Only 51 anglers get to fish the prestigious Bassmaster Classic championship.  Only one angler wins the Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year.  Only two anglers from Mayflower, Arkansas, will be making the trip down to Lay Lake in Birmingham, Alabama, to compete against the “world’s” best anglers on February, 19-21, 2010.  For Billy McCaghren, competing in the Bassmaster Classic Championship is something he has always wanted to achieve since he began fishing.  Now that he has the opportunity, McCaghren is preparing for the event.  “Winning the Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year was incredible,” McCaghren continued, “I was fishing against the best rookies in fishing; who never seem to make any mistakes in tournaments.”  McCaghren qualified to fish in the 2009 Bassmaster Elite Series through the Central BASS Opens.  

Not only was the competition an elite group of anglers, so was the stakes of competing.  “The entry fees are $5,200 for each event and totaling $41,600 in one year just for those eight tournaments,” explained McCaghren.  Along with travel and other expenses adds up to a significant amount of money to compete.  McCaghren like a number of other Bassmaster Elite Professional Anglers like Aaron Martin, Kevin Short, Brent Chapman, Steve Kennedy, Jamie Fralick, Vince Fulks and Ken Cook pull campers to each event to keep the cost of being on the road down plus his wife Norma also goes along to keep him company and give him support.  One benefit to this is the friendships cultivated among these anglers.  “Ken and Tammy Cook took us under their wing and showed them what it was like to be a professional angler living on the road,” McCaghren continued, “for us, the camping turned out to be home away from home, our family on the road.”

McCaghren has taken some time to prepare for his first Bassmaster Classic Championship by visiting the lake once already.  “Lay Lake is like three lakes in one: the river arms, the mid-lake area with lots of flats, and the lower end with rocky, steep banks,” explain McCaghren.  McCaghren will not be the only angler going from Arkansas down to the Bassmaster Classic Championship, with four other Arkansas anglers qualifying for the event: Darrell West from Drasco, Arkansas, also qualified for the event winning the covenant Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series Championship.  Both plan on going down together and pre-fishing Lay Lake.  McCaghren will be the veteran among the two after competing against the other Elite anglers for a year now.  “It was a learning experience fishing against guys who do not make mistakes and catch fish every tournament,” McCaghren continued, “When you fish against these guys, you get to see it first hand on how good they really are; I was really blessed by God to do so good this pasted year.”  Unlike many other fraternities or groups, McCaghren reported little hazing of rookie anglers on the Elite tour; in fact, he was treated like just another angler at the tournaments. 

McCaghren’s list of sponsors include Bass Cat Boats, Mercury Marine, MotorGuide, Powell Rods, Redneck Remedy, and Future Fuel; however, unlike a majority of other Bassmaster Elite Anglers McCaghren has no one major sponsor.  McCaghren’s boat wrap was paid for by fans who donated to have their signature put on his wrap during the 2009 season.  It was an inventive way of raising funds to help offset the cost of fishing in the Elite tournaments and McCaghren plans on doing it again next year.  To be a part of “Fishing with the Fans,” go to www.fishingwiththefans.com for all the details. 

As for now, McCaghren only has to concentrate on one thing, which is winning the next event, the Bassmaster Classic Championship.