The 2017 Bassmaster Classic presented by GEICO and Dick’s Sporting Goods was off the chain! If you didn’t get the opportunity to make it there in person, you can catch up on all you missed right here by thumbing through our photo gallery. We met up with the likes of everyone from James Watson (JMFW), Greg Hackney, and Jacob Wheeler to guys making names for themselves on the FLW Tour like Scott Martin and Zack Birge.
Three straight days of nothing but eat, sleep, breathe, fishing was well worth the trip. Sponsors were practically throwing free swag at fans as they passed by their booths. The Outdoor Expo presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods was held inside the George R. Brown Convention Center with weigh-ins each day at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Jordan Lee was named the 2017 Bassmaster Classic Champion on Day 3 with a total tournament weight of 56-10 with just 12 monster fish.
Highlights from the Outdoors Expo
One of our personal favorite vendors at the Classic was the Gandy Lures booth. Eric Gandy is an amazingly talented lure maker. He handcrafts each and every one of his bass lures out of wood and meticulously paints his unique designs on each and every one. To learn more about his lures, visit his website.
Our award for most innovative fishing gear goes to the Tucket Footwear booth. We met Dennis McCormick, Tucket founder, and the gentleman from Kill-N-Time Fishing Charters, Chris Self, who is a saltwater pro and has sported the shoe for the past year and a half. He loves his Tuckets and swears by them being the reason he hasn’t slipped and fallen on his boat since he gave up wearing Crocs. These shoes are made for getting wet and drain quickly. They are Sperry-like, but much more practical and comfortable for fishing. And of course, we didn’t leave without getting our own pair to test out! Check them out here.
The best swag giveaway goes to the Yakima booth. They handed out the best quality hats and t-shirts that we will definitely be wearing. The only requirement was that you sign up to win a rack. Not a bad deal.
The best interactive sponsor booth goes to Toyota in our book. They always do a great job of roping in fans to learn more about their vehicles. There were four stations within the Toyota booth where you learn fun facts about their trucks and cars. Once you answer everything correctly, you proceed to a t-shirt printing station where you can take home a shirt (they even had multiple sizes available so the kids didn’t have to walk away with an XL) with your favorite Toyota Team Pro Anglers faces screen printed on the front – GMAN, that’s you buddy.
We had a blast at the 2017 Classic and are definitely looking forward to attending more Elite tournaments this season. For more info and final tournament standings for the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods, visit Bassmaster.com.
Keep on Rippin’ Y’all!
Texas Bass Angler