, this guy can chase balls around the lake like no other.

My pick is last year's winner: Jay Yelas! I hoped that Aaron Martens would be in this year as well but at least he's in the FLW Jacob's Cup Championship. Aaron Martens had a great year last year with the second place finish, but Our Lord was definately behind the phenomenal year Jay Yelas has had. God Bless you Jay and good luck at the Classic.:-)