Bassmaster Classic's best fantasy picks

Hank Cherry holds his second Bassmaster Classic trophy in as many of years.

Written by

Kyle Jessie

The 2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk was a difficult event to predict from a Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing standpoint. Prior to the event, most predicted that the event would be won off the bank on traditional summertime haunts. However, before practice started, the water came up and ended up about 4 feet high by the start of the event.

When the water got high, the fish stormed the bank. Hence the reason we witnessed the majority of the field fishing flooded shoreline cover.

If you’re a Fantasy player who likes to select your roster early before the tournament begins and stick with that roster, this event might not have been your best performance. Selecting anglers who are traditionally good postspawn, offshore fisherman made logical sense a few weeks ago, but in hindsight that strategy didn’t play out well.

Haven’t created a Fantasy Fishing account yet? No problem! Sign up and play for free at BassmasterFantasy.com. Players win prizes at each specific event and there are prizes for overall winners at the end of the season as well. You can still play the remainder of the season even if you missed out on the earlier events.

The overall winner of the Bassmaster Classic was “Bassinrj” who selected four of the five picks that would have made up the perfect roster. Overall Rank: No. 1, Total Points 1,389.

BUCKET A: Hank Cherry
BUCKET B: Steve Kennedy
BUCKET C: Chad Morgenthaler
BUCKET D: Matt Arey
BUCKET E: Justin Kerr

The perfect Fantasy Fishing team for the Bassmaster Classic would have been:

BUCKET A: Hank Cherry
BUCKET B: Stephen Kennedy
BUCKET C: Kyle Welcher
BUCKET D: Matt Arey
BUCKET E: Justin Kerr
Total: 1,429

BUCKET A: CHERRY

Hank Cherry hoisted the Bassmaster Classic trophy over his head for the second year in a row at Ray Roberts. Surprisingly, the North Carolinian was the least selected angler is Bucket A at a shocking 1.5% player percentage. Cherry scored 310 points.

Second best selection: Brock Mosley registered his fifth Top 10 of the 2021 season at Ray Roberts. The Mississippi pro scored 280 points and was selected by 6% of Fantasy Players.

Lowest scoring angler: Many thought that this Classic would set up perfectly for Stetson Blaylock, but he was never able to find what he was looking for out deep. The Arkansan only scored 179 points for the 1.8% that selected him.

BUCKET B: KENNEDY

Although there were three anglers in Bucket B that had a higher finish than Steve Kennedy in the standings, the Elite Series veteran scored the most Fantasy points with the bonus points received after leading on Day 1. Kennedy scored 296 points and was selected by 19.4% of Fantasy players.

Second best selection: Scott Canterbury locked his signature series jig in his hands to finish the event in sixth place. The 2019 Angler of the Year scored 276 points and was selected by 6.8% of Fantasy Fishing players.

Lowest scoring angler: David Mullins wasn’t able to get anything going at Ray Roberts. The two-time Classic qualifier only scored 181 points for the 1.9% of players who selected him.

BUCKET C: WELCHER

If you weren’t a part of the 21.4% that selected Kyle Welcher in Bucket A, you should have been. The Classic ended up fishing right into Welcher’s strengths which lead to a 16th place finish. Welcher scored 243 points in his first Bassmaster Classic.

Second best selection: Jamie Hartman was right behind Welcher in Bucket C with a 18th place finish. Fishing in his third Classic, Hartman scored 239 points and was selected by 3.8% of Fantasy players.

Lowest scoring angler: Micah Frazier wasn’t able to get it going at the 51st Bassmaster Classic. The five-time Bassmaster qualifier only scored 173 points for the 1.5% of players who selected him.

BUCKET D: AREY

After a big Day 3, Matt Arey fell just short of winning his first Bassmaster Classic at Ray Roberts. Fishing in his second Classic, Arey scored 295 points and was selected by 12.2% of Fantasy players.

Second best selection: Oklahoma’s Chris Jones also fell just short of hoisting the Bassmaster Classic trophy over his head with a third-place finish. Jones qualified for Classic through the Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens for the second time and scored 290 points for the 4.2% of players who selected him.

Lowest scoring angler: After a really good practice, Brad Whatley didn’t have the finish he was hoping for. The East Texan scored 187 points for the 11.8% of players who selected him.

BUCKET E: KERR

Nation qualifier Justin Kerr had a tremendous showing in his very first Bassmaster Classic appearance. The Arizona angler was selected by 2.7% of players and scored 285 points at Ray Roberts.

Second best selection: Ed Loughran was the second-best choice in Bucket E. Fishing in his first Bassmaster Classic, Loughran scored 254 points and was selected by 6.4% of players.

Lowest scoring angler: Blake Sylvester struggled in his first Bassmaster Classic. The Nation qualifier only scored 167 points for the 1.6% of players who selected him.