This came up on another site since Michigan angler Ryan Said has qualified for the Classic in his rookie season - how many anglers who lived in Michigan have made the Bassmaster Classic up to this year. Of course, we all know KVD is the Classic King! He has made it every year since his first full time year in 1991 - 20 years in a row! He'll have the consecutive year record in a few years.
Art Ferguson has qualified 4 times including one year before KVD in 1990 through the federation path. He also qualified in 1999, 2000, and 2004.
They are the only anglers from Michigan who have qualified for more than one Bassmaster Classic. OT Fears is actually from Seney Michigan and lived there when he qualified for his first Classic way back in 1983. But he moved to Gore Oklahoma the next year to I can't count him after that first one.
He was close to the first Michigan angler to qualify first for the Classic, but even farther back, in 1981 Edwardsburg Michigan angler Paul Converse qualified for the Alabama River Classic along with Hoosier Don Rank. In 2000 at the Chicago Classic (which Ben Felton and I traveled to), there were 4 anglers from Michigan competing - the only time more than 2 were in competition.
Here are the Michigan anglers who qualified for the Bassmaster Classic so far:
Paul Converse, Edwardsburg MI - 1981
O.T. Fears, Seney MI - 1983
Bob Hetz, Battle Creek MI - 1984
Art Ferguson, St Clair Shore MI - 1990, 99, 2000, 04
Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo MI - 1991, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 2000,
01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10
Phillip Jones, Holland MI - 2000
Kim Stricker, Howell MI - 2000
Erhardt Tulgestka Alpena, MI - 2002
Ryan Said, Wixom MI - 2011
Only 9 anglers so far from Michigan. Maybe some of you can do something about that in the future?
He was so far up there in the UP it was easy to miss him - under the radar. The locals knew he wanted to be a bass pro. I barely heard of him before he made his move south. I do not recall if he moved there (to the UP) for the job first from somewhere else and then made the bass pro move??
I'm not positive since I have CRS disease like MadWags and other old farts, but I believe he worked in natural resources at the Seney wildlife area because of his love for the outdoors. Because he was so far north, it made it hard for him to take the federation path. Once he had some success, he immediately made the move closer to year-round, reservoir bass fishing as so many other aspiring pros have done.