Mercury Congratulates Skeet Reese on Winning 39th Annual Bassmaster Classic

(Feb 23, 2009) -

Nine-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., who has long been sponsored by Brunswick companies Mercury Marine and Motor Guide, won his first Classic title Sunday on the Red River in Shrevepore-Bossier City, La., by capitalizing on a spectacular second-day showing and finishing with an 11-ounce lead over 2003 Bassmaster champion Mike Iaconelli of Runnemede, N.J.

Reese, an accomplished favorite son of West Coast anglers, was 2007 Bassmaster Angler of the Year in the Bassmaster Elite Series, but this marked his first Bassmaster Classic title. He caught 54 pounds, 13 ounces over the three-day championship, edging 2003 Bassmaster Classic winner Iaconelli, who totalled 54 pounds, 2 ounces with a Day Three haul of 20 pounds, 3 ounces.

So what goal will the 39-year-old Reese set for himself next?

"Repeat, repeat, repeat," Reese said.

"Winning Angler of the Year – at the time – was the biggest achievement of my career. That was my lifelong dream. Since I won that title in 2007, I've had a new focus and a new dream, and this is it. You don't know when it's going to be your time. To win a one-derby event like this – our Super Bowl — with everything on the line, that's tough to do.

"Now I'm going back to working on another Angler of the Year."

Alton Jones of Waco, Texas, the 2008 Bassmaster Classic champion, awarded an emotional and excitable Reese the 2009 trophy on stage at the CenturyTel Center in front of a capacity crowd. Jones finished 14th with 46-11.

Brian Snowden of Reeds Spring, Mo., was third with 52-14; Mercury angler Mike McClelland of Bella Vista, Ark., was fourth with 52-1; and Edwin Evers — also a Mercury pro — of Talala, Okla., rounded out the top five with his 51-5.

Mercury pro Jami Fralick of Martin, S.D., second after Day One and lead the Classic after Day Two, fell to eighth with a final weight of 49-2.

Changing weather conditions forced the 25 competitors to change their plans Sunday as water temperature dropped overnight. Reese said his Mercury OptiMax 250 Pro XS ran flawlessly throughout the event.

"My engine is everything," he said. "It's one of the tools we can't fish without. The abuse my Mercury took this week — like hitting stumps and sucking up mud from the river bottom — proved how tough it was."

Reese, whose Sunday total was 16 pounds, 12 ounces, concentrated on a few areas just outside Caspiana Lake to find groups of fish. He said the water cooled by four or five degrees and he couldn't catch fish Sunday on the spawning areas he worked Friday and Saturday.

"My bigger fish came out of the muddy water," Reese said. "Anytime we fish high-pressure, post-front conditions, clear-water fish are the hardest to catch. They're moving up there to spawn, but when it gets cold like that, they pull back out and into ditches. If you have fish in dirty water, those fish are going to be easier to catch. The fish felt more comfortable staying shallow where the water temperature stayed warmer."

Reese fished most of the tournament at the neck of Caspiana Lake. He caught his first three fish Sunday on a 3/8-ounce white Redemption spinnerbait with a nickel blade, and the others came while he was flipping a black and blue Berkley Crazy Leg Chigger Craw.

"I made a conscious decision to stay in Pool 5 and put myself in the area that had the highest possible potential for me winning the tournament," Reese said. "That lake back there, every local knows about it. I read a little about it online, something about Caspiana Lake, and you look on a map and it's one of the best looking lakes in Pool 5."

Louisiana's own Greg Hackney, of Gonzales, had the big bass of the day, a 7-pound, 1-ounce lunker. Mercury angler Kenyon Hill of Norman, Okla., had the big bag of the tournament with his Sunday haul of 24 pounds, 2 ounces. Hackney and Hill both drove Mercury OptiMax 250 Pro XS engines.