Classic Countdown | 24 Hours to 29th Classic

2/17/2011 10:47:05 PM

24-hours before Gary Klein’s 29th Bassmaster Classic

It’s a number that’s simply hard to imagine. Yet, it’s true. It’s real. And as mind-boggling as it is, Gary Klein is about to compete in a Bassmaster Classic for the 29th time.  

Part of what makes it hard to imagine is that Klein appears too young to have done this 29 times. Still thin-framed, square-jawed and of no noticeable grey hair, at age 53, Klein sports a look of complete athletic readiness the day before his 29th try to earn a treasured trophy that has eluded him 28 times before.

Always the consummate class act, Gary graciously provided a look at the 24-hours leading up to his 29th try:

“I’ve taken great care to manage all the variables that I can control at this point.  I can’t control fog.  I can’t control another angler beating me to my best spot.  But I feel very confident.  I have an area where I can win this thing if I can get there first, and on-time each morning,” said Klein.

6:00 a.m., Thursday – wake up call at a high-rise hotel in downtown New Orleans

6:30 a.m. – breakfast was light and limited to two breakfast bars and a nutrition drink.

7:00 a.m. – Klein catches a shuttle bus from the hotel to the boat yard while the morning is still cool and fresh, and he rigs two 8-foot long Quantum Tour Klein flipping sticks with 65-pound braided line.  A minor tackle tweak, citing there was very little left to do, considering he’s only planning to fish with two basic lures, both of which will involve flipping and pitching.

11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Klein joins the rest of his fellow competitors at Media Day at a warehouse facility where dozens of intriguing Mardi Gras parade floats are stored.  Klein is among the most popular anglers from which dozens of media members seek interviews. Over a lunch of native cuisine, Klein talks graciously and in detail for over three hours with writers and photographers.

3:00 – 4:30 p.m. – Back to the boat yard.  He’s still wearing his brand new Repel Insect Repellent sponsor jersey that he wore during Media Day interviews as he places a Triton Boats decal on the carpet of his front deck.  Then he spends over 30-minutes talking business with a sponsor representative. No tackle gets touched this time.

6:00 – 8:00 p.m. – Dinner with his sponsor Odyssey Batteries.

9:00 p.m. – lights out, time for a good night’s rest.

4:00 a.m., Friday– wake-up call.

5:00 a.m. -- catch a bus to boat yard, jump in Tundra, tow Triton to launch at Bayou Segnette State park, hope it’s not foggy, and that #29 results in the only trophy that’s yet to decorate his legendary career.





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