In case you missed it, this past weekend was the Superbowl of bass fishing. The Daytona 500 if you will. The Red River in Shreveport LA. was home to 51 of the best anglers in the world battling it out for $500,000 first place prize and bragging rights for a year as the 38th Classic champion. Coverage was fairly good on ESPN and ESPN2. I watched all of the coverage and thought I would share with you a few of my observations.

Bass fishing has never been a real mecca of fashion. The old time jump suits worn by many competitors during the early days of the sport are just one example of that. The nice high brim hats that also adorned the heads of many a bass angler have also proven that form is often more of a concern than function for this sport.  I have several guys in my bass club that still proudly adorn such hats for reasons unknown to me.



This year it seems a new trend is developing. The goatee, although once thought to be almost wiped out several years back, is alive and well in the ranks of the bass fishings elite. Yes that lovable little patch of fur on a mans chin is back people and judging by the events this weekend, many more fisherman may soon be sporting them.

Who can it be?
Mark Zona has been a faithful goat man for some time. Watching him work the microphone during coverage of the classic I couldn't help but notice others that have caught on. Chris Lane shared with the world his brand new goat during a brief guest spot. A full bushy version that rivals any of the best.
The day one leader Boyd Duckett is another goatee faithful. His well trimmed salt and peppered goat works well for him and may have been a key leader in the charge to grow some scruff with his Classic victory just two years ago. Did other anglers catch on to the power of the goatee back in 2007?

Lets dig in deeper now. Mark Davis is a past classic winner and was clean shaven all of last year. He showed up in Shreveport this past week wearing, you guessed it, a goatee. Mark had a good tournament finishing just outside the top ten. Kelly Jordan is another long time goatee man who fished well and pushed the leaders through out the tournament finishing in 10th place. Mike Iaconelli was sporting something that looked like it belonged in a tattoo shop or biker bar. A long stringy chin adornment that may very well have been responsible for a solid second place finish.

 

Then we have the winner. Your 2009 Bassmaster Classic Champion Skeet Reese. He took the extra step that all the others may have missed out on. He was able to funnel the power of a newly grown goat by removing all the other hair from his head. Yes the California boy with that west coast blonde tipped spikes has gone with what my wife like to call "the convict look". Time will only tell if this additional step will also catch on in the near future. I for one hope so because I have been working the convict look for some time. 



A few more thoughts,
I couldn't help but notice one or two other things while watching the footage this past weekend. KVD had a poor showing in the tournament this year but god his hair looked good. It appeared, to me at least, that he and Zona both may have been going for that top gun maverick look. NIce even part on one side with just enough product to give a slight sheen. Might we see a White Rain or Vidal Sassoon wrapped boat in KVD's future?

One thing I don't think you will see in the future is a Christmas card from Kim Baine-Moore to Bernie Schultz. Did you hear what he had to say about a woman fishing in the classic? I wonder if Bernie is going to be invited as a presenter at any future WBT events? I think old Bernie may be sleeping in his boat for a few days when he gets home.

Congrats
On a more serious note congrats to Skeet on his victory. It was a pleasure to watch and well deserved. Congrats also go out to Kim on her first classic. It had to be overwhelming with the press attention she got to be able to focus and go out and fish.
Congrats to the federation guys. Three of whom made the cut. Nice job guys. You prove that the weekend guy can go out and compete at the highest level if he works hard enough.

So now we turn to the rest of the season. If you are a fantasy fishing player, I have a few picks for you. I think Peter T and Fred Roumbanis are both in a good position to have a fantastic season. Both anglers are rocking the solid goatee which can only help based on the results from this past weekend. Pick them up and let me know how you do in your league.

Sport
www.SportSmithFishing.com