Day 1 of our 2024 Berkley Classic Series National Championship on the Harris Chain in FL- 03/14/24

Idling Fishers of Men's BassCat out through the 180+ teams awaiting their Day 1 Blast-off with Old Glory flying high was intense to say the least. You could just about see the excitement rolling in like fog on a crisp Spring morning over the water. Was the excitement building because of the possible chance of winning a fully rigged brand new BassCat machine? Was it the excitement of having the chance of catching a double digit fish of a lifetime? Either way, you could physically feel the excitement as we made our way to the front of the pack.

After a few brief instructions, it was time for our National Anthem and then our morning prayer led by Kelly Barnett our National Chaplain. Following our prayer, it was time to fire those machines up and get in single file line to head out to see what fish God had already ordained to come back in your live-well.

The first boat to arrive back to the scale set the bar really high. Tony Lister & James Richardson Jr. nailed down a 22.33 pound sack anchored by an 8.70 pound Big Fish. Tony & James finally landed in 3rd Place overall once the scales were closed on Day 1. Next up was the husband & wife team of Steve & Trina Pritchard laying down a 17.06 pound bag anchored by a 7.61 pound Big Fish. Steve & Trina ended up in 7th overall. What a way to start off Day 1’s weigh-in with some monster bass right out of the gate.

Once everything was said and done, after a long, long weigh-in with most every team catching fish, we ended up with four bags over 20 pounds, seven bags over 18 pounds and fifteen bags over 15 pounds.

After the Day 1 scales were officially closed at 5:15 p.m., the team of C J Johnson & Matt Stanley are the ones to beat with their 1st Place title and 23.47 pounds of black bass brought to the scales. Closely followed by the team of Dan Smith & Jeremy Smith in 2nd Place with 22.42 pounds in the books. 3rd Place, like I said was awarded to Tony Lister & James Richerson with 22.33 pounds. Next, in 4th Place with a 20.81 pound bag was Bob Maggerise & Darryl Whitehead. Rounding out our Top 5 in 5th Place was Alan Hults & Matt Hults with a 19.82 pound bag.

Day 2 may hold some surprises due to the air temp being a few degrees hotter. It may make some other areas on the lake turn on but it could be a different story for the areas our Top 10 have found too. We’ll all know who falls into that group of 36 teams moving on into Championship Saturday.

All the teams NOT making that Top 36 slot will have the chance to fish a “3rd Day Redemption” NO FEE tournament Saturday as well. Stick around to read this continuing story from Day 2 tomorrow! Go visit our Facebook page to see more tournament pictures, including the one where a big fish decided to eat a smaller one that was in the same bag.

Fishers of Men would like to thank all our National Sponsors for their support and encourage you to take a look at their products:  BassCat Boats, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Mercury, Fenwick, Realtree Fishing, FireFly Outdoor & Marine, Power-Pole,  T&H Marine, Lowrance, Frogg Toggs, & Jacobs Glass.