Reginald Crews, Tournament Angler

Leading up to the day of departure, I was extremely excited about going to the Bassmaster Classic in Birmingham, AL. Well my excitement was well placed. I had a complete blast!!!! I met old friends, fellow ABA members from all over the country, and even anglers that I've competed against here in SC and in Georgia. Of course I met professional anglers that I've looked up to for years like Guy Eaker, Larry Nixon, Rick Clunn and more.. I met legends of the sport like Ray Scott (founder of BASS), Forrest L. Wood (founder of Ranger Boats and the FLW trail), Jimmy Houston, Bill Dance, Bobby Murray (winner of the first Bassmaster Classic) and many more! I talked with some of the hottest trend setters in bass fishing like Patrick Sebile of Sebile Lures, Gerald Swindle, Skeet Reese, Jason Williamson, Aaron Martens, and so many more! And that was just during the Expo. 

I met a bunch of the competitors in the 40th Bassmaster Classic. I took photos of them, with them, of their rigs, taking off at Lay Lake, and at the weigh ins. All of the competitors were very gracious and approachable. Needless to say I was in BASS heaven!

As if the trip couldn't get any cooler, I got the opportunity to touch the 40th Bassmaster Classic World Championship trophy! I was geeking like people clambering to see Michael Jackson. To add to that experience, there is a photo on the Bassmaster website of me touching the trophy. To top that, my boy Curtis "Jilla Mix" Jones, who was the pusher that got me addicted to bass fishing called me and told me that ESPN has footage of me palming the trophy. He told me that it's in the closing video montage of ESPN's coverage of the Classic. That took my geekdom level to astronomical proportions.

For all that I experienced I thank God for blessing me with the opportunity. Secondly, I'd like to thank my sponsor Ric Ice of Mystic Tackleworks  for inviting me to set work with him and Tim Jones at the booth. I'd like to thank Steve and Mike at McCoy Fishing Line for allowing me to assist at their booth also. Thanks to Rick Quade and the gang and Reaction Strike for their sponsorship and opportunity to represent them at the expo. Last but certainly not least, THANK YOU BIRMINGHAM, AL! Birmingham you deserve an award for the way that you presented yourself. It felt like we were all old friends.

It's been two days now and my head is still spinning. What's next? I'm more motivated now than ever to go out and chop some knees off in my tournaments. I am going to strive harder than ever before to win and win with class. Thank you to everyone that made the 2010 Bassmaster Classic in Birmingham, Al life changing!