OVERTIME OUTDOORS: Sumrall about finish: He’ll be back to Classic
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — While a Lincolnton, North Carolina, pro bass angler dominated the big screen in front of the Bassmaster LIVE set on March 8 inside the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center, another pro bass angler from New Iberia was talking to a couple from Chicago.
The 50th annual Bassmaster Classic was in its third and final day, a day the New Iberian, Caleb Sumrall, barely missed out on with a 26th-place finish after two days on the water at Lake Guntersville. He was inside the cordoned off production area around 11 a.m. waiting to go on the set with Bassmaster LIVE hosts Tommy Sanders and Mark Zona.
Sumrall was enjoying the interaction with the two fans from the upper Midwest, Jeff Barnes and his wife, Marsha. The Bassmaster Elite Series pro in his third year on the tour was animated and engaging, despite missing the cut for the Top 25 a day earlier by a mere 3 ounces.
The Barneses were as delighted to meet the young bass pro as they were to be at the Classic and everything that goes with it, including the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo. They were among 122,184 people who flocked to the northwest Alabama city to take part in Classic-related activities, B.A.S.S. officials announced Thursday.
“This is our first one. We waited this long. The 50th. It’s a dream come true. Short of getting married, this is the second-best day of my life,” Jeff Barnes said after they talked to Sumrall. After all, he said, he has been following the world championship of bass fishing since he was a kid in the 1970s.
Among the thousands of men, women and children who converged on Guntersville and Birmingham were five New Iberia residents who drove to and stayed in Guntersville. Kevin Suit and his wife, Nena, their son, Zach Suit, and his fiance, Melinda Green, were on hand as were Dennis and Maxine Worsham.
After their return, while he unpacked the SUV, Kevin Suit said he enjoyed the event, particularly the Expo. However, he said, if the two key venues are 1 hour, 20 minutes, apart for future Classics, he will avoid them.
The New Iberians weren’t alone in their zeal for the Bassmaster Classic, the three-day event that started March 6, a Friday, and ended with the final weigh-in two days later in Legends Arena, where North Carolina’s Hank Cherry Jr. ended his dominating performance and proudly hoisted the coveted trophy. Basically, Cherry became the easy favorite to win with a 29-pound, 3-ounce five-bass limit the first day, added 16 pounces, 10 ounces, on the second day and closed it out with 19 pounds, 8 ounces, on Championship Sunday for a total of 65 pounds, 5 ounces, which netted him $300,000.
The spotlight shone brightly, as it should, on the 46-year-old angler who stood on stage with his wife, Jaclyn, and their two children, Bella Grace and Christian. The eight-year Elite veteran fishing his fifth Classic made his dreams come true while fishing all three days along rip-rap near a highway bridge, a community hole that he pretty much had to himself.
His big day arrived.
And Sumrall’s day will, too. You could tell that Sunday by the way he bounced back from missing the Top 25. He mingled with fans, signed autographs and was an interesting guest with good information to offer as he watched the live feed from the water with Sanders, who earlier in the week told an outdoors writer from the Teche Area that he has family in Franklin, and Zona.
“It’s not the finish I was hoping for. All in all, it was a fun experience. We’ll make it back there (to the Bassmaster Classic) next year. I’ll get them next time, for sure,” Sumrall said Wednesday from his home in New Iberia, where he was relaxing with his wife, Jacie, and their daughter, Clélié, and son, Axel, after his return from the long stay in Guntersville and Birmingham.
He tipped his fishin’ cap to Cherry and said about the winning effort, “Oh, it was remarkable. He had a monster bag on Day One. That sealed the deal for him. He’s a deserving guy and I’m glad to see him win it.”
Sumrall’s family was here to cheer him on start to finish. Jacie arrived Tuesday evening and attended the Bassmaster Classic Night of Champions celebration with him on Wednesday, and Clelie and Axel came up with their maternal grandparents, Jerry and Joni Chauvin of New Iberia, on Wednesday.
Sumrall, 32, finished with 25 pounds, 10 ounces, and won $10,000. He was one of two Classic qualifers from Louisiana, joining Darold Gleason of Many at the golden anniversary Classic.
His Xpress X21 Pro Series boat took on rough water just fine on the first day as strong northwest winds blew on the 107-square mile lake 1 hour and 20 minutes from Birmingham. He rode with a media ride along/marshal from his hometown on Day One, which was a special occasion for the veteran journalist.
As the media ride along partner, it was eye-opening to watch Sumrall work on Day One. The day didn’t go as he wanted with only five bites, he said, but he did nail three of the bass that bit for 9 pounds, 9 ounces.
“I need a big bag (heavy five-bass limit) tomorrow. I’m going to change up my rotation a little bit,” Sumrall told the local outdoors writer a few hours later in the Media Center at the BJCC.
That meant taking off and traveling far upriver where he spent the middle hours of opening day and caught bass estimated at 2 ¾- and 3 3/4-pound, rather than starting near the boat ramp at Civitan Park near Guntersville. A large crowd braved the 32-degree temperature and lined the shoreline to watch the Elites take off Saturday.
The change to his game plan nearly vaulted him into Championship Sunday. He got off the lake with five solid bass that eventually tipped the electronic scale manned by weighmaster Trip Weldon at 16 pounds, 1 ounces.
Unfortunately, Pennsylvania Elite angler Buck Grae grabbed the 25th and last spot for Championship Sunday with a two-day total of 25 pounds, 13 ounces.
Somrall almost but not quite made a prophet of Gleason. Gleason struggled on Day Two after a solid Day One. Still, he thought about his fellow Toledo Bend guide as the afternoon wound down and he was sitting on two keepers, including a 4-pound class bass, in the livewell.
“Maybe Caleb caught them today so one Louisiana boy will make the last day,” said Gleason, who finished 35th with 21 pounds, 3 ounces, for $10,000.
Sumrall will have an unexpected but welcome extended stay with his family. He planned to leave today for the next Elite tournament at Lake Chickamauga near Dayton, Tennessee, which was postponed from February and rescheduled to be held March 19-22.
However, B.A.S.S. announced Friday it has been postponed again because of COVID-19 concerns nationwide.
DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.