KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – By all conventional tournament metrics, Tennessee pro Ott DeFoe won the 2019 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. His three-day catch of 49 pounds 3 ounces of Tennessee River bass allowed him to beat his closest competitor, Jacob Wheeler, by nearly 4 pounds. DeFoe has the trophy and a check for $302,500 to prove his dominance.
If the field of 52 qualifiers had been playing by the rules of The Price is Right, though, Kansas pro Brent Chapman would’ve taken home the showcase.
During last Thursday’s Media Day, photographer Andy Crawford asked competitors to guess the three-day weight total that would be required to win the sport’s biggest event. Of the 30 anglers surveyed, Chapman and DeFoe were closest. Chapman’s prediction of 49-01 was just 2 ounces under DeFoe’s eventual tally. DeFoe’s prediction that it would take 49-07 was slightly further off the mark, but even if he’d predicted 49-05, he went over his actual total.
As anyone who’s watched any episodes of The Price is Right over it’s six-decade run is well aware, when you go over the actual retail price, no matter how close you are, you go bust.
Unfortunately for Chapman, there is no prize money ascribed to winning Crawford’s poll. He’ll have to be satisfied with the 19th place finish and $13,000 that he earned in his 14th Classic appearance, his best finish since he ended up 18th on the Red River in 2012.
The anglers seemed to be in widespread agreement that it would take in the mid- to upper-teens each day to take home the title. Italy’s B.A.S.S. Nation qualifier Jacopo Gellelli offered up the lowest predicted winning weight – 45 pounds even. Since Italy uses the metric system, that translates into just over 20.4 kilos. Next lowest came from 2019 Elite Series rookie Randy Pierson, who came in at 45-08. Both Drew Benton and Jason Christie guessed weights over 46 but under 47. Four anglers – Frank Talley, Roy Hawk, Alton Jones Jr. and Edwin Evers – guessed between 47-08 and 47-11. All of those convert to an average of 15 to 16 pounds a day, or one 20-pound day and two 12- to 14-pound efforts.
At the high end of the scale, both Chris Zaldain and Micah Frazier went with precisely 50. Nine other anglers – Bradley Roy, Brett Hite, Matt Robertson, Nick Ratliff, Andy Montgomery, Keith Poche, Brandon Lester, Seth Feider and Brandon Palaniuk guessed over 50.
Montgomery’s bet on 51 pounds and 2 1/2 ounces was the only guess this time – and perhaps in the history of Bassmaster taking such polls – that featured a half ounce. Maybe he suspected that someone would guess 51-02 and someone else would angle for 51-03 and he wanted to split the difference.
Seth Feider had the highest winning weight prediction: 56 pounds 9 ounces. That converts to an average daily weight on nearly 18-14, which would’ve been quite stout. DeFoe’s Day 1 and Day 3 catches of 20-0 and 18-14 would’ve had him on pace to accomplish that, if he could’ve boxed 17-11 on Day 2. Unfortunately he stumbled with a limit that totaled 10-05. That might’ve disappointed those who relied upon the pro’s pre-tournament predictions, but at this point DeFoe is probably pretty happy with the way things turned out.