The 2011 Fall Classic started out great. Registration / meeting was held at the Shoreline Inn and Convention Center right on beautiful Muskegon Lake. Anglers from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and other states attended this big event. Also on hand at registration included several sponsors – Jim Wilman and Bernie Pepin from Garneau Baits, Dave Van De Grift from Mercury Marine, Skeeter Warner from Skeeters Batter Up, Will Sprague from Central Michigan University Bass Club, Dan Kimmel from Great Lakes Bass.com, Dan Ockert custom rods, Don Watts from WaveSpin and more. Anglers were treated to some great deals on some of the hottest items going.
As the evening and registration moved forward, the weather reports for day 1 kept getting worse. Just before the meeting started, the Muskegon Coast Guard was called for a weather update. The report for takeoff on day 1 was 50 knot winds with 15-20 waves on Lake Michigan. To say the least, the weather was going to be bad. With the information at hand, the decision was made to cancel day 1. Anglers were anxious to fish but understood the situation. However, the bad weather did not hamper the events of the evening. Everyone Still enjoyed wings and chips with their favorite beverage. Plus, there was raffles galore, dozens of prizes were awarded. The big highlight of the evening came at the end. All anglers that competed in this year’s Fall Classic received a signature series fishing rod from WFN. This great rod is valued at $75.00.
After the cancelation of day 1 at this year’s Fall Classic, anglers were ready to hit the water on day 2. Instead of a combined two day weight tournament, the Fall Classic was now a one day shootout. The big question would be, would the Smallmouth and Largemouth of Muskegon Lake be willing to bite. After high winds and near record cold temperatures, anglers were about ready to find out. Just before weigh in reports were filtering in on a slow day on Muskegon Lake for the Fall Classic qualifiers. For the majority of the field it turned out to be a tough day on the lake.
However, no matter how tough the fishing is some teams always seem to find the fish. This event proved to be no different, except for the race to the top. Talk about tight finishes, just ask the top five at this year’s Fall Classic. For the longest time, the team of Bill Ferris and Rob Badder held the lead with 11.93 pounds. Many teams were coming close but not topping Ferris and Badder. Talk about close, just ask the team of Clift Jackson and Bert Jackson. They weighed in near the end of the event with 11.92. The Jackson’s were just 2/100ths from taking the lead. Shortly after the Jackson weighed in came along the team of Steve York & Shawn Kriser. Steve and Shawn had 4 fish that topped the scales at 12.11 pounds and took over the lead. Later it was found this team had several other keepers on but just couldn’t managed to land their 5th keeper. The team that topped them all weighed in next after Steve & Shawn. Ron Nelson and Ken Grossman took the top spot when the Pro Tournament Scales locked in at 12.17 lbs. This weight would hold up and prove to be worth a NEW Tracker boat with a Mercury motor valued at over $9000. Big bass of the event was weighed in by Don Watts and Ben Nielsen. The giant largemouth topped the scales at 4.51 lbs and was worth $250.00 and a great plaque from D&S Trophies.
Top 5 weight, cash and prizes.
- Ron Nelson & Ken Grossman – 12.17 lbs – Tracker Boat/Mercury Motor = $9000.00 +
- Steve York & Shawn Kriser – 12.11 lbs - $1000.00
- Bill Ferris & Rob Badder – 11.93 lbs - $700.00
- Clift Jackson & Bert Jackson – 11.92 lbs - $550.00
- Andrew Solomon & Steve Glowinski – 11.86 lbs - $500.00
NBAA paid out in cash and prizes to the top 20 places along with the top 4 big bass spots. In total at this year’s Fall Classic nearly $30,000.00 in cash and prizes were awarded.
NBAA would like to thank all of the anglers who came out and competed in this year’s Fall Classic. Also, we’d like to thank all of the sponsors who made this event possible including Tracker boats, Mercury motors, Bass Pro Shops, Wrangler Rugged Wear, Auto Value & Bumper Part Stores, WFN, Minn Kota, Star brite, Leverage Landing Nets, Humminbird, Power Pole, D&R Sports, Tro-Kar Hooks, Gamma Line, Case Plastics, WaveSpin Reels, Lazer Sharp Hooks, Snapper Boat Latch Systems, Garneau Baits, Venom Lures, Intruder, Lock-n-Haul, Sure Life Products, Canyon Plastics, Intruder, Lucky Craft, Poor boys Baits, Star Tron, Pro Tournament Scales, Rayjus Jerseys, Sign Impressions, Uncle Josh baits, Whitetail Institute and a special thanks to the folks from the Muskegon CVB and the Shoreline Inn. The host site of the 2011 Fall Classic.
