Bassmaster expo is fun for even non-fishermen

BY JASON ASHLEY WRIGHT World Scene Writer
Saturday, February 23, 2013
2/23/13 at 7:13 AM

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.

Go to Jason Ashley Wright's BlogOriginal Print Headline: Caught at Expo

I've never baited a hook, but I have been fishing once.

Perhaps I expected those childhood memories to flood back Friday - me, my brother and our oldest cousin at Papaw's pond, catching bass and bream.

But upon entering the Bassmaster Classic Outdoor Expo at the Tulsa Convention Center, those grade school-age reflections faded to high school ones, as I felt - please pardon my pun - like a fish out of water. A big, fat-mouthed bass in blue flannel and corduroy.

Before that, I steeled myself at the Bass Bash fan zone on Third Street between the BOK Center and Convention Center, where food vendors like Rib Crib, The Dog House and Lone Wolf Banh Mi were set up. FGP and I split some awesome Pig-A-Tarian kimchi fries covered with cheese, onion, jalapeno and cilantro ($7.50).

After a walk through the Bass Bash tent, which had a cash bar and little chandeliers strung overhead, I bid adieu to FGP and meandered to the expo.

Full disclosure: The reason I came was because my editors enjoy sending me places no one in their right or left mind would envision me being.

Case in point, I know what boats, lures, fishing rods, even what high-def fish-finders look like. And, other than knowing water is involved, that's all I know about fishing.

So why would you need to wear camouflage on a boat? Or, more specifically, indoors at an expo? Not that many folks did, but I bumped into most of them. That stuff works.

Anyway, the Dick's Sporting Goods shopping area was like the day after Christmas.

"Get caught, BAM!" a woman said as I entered, then slapped a big round sticker on my chest that read "I want to get caught." Apparently, if sales people see it, they might pull you aside and then give you something free. Don't quote me on that, though, as it didn't happen to me, and I circled that area like a caged vulture for five minutes. Mostly because I couldn't find my way back out.

Seriously, you don't have to be a fisherman to appreciate the expo, which has plenty of fishing accoutrement for the Bassmaster of your universe.

Or play Plinko at the Evan Williams bourbon spot. Two co-workers scored some swag there - much more enviable than the foam key chain I got. That's cool because, next time I drown, my keys won't.

The longer I stayed, the more at ease I was in my surroundings. Besides, it's great people-watching, and you'll probably bump into at least half a dozen people you know, like the crew at Billy's on the Square, who are offering snacks and their famous frozen pink lemonade.

On Saturday and Sunday, you can meet professional fishermen - the real Bassmasters - at Dick's. I got to see Chris Zaldain - not only at Dick's but also later outside talking to people. I actually went, "Ermahgerd! It's Chris!" and someone just looked at me like ... Well, like people normally do when I speak.

My absolute favorite thing at the expo was the Bassmaster Classic Super Dock Dogs event. After their masters threw "ducks" into the water, these awesome dogs jumped in and swam to retrieve them. They should totally do this as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show next time.

Associated Images:

Professional angler Bobby Murray stands atop a 12-foot-tall aquarium as he gives fishing pointers at the Dick's Sporting Goods booth area in the exhibit hall of the Tulsa Convention Center during the Bassmaster Classic Outdoor Expo. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World

Salt N Supreme, a yellow Labrador, jumps off the edge of a makeshift dock into a pool of water to chase a "duck" thrown by Gerald London of Spaulding, Neb., during the Super Dock Dogs event at the Bassmaster Classic Outdoor Expo in Tulsa. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World