Mike Bolton: West Coast anglers joined professional bass fishing about 12 years ago – al.com
May 10, 2009
MIKE BOLTON
News staff writer
GUNTERSVILLE — Everywhere California’s Skeet Reese has gone in Alabama this past week, youngsters, women and men have begged for his autographs on hats, T-shirts and slips of paper.
On the water, weekend bass fishermen have shouted out his name and congratulated him on a job well done. Fellow pro fishermen have kidded with him, asked his opinion and swapped practical jokes.
That typically comes with the territory when you are the reigning Bassmaster Classic champ, but there was once a day when Reese found such acceptance unimaginable.
The invasion of Reese and the rest of the West Coast contingent into professional bass fishing a dozen years ago was about as welcome as a fish kill.
When BASS announced the creation of the Western Opens, many regulars on the pro circuit were outraged. Anglers fishing the Southern and Central Opens would have to fish against the best bass fishermen in the world to qualify for the Classic, they claimed, but those fishing in the Western Opens would be fishing against a bunch of nobodies and have an easy route to bass fishing’s biggest event.
Reese, in his bright yellow shoes and bright yellow boat, was the epitome of the gang that had no business being allowed to fish on level footing with the world’s best bass anglers, many pro anglers believed.
“It took a while to earn the respect of the anglers and the fans,” Reese said with a laugh. “At the first Bassmaster Classic that I fished in 1998, we had a pre-tournament briefing where all the fishermen were introduced. Whoever it was introducing all the anglers said `Now, we want to introduce the anglers from the West.’
“One of the pros – I’m not going to say who it was – stood up and said, `We don’t recognize any anglers from the West.’
“That’s the kind of reception we received at first. We got no respect.” Click Link Below For Full Story!
via Mike Bolton: West Coast anglers joined professional bass fishing about 12 years ago – al.com.
Skeet Reese wins BassMaster Classic- Statesman.Com
February 23, 2009
By Mike Leggett
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, February 23, 2009
SHREVEPORT, La. — Call it the “Diversity Open.”
The BassMaster Classic — a tournament once dominated by southern good old boys — morphed into a two-man race between anglers from New Jersey and California on Sunday. The 25 anglers who qualified for the final day’s fishing represented 17 different states, something of a record for BASS events.
The West Coast eventually claimed victory on the Red River as Californian Skeet Reese bumped Mike Iaconelli from the leader’s chair at 6 p.m. Sunday to win fishing’s number one tournament and a $500,000 first-place prize.
Iaconelli, the 2003 Classic champion and a New Jersey native, slammed a limit of 5 big bass to weigh in 20 pounds, 3 ounces, for a total of 54 pounds, 2 ounces.
But Reese, who was second after day two, stayed with Iaconelli all day and walked to the scale with five fish weighing 16 pounds, 12 ounces. His 54-13 total beat Iaconelli by 11 ounces.
Reese, who lost the 2007 Classic by just 6 ounces, gained a measure of redemption on the Red River.
“Everything just fell into place,” said an emotional Reese. “I went back to my best hole today and I never left my little 200-yard stretch of water.” He said he fished a spinner bait and plastic, imitation crawfish, to reach the top spot.
Twenty-five anglers battled cold and high pressure on the final day and early catches were rare. But as the sun rose higher and began to heat the shallow, stump-filled flats where anglers were finding fish, the largemouths began to bite. Unofficial standings had multiple anglers on top during the day and things didn’t settle out until the top six anglers walked on the stage for the final weigh-down Click Link Below For Full Story!
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