I attended my first Classic in 2008, but only started really paying attention the last few years, and only viewed it as a business opportunity the last couple. I’ve set personal goals for this year’s event. Some are practical, some are just for fun, some are for my readers and all of them will make my experience even better.

I first met John Crews when I assisted at the PAA booth at the Toyota Texas Bass Classic back in 2008. At the time, I didn’t know that he was recently married. Almost 17 years later, it’s clear that his wife Sonja is an essential part of his long-running success.

Last summer Pete and I fished with Bryan Schmitt the Miss Ashleigh. Afterwards, I wanted to learn more about the woman for whom the boat was named. Bryan is a really accomplished angler but his relationship with his wife, Ashleigh, and their two kids, may be even more impressive.

If you aren’t aware of the name Skeet Reese than you don’t know bass fishing. Now that Rick Clunn and Kevin VanDam have retired from competition, the youthful Skeet has been promoted to Grandpa of Bass Fishing. His wife is even more youthful – here’s how they met.

Jaclyn and Hank Cherry have been together for a long time and their relationship remains as strong as the fishing line that helped Hank win consecutive Bassmaster Classics. Whether Hank was bass fishing or involved in another professional sport, Jaclyn has always been his number one cheerleader.

Another year, many more chances to add to my bank of memories and my personal achievements. The fun part of this is not just the people we meet, but also the chance to build our personal skills. Here are some of the things that I hope to accomplish.

I love hosting fishing trips to great places because it gives me a front row seat when anglers – experts and novices alike – make their catches of a lifetime. I was fortunate to see a bunch of them in 2024, and here are some of my favorites.

Pete initially wanted to work with Lee Livesay because of Lee’s incredible skill catching huge fish. I immediately liked his wife Taren because we both have red hair – but I knew there was more of a story than that, and I wanted to figure it out. Fortunately, Taren was ready to spill the beans about how they met and the details of their life together.

Officially, Jeff Gustafson won the 2023 Bassmaster Classic but if you ask Matt Robertson he won the best trophy – his wife Kolleen. He’s a distinct personality, so I figured I’d go right to the source to find out how they met, and to get her unique insights on what it’s like to fish with one of the characters of the Elite Series.

Felicia Shryock has been supporting her high-energy partner Hunter, a former supercross rider who became a pro angler, since their first date which apparently never ended. Here’s the story of how they met and how their relationship progressed over the course of the last decade.

Dave Mercer is a lot to handle -- but his wife Sarah, who he's known since Grade 5, makes him a better person. Here's what goes into Life With Mercer.

Randi and Darold Gleason met as kids in small town Louisiana and eventually departed the "friend zone" to become a winning pair. There's golf, fishing and lots more to their very busy lifestyle.

When Jennifer Combs told me her parents had her in a crib on their boat when she was still in diapers, I thought she was kidding. That’s taking fishing a little over the top. On this year’s El Salto trip I finally got to ask her father, Roy Reid — It turns out that it was 100% legit.

On our recent trip to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge we met the nicest father and son, Jim and James Farwell. Each day they seemed to be having the best time together – TRULY BONDING – as they told stories of the big fish they’d been catching.

Tammi proved to be a great addition to our May 2024 trip to Panama. She’s remarkably enthusiastic about fishing and the outdoors. She also made a new connection with another lady angler on the trip when they tag-teamed a monster yellowfin tuna.

If you know anything about Mark Zona, you know that it takes a strong personality to keep all of that energy in check. Here’s how his wife Karin keeps the train on the tracks.

Our May 2024 trip to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge was filled with big fish…really really big fish. Our new friend Greg Evers singlehandedly tamed a yellowfin tuna that pulled the scale down to almost 250 pounds. Greg is a big guy, but still, no one would have blamed him if he’d asked for assistance.

Anna and Clark Reehm have a romance defined by fishing, LSU and their love of son Ash. Check out their story.

Ryan Leiffer is one lucky son and David Leiffer is a heck of a dad. On their father-son trip to Anglers Inn El Salto they made new memories. Not only was the quality of their time together priceless but the quality of their fish was consistently HUGE! 

Randy and Robin Howell got an early start on the relationship and professional fishing games — and after 32 years of marriage things are stronger than ever.