The ESPN cameras have been packed up, the legion of bass experts and their digital displays have gone to the next event, and the eye-popping $50,000 boats (that I secretly desire) have been sent to the dealers for sale. But the experience of the Pittsburgh Citgo Bassmaster Classic was nothing but exceptional. I’ve had the opportunity to spend a little time in Pittsburgh since my move to Pennsylvania last year. In fact, one of my first visits was to the Pittsburgh Boat Show in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in January 2004. Now, after spending a week in Pittsburgh with the tournament and all of the associated events, I am even more enamored with the city, the people, and its three rivers. Throughout the week, I talked with visitors from dozens of states. From the father who traveled from the state of Washington whose son won one of the junior titles, to the pros, fans, ESPN/BASS staff, and many others, they all emphatically told me that Pittsburgh was wonderful. Never before has there been over 2,000 people at the 7 a.m. takeoff of the Bassmaster Classic. Why? Because the events are usually held at a reservoir many miles from the nearest town. People waited at the many bridges throughout the area to see the boats fly by to their fishing spots. For the weigh-ins at the Mellon Arena, the fans filled the place with raucous cheers as the pros were wheeled in on their polished boats. It was a jaw-dropping experience for those of us who have never been part of such an event—13,000 people wildly cheering pro anglers. What the fans didn’t see behind the stage and in the fenced areas was what really impressed me. Here are a couple of examples. On Sunday and Monday, the junior championship qualifiers got to fish in a boat with a pro. Every one of you would be impressed with the way these professional athletes worked with the kids. The They were wonderful role models and very friendly to their young fans. Did I say professional “athletes”? I never thought of it that way, but when you see that these Bassmaster guys (a women’s tour starts next year) are fishing hard for nine hours (breakfast was at 4:30 a.m. with sponsor events often going until 10 p.m.), in the heat, on Classic rough water, and constantly moving, you quickly notice that these guys were lean, fit, and weather-tough. Equally impressive and solidly reinforced throughout the tournament was a strong sense of conservation and fishing ethics. ESPN/BASS made the investment to have full-time professional biologists on staff. These exceptional folks work with the professionals to ensure proper fish care, they engage the media and involve the many corporate sponsors in their nationwide efforts to support and conservation, and they partner with the state BASS federations in their efforts to actually do fish conservation through such work as habitat enhance- ment in our lakes. We all owe thanks to the Pennsylvania BASS Federation for their thousands of volunteer hours to make the event successful. A small army of PA BASS members often were up at 3:30 a.m. to get ice into livewells and help launch boats, and they worked through- out the day to help Douglas J. Austen, Ph.D. with the cleanup at the end of the events. We often forget that massive events such as the Bassmaster Classic would fall flat without the help of people like the mem- photo-Alice Stitt bers of PA BASS. A Classic participant tries his luck on the Allegheny River.

2 Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • September-October 2005 www.fish.state.pa.us Commission Aquatic Resources Program Specialist Alice Stitt talks to Classic visitors at the Commission’s exhibit in Mellon Arena during the Classic. You can find more information on the Classic by reading the article “2005 Citgo Bassmaster Classic Review,” by Dennis Tubbs, on page 22 in this issue. photo-Jherek Christy

One last group that I need to mention is our own Fish & Boat Commission staff. Our agency provided security with 11 boats covering the 80 miles of water, fish care with our hatchery staff and biologists working with ESPN/BASS to handle fish, and many other staff working on coordination, press information, education, and basic fish biology that is the foundation of the event. I’m proud of the work of our staff and the people of Pitts- burgh. Although the Bassmaster Classic won’t be coming to the north again (ESPN/BASS is moving the event to Febru- ary), we can bring other major tournaments to the Com- monwealth and we will work with sponsors to make that happen.

With all of the great experiences and the media atten- photo-Jherek Christy tion that has really helped to change the image of Pitts- Melody Zullinger, executive director of the Pennsylvania burgh, there is always one naysayer. In this case, it was the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, helps kids make “fish prints,” headlines of an outdoor column in the Birmingham (Ala- one of several activities of the ESPN Outdoors Expo, held during bama) Post-Herald that labeled the event the “Minnow Clas- the Classic in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. sic.” Of course, this headline referred to the small size of the smallmouth bass caught in the tournament. Yes, there were many pros who were skunked and they had to change tactics. However, the pros realized that this was a on the rise and that it was, indeed, a tournament that sepa- rated the men from the boys. So, Birmingham Post-Herald, here is what I have to say to you, borrowing from the lyrics of Lynyrd Skynyrd:

Well, I heard the Post-Herald write about her, Well, I heard the Post-Herald put her down, Well, I hope the Post-Herald will remember, A Pennsylvania man don’t need that paper around anyhow. photo-Alice Stitt Anglers enjoy the Bassmaster Family Festival, a family Douglas J. Austen, Ph.D. fishing activity held at the Point before the Classic. Executive Director

www.fish.state.pa.us Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • September-October 2005 3