BASS announced Thursday the field for the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series,the most visible and prestigious tournament trail in fishing. The fieldof 95 of the world’s top anglers will visit 8 fisheries during the Elite Series regular season and will compete to advance to the Bassmaster Elite Series post-season.

Thedecorated field accounts for 15 Bassmaster Classic titles, 19 ToyotaTundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year trophies and more than 200 BASSvictories. The Elite circuit will kick off in a little more than 2 months withthe March 11-14th Duel in the Delta on the California Delta out ofStockton, CA

“Once again, the Elite Series, through itsdifficult set of qualifying standards, has produced a collection of themost talented anglers in the sport,” said Jamie Wilkinson, BASS seniordirector of events and business development.

Complete alphabetical list of qualifying anglers and their hometowns below.

2010 Bassmaster Elite Series Anglers

• 1. Casey Ashley, Donalds, SC
• 2. Scott Ashmore, Broken Arrow, OK
• 3. Tommy Biffle, Wagoner, OK
• 4. Denny Brauer, Camdenton, MO
• 5. Brent Broderick, Oregonia, OH
• 6. Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, AR
• 7. Mark Burgess, Norton, MA
• 8. Terry Butcher, Talala, OK.
• 9. Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, KS
• 10. Rick Clunn, Ava, MO
• 11. Jeff Connella, Bentley, LA
• 12. John Crews, Salem, VA
• 13. Cliff Crochet, Pierre Part, LA
• 14. Mark Davis, Mount Ida, AK
• 15. Boyd Duckett, Demopolis, AL
• 16. Guy Eaker, Cherryville, NC
• 17. Paul Elias, Laurel, MS
• 18. Edwin Evers, Talala, OK
• 19. Todd Faircloth, Jasper, TX
• 20. Jami Fralick, Martin, SD
• 21. Vince Fulks, Purcell, OK
• 22. Grant Goldbeck, Boerne, TX
• 23. Pat Golden, High Point, NC
• 24. Matt Greenblatt, Tequesta, FL
• 25. Chad Griffin, Cresson, TX
• 26. Shaw Grigsby, Gainesville, FL
• 27. Wade Grooms, Bonneau Beach, SC
• 28. Greg Hackney, Gonzales, LA
• 29. Bradley Hallman, Norman, OK
• 30. Charlie Hartley, Grove City, OH
• 31. Byron “B.J.” Haseotes, Centerville, MA
• 32. Matt Herren, Trussville, AL
• 33. Kenyon Hill, Norman, OK
• 34. Davy Hite, Ninety Six, SC
• 35. Timmy Horton, Muscle Shoals, AL
• 36. Randy Howell, Springville, AL
• 37. Michael Iaconelli, Pittsgrove, NJ
• 38. Alton Jones, Woodway, TX
• 39. Kelly Jordon, Mineola, TX
• 40. Steve Kennedy, Auburn, AL
• 41. Kotaro Kiriyama, Moody, AL
• 42. Gary Klein, Weatherford, TX
• 43. Jeff Kriet, Ardmore, OK
• 44. Bobby Lane, Lakeland, FL
• 45. Chris Lane, Guntersville, AL
• 46. Russ Lane, Prattville, AL
• 47. Jared Lintner, Arroyo Grande, CA
• 48. Bill Lowen, North Bend, OH
• 49. Aaron Martens, Leeds, AL
• 50. Billy McCaghren, Mayflower, AK
• 51. Mike McClelland, Bella Vista, AK
• 52. Mark Menendez, Paducah, KY
• 53. Yusuke Miyazaki, Forney, TX
• 54. Ish Monroe, Hughson, CA
• 55. Rick Morris, Lake Gaston, VA
• 56. John Murray, Phoenix, AZ
• 57. Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, NC
• 58. James Niggemeyer, Van, TX
• 59. Takahiro Omori, Emory, TX
• 60. Cliff Pace, Petal, MS
• 61. Keith Poche, Troy, AL
• 62. Pete Ponds, Madison, MS
• 63. Jason Quinn, York, SC
• 64. Matt Reed, Madisonville, TX
• 65. Clark Reehm, Russellville, AK
• 66. Skeet Reese, Auburn, CA
• 67. Derek Remitz, Grant, AL
• 68. Marty Robinson, Lyman, SC
• 69. Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, AZ
• 70. Scott Rook, Little Rock, AK
• 71. Fred Roumbanis, Bixby, OK
• 72. Zell Rowland, Austin, TX
• 73. Bradley Roy, Lancaster, KY
• 74. Bernie Schultz, Gainesville, FL
• 75. Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, FL
• 76. Morizo Shimizu, Suita, Japan
• 77. Kevin Short, Mayflower, AK
• 78. David Smith, Edmond, OK
• 79. Brian Snowden, Reeds Spring, MO
• 80. Matthew Sphar, Attica, NY
• 81. Jeremy Starks, Charleston, WV
• 82. Marty Stone, Fayetteville, NC
• 83. Gerald Swindle, Warrior, AL
• 84. Peter Thliveros, St. Augustine, FL
• 85. Dennis Tietje, Roanoke, LA
• 86. J. Todd Tucker, Moultrie, GA
• 87. Mark Tucker, Saint Louis, MO
• 88. Mark Tyler, Vian, OK
• 89. Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, MI
• 90. Byron Velvick, Del Rio, TX
• 91. Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, AL
• 92. Dustin Wilks, Rocky Mount, NC
• 93. Jason Williamson, Wagener, SC
• 94. Kevin Wirth, Crestwood, KY
• 95. Dave Wolak, Wake Forest, NC

The field is starting a little smaller then last year with 10 anglers that competed in a full season not returning for 2010 and 2 more then dropped out mid-season.  Plus there are 7 new anglers coming from the 2009 Opens.  There is most likely potential of someone not on this list winning the Classic and being invited to fish making it 96 anglers in 2010.

Final Classic Field as per BassFan.com

With qualification complete, here’s a look at the final 2010 Lay Lake Classic Field. Unless otherwise noted, pros qualified through the Elite Series.

1. Jody Adkins — North Canton, OH (Federation Nation – Northern)
2. Casey Ashley — Donalds, SC
3. Scott Ashmore — Broken Arrow, OK (Southern Opens)
4. Tommy Biffle — Wagoner, OK
5. Denny Brauer — Camdenton, MO
6. Stephen Browning — Hot Springs, AR
7. Terry Butcher — Talala, OK
8. Brent Chapman — Lake Quivira, KS
9. Cliff Crochet — Pierre Part, LA (Central Opens)
10. Boyd Duckett — Demopolis, AL
11. Todd Faircloth — Jasper, TX
12. Jami Fralick — Martin, SD
13. Jeff Freeman — Max Meadows, VA ((Federation Nation – Mid-Atlantic)
14. Shaw Grigsby — Gainesville, FL
15. Greg Hackney — Gonzales, LA
16. Matt Herren — Trussville, AL
17. Don Hogue — Pasco, WA. (Federation Nation – Western)
18. Randy Howell — Springville, AL
19. Michael Iaconelli — Runnemede, NJ
20. Alton Jones — Waco, TX
21. Kelly Jordon — Mineola, TX
22. Steve Kennedy — Auburn, AL
23. Kotaro Kiriyama — Moody, AL (Northern Opens)
24. Gary Klein — Weatherford, TX
25. Jeff Kriet — Ardmore, OK
26. Bobby Lane — Lakeland, FL
27. Russ Lane — Prattville, AL
28. Brent Long — Cornelius, NC (Federation Nation – Southern)
29. Aaron Martens — Leeds, AL
30. Pam Martin-Wells — Bainbridge, GA (WBT)
31. Billy McCaghren — Mayflower, AR
32. Mike McClelland — Bella Vista, AR
33. Mark Menendez — Paducah, KY
34. John Murray — Phoenix, AZ
35. James Niggemeyer — Van, TX (Central Opens)
36. Takahiro Omori — Emory, TX
37. Cliff Pace — Petal, MS
38. Randy Phillips — Oxford, MA (Federation Nation – Eastern)
39. Jason Quinn — Lake Wylie, SC
40. Skeet Reese — Auburn, CA (Defending Champion)
41. Dean Rojas — Lake Havasu, AZ
42. Frank Scalish — Cleveland Heights, OH (Northern Opens)
43. Bryan Schmidt — Olney, TX (Federation Nation – Central)
44. Terry Scroggins — San Mateo, FL (Southern Opens)
45. Kevin Short — Mayflower, AR
46. Gerald Swindle — Warrior, AL
47. Mark Tucker — St. Louis, MO
48. Kevin VanDam — Kalamazoo, MI
49. Byron Velvick — Del Rio, TX
50. Darrell West — Drasco, AR (Weekend Series)
51. Kevin Wirth — Crestwood, KY

Lot of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Alabama anglers in this field!!!

The short term forecast for Gadsden, AL is continued downpour of 4lb and bigger bass.  To put it simply, the fishing is out of this world right now at Lake Guntersville.  The weights are unbelievable!!  The top 50 cut sits at 20lbs – 11oz; 20lbs even puts you in 64th place out of 99 anglers.  Todd Faircloth leads with 31lbs and the 12 cut after day 1 is currently held by Rick Clunn with 25-14.

How Jacked my the Stone Pony be to have weighed 27lbs! – Photo of Courtesy ESPNOutdoors.com

Sounds like most guys are working a shallow shad spawn bite early and following the fish back out a bit as the day wears on.  But guys are reporting catching them about any way they want to.  Faircloth reports catching most of his 31lbs by 8am and throwing back 20lb limits in the afternoon.  Aaron Marten’s Marshall reports him catching 130 fish, many other anglers talk about sorting through any where between 60 – 200 bass during the day.  

Sound like fishing has slowed some today, but i have heard reports that KVD has over 23lbs, A-mart 25lbs, Velvick 27lbs, Faircloth 20lbs as of this entry.

So my final question, how did 3 guys not weigh limits when other guys are calling catching 4 pound fish Stupid Easy???

DAY ONE Top 15 STANDINGS