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JOURNAL
Bassmaster Classic:
The biggest one I landed during the whole event was probably about 4.5 pounds, and for the most part, I caught em’ on a brown jig and a hollow bodied swim bait.
The most memorable part of the Classic had to be day 2, catching a pretty big limit and rallying up from 30 some odd place to 13th. That was the highlight for me of the week, make a little bit of a comeback and scare a few people!
My Wiley X’s allowed me to fish 8 hours a day, without any strain on my eyes, which is true at the classic or on any day on the water.
Sunshine Showdown:
It was ridiculous that third day, it blew 35 mph sustained for 8 hours straight…it was really special. For me, though, it was a good week, I came just shy of making the top 12, but climbed in standing and improved, by the end of the event, I had a top 20 finish, and racked up some good points.
Caught most of my fish from flippin, despite the fact that most of the fishing was done in 35 mph winds!!! It swirled around a lot, I’ve been in a lot of wind, but I don’t think I’ve ever fished in that kind of wind for that long…typically it will blow for half a day, and then it lays down. Because the wind blew so much , I used the gasket in my glasses, to seal my eyes from the wind, and that made it bearable.
BIO
“Education is a progressive discovery of our ignorance.”
Will Durant (1885-1981)
Back in the late 1960s in Northern California, a bass market legend was
born. Skeet Reese first went fishing at age three, and by age 12 had already promised himself that one day he’d make his living fishing professionally. He bought his first boat right before his 18th birthday (before he even owned
a truck to pull it with!) and immediately dove in head first to an amazing career, which to this day he still calls his “ongoing education.”
At age 31, he started gaining real notoriety, when, according to Skeet, he finally passed his “masters” and today continues in the “post-doctoral” stage. “Learning is a never-ending process — technology is always changing our sport — it’s no different than going to school,” he says.
Skeet has had a hell of an education, and is arguably the bass market’s valedictorian — B.A.S.S. 2007 Angler of the Year, with career winnings of more than $2 million, 2007 B.A.S.S Elite Series Potomac River Champion, 2007 2nd Place Bassmaster Classic, 9X Bassmaster Classic Qualifier, 39 B.A.S.S Top Ten Finishes, and was the 2003 Citgo BassMaster Tour Champion.
Today, he’s leveraging the importance of technological advances in the market as a member of the Wiley X Pro Bass Team. “I’ve been somewhat of a student of lens technology for years. I was incredibly impressed with both the lens clarity of Wiley X products, combined with their amazing ballistic properties,” says Skeet. “Their products were initially built for the military and law enforcement markets, and those features both allow me to sight fish effectively, while providing the ultimate protection when going 70 mph or yanking a lure out of a tree.”
Skeet learned early on that a good pair of sunglasses is a small price to pay for his eyes — inferior or cheap models can destroy them. “I’ve always tried to make sure that I use the best quality lenses to protect my eyes, with as much time as I spend on the water, you can develop serious eye problems at a young age, otherwise,” he points out.
His favorite lake is Clearlake in his home state of California, and when he’s not scaring the crap out of large
and small mouth bass, not to mention the competition, he can be found golfing, and in the off-season, fishing
for steelhead, sailfish and dorado.
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