Watch videos and view slideshows: Watch a timelapse video of the launch. See a slideshow from the first day, and much more.
Follow along during the event: See unofficial estimates throughout Saturday
and Sunday.
Tour the lake: Using Google Earth, World outdoors writer Kelly Bostian gives you a tour of Grand Lake.
Anatomy of a bass boat: We have an interactive map detailing the equipment on a bass boat.
Grand Lake O' the Cherokees could well generate record-setting spectator flotillas this weekend.
On a first morning of the 2013 Classic - a work day for most - with temperatures in the 20s and wind chills in the teens (and markedly lower in a boat going 70 mph), 150 spectator boats each trailed anglers Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich. and Mike Iaconelli of Pittsgrove, N.J.
The count behind Park Hill angler Jason Christie rose to 65 by midday.
"We could see the largest spectator armada ever," VanDam said.
None of the anglers complained, however. Iaconelli thanked someone in his crowd for cranking up some Led Zeppelin upon request to fire him up. Christie said he thinks the extra boat traffic may help stir up the lake's surface on a day when wind is lacking.
"I think it actually helps," he said.
Boating spectators keep their distance from the anglers and cheer them on as they catch fish. Anglers only ask that they not get too close, shut down their engines when the anglers shuts down to fish and that they turn off sonar.
"Everyone has been very courteous," VanDam said.
Following the action: For the first time this year BASS fans can follow the anglers live online at
tulsaworld.com/bassmaster, thanks to the BASStrakk system.
In the past the system allowed fans to watch running estimations of the angler's catch and weight but this year the updated system also plots the location of anglers on the lake.
Media professionals or marshals who are on the boat with the angler carry a cellphone with GPS and the BASStrakk app. When the angler catches a fish they estimate the weight and plug it into the app on their phone.
Those who use the system should just be aware, some marshals and media members are better at guessing weights than others.
Home waters: Mike McClelland may have fished Grand Lake more than another of the other 52 competitors. But the Bella Vista, Ark., resident said he's never fished the water in February.
"Everything I've learned in practice is exactly how what I'm going to do the next few days," said McClelland, who totaled a limit of five bass for 17 pounds, 15 ounces.
McClelland admitted he was fishing too fast on Friday.
"I didn't slow down to catch them," McClelland said after his weigh-in. "I moved around a bit and finally, in the morning, I caught three. When I finally caught that (5-7), it finally clicked and I knew I was going too fast.
McClelland is in ninth place.
Making it in: Jonathan Carter is a first-grade school teacher and the first Classic participant from Maine.
Just making it to Oklahoma was a chore. He nearly missed the opening day of practice when last Thursday's flight was rebooked and delayed a day.
He immediately raced to the airport looking for any way to get to Tulsa. A flight through Detroit had a 20-minute connection.
"I needed to try," he said. "I went and got there in 15 minutes, sprinting all the way to the other side of the airport. I was sweaty, but I made it."
Carter is in seventh place with 18-11.
By the numbers: A limit of five fish was reached by 37 anglers ... The largest bass was caught by Mark Pierce (7-4). The smallest bass was caught by Jared Knuth (1-4). ... Number of pounds that separate first place and third place? Three. Number of competitors in that swath? Eight.
Other - Outdoor
TUESDAY
Breeding in arctic tundra and wintering primarily along the coasts, sanderlings migrate through
Oklahoma in spring and fall.
