The crowd at Shreveport was incredible

The last few weeks have been exhausting. I went into the Classic feeling pretty good about my chances of winning. Just didn’t happen. Things didn’t work out and I left Shreveport very disappointed. It’s such a let down coming off the adrenalin rush, but that’s how the Classic is done. It’s all or nothing. I just have to pick it up and head to Lake Amistad. I love fishing at Amistad. Bobbi and I are down at Lake Falcon to get some relaxing fishing in before the tournament. The weather started out great and then a nasty cold front came though. The fishing is a little more work, but still fun. I’m off the do the BassPro shops seminars over the weekend and then back to Falcon.

, Here are some stats from BASS—

The Bassmaster Classic that concluded last Sunday set records on many fronts-----

Among them:

* A record on-site crowd of 137,700 fans at daily tournament weigh-ins and surrounding festivities, obliterating the previous record set in New Orleans by more than 55,000.

* On Bassmaster.com, BASSInsider.com and ESPN.com, fans generated more than 12.3 million page views of bass fishing content between Feb. 18 and Feb. 23 - 64% higher than the same period last year.

* Live, streaming video of the daily Classic weigh-ins were presented on ESPN360.com for the first time, and fishing fans watched more than 1 million minutes of weigh-in coverage during the event. The Classic was one of the most watched sporting events of the month on ESPN360.com.

* ESPN's Mike Golic and Erik Kuselias helped kick off the Classic with a live broadcast of ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike in the Morning from Red River South Marina last Friday. The live broadcast from the Red River South Marina was delivered to the show's 418,000 daily listeners on 220 radio stations nationwide and simulcast on ESPN2 reaching another 232,000 viewers - an increase of 31% vs. 2008.

* The 12 hours of ESPN2 coverage included a 3% increase in the Male 18+ demographic (.36 vs. .35) and in Male 18+ Impressions (337,309)

* From a media perspective, a Classic record, since ESPN purchased BASS in 2001, of more than 320 working media members attended the 2009 Bassmaster Classic. On-site media included publications such as The Dallas Morning News, Miami Herald, San Diego Union Tribune, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Arkansas Democrat Gazette and Austin American Statesman.

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Pyro said:

Hello Mr. Chapman. First let me say that I feel as if I can call myself one of your first true fans, as I started following your career in 1990. Congratulations on all of your successes! I also know you are doing what you love, which is an amazing gift.

I was wondering if you might be able share a little advice with me. I live in the St. Louis, MO, area, and I have to admit that game hunting is not that rich out here. Instead, I was considering the idea of "squirrels as bed decoration" idea. I feel this would still be a challenging way for me to learn the ropes of bow hunting, and would even be willing to travel to Central Missouri if it turned out there were better hunting areas there.

I'm also a master with duct tape so I don't know if that would be a plus or not.

Congratulations again on a successful career doing what you love! If you have a moment, I left my e-mail address in the required message field.

Have a good one!

November 10, 2009

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