Demopolis' Duckett Reigns Over Bass Fishing World
By DAVID RAINER
Boyd Duckett of Demopolis made good on a promise that he would never attend a Bassmaster Classic until he was able to fish it.
 Not only did the 46-year-old fish in the first Classic he’d ever witnessed, he snapped a 37-year jinx for home-state anglers by winning the most prestigious title in bass fishing last weekend. Never in Classic history had an angler won the championship in his home state. In fact, only one other fisherman from Alabama had ever won the Classic – Jack Chancellor of Phenix City pulled that off in 1985 on the Arkansas River with his famous Do-Nothing Worm.
Displaying the aplomb of a seasoned professional angler, Duckett jumped to the first-day lead with a catch of 19 pounds, 14 ounces, which included an 8-2 largemouth. His second-day catch did not include a big largemouth and he slipped to fourth place, two pounds and two ounces behind Michigan’s Kevin VanDam, who already had two Classic titles on his resume.
However, Lay Lake provided Duckett with the winning largemouth on the final day that gave him a six-ounce edge over California’s Skeet Reese. Duckett’s lunker on the final day weighed in at 6-9 and earned him another $1,000 check to go with the $500,000 for winning the Classic.
“I told my camera guy after I had the limit that if I could get a five-six pound bite, I’d win,” Duckett said. “When I caught that fish about 2 o’clock, I knew I had a good chance, but I didn’t realize Skeet would have such a big bag.
“I'm really tickled about this home-state thing,” said Duckett, who qualified for the Classic by finishing third in the BASS Tour Southern Tour. “Me and some of the other Alabama guys like Gerald Swindle and Timmy Horton talked about how great it would be for one of us to win it here.”
As “Sweet Home Alabama” rocked the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center to a standing ovation from the crowd of 15,000, Duckett made the victory lap amid a shower of confetti with his three kids – William, Jack and Annabell – seated in front of him in the boat.
“I'm so proud I brought the Classic title to my home state,” he said. “It's every angler's dream to be able to get here and to win it is just fantastic.”
Duckett couldn’t have picked a better venue to win the Classic. Birmingham reigns as the top bass fishing destination in the nation. And that’s not just conjecture, according to James Hall, editor of Bassmaster Magazine.
“We had a panel of outdoor writers and industry leaders come up with a master list of lakes with a surrounding metropolis of at least 150,000 that had to have great fishing within a 90-mile radius,” Hall said. “We came up with 10 cities. We wanted to find out, not only who had the best fishing but also the best fishing fans. So then we put it to our (BASS) membership of 535,000. We profiled each lake in Bassmaster Magazine. We gave readers two chances to vote and Birmingham came out on top. That says a lot.
“And you’ve also got to remember that competitive bass fishing was born right down the highway in Montgomery.”
Legendary angler Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., the only four-time Classic champion, says Alabama indeed holds a special place in the bass fishing world.
“I don’t think anybody can argue with that,” said Clunn, who has fished in 30 Classics. “So many good things have happened to me in Alabama. I won my first Classic at Guntersville in 1976. I caught my largest bass ever in my life, 13-15, in Alabama. I finished up my first Angler of the Year in this state, so it’s been great for me.
“I love fishing this type of water. I understand these lakes well. They’re like the lakes I grew up fishing in Texas. Like in Alabama, the Texas Parks and Wildlife give a lot of attention to their lakes and to their fish. They work hard to maintain and support them. There are a lot of similarities in that respect.”
Clunn also said Birmingham is the best place to showcase bass fishing to the world.
“There’s no doubt, as far as the Classic goes, this is by far the finest destination,” he said. “The crowds are always good. You’re not stuck with fishing one lake. In fact, there are places we haven’t even fished yet. The facilities work good, the people work good.
“I appreciate it, because I come from 30 years ago when you didn’t even know if people wanted you in town. I remember pulling boats into a motel and they said they didn’t allow boats at the motel. That’s why I can appreciate more than the people who have experienced the full timeline of fishing. They’ve always rolled out the red carpet in Alabama. My first Classic was at Joe Wheeler in 1974 and then I won at Guntersville in 1976. Guntersville has always been rated as one of the top five lakes in the country.”
The top anglers aren’t the only ones rolling in the dough after a Classic comes to town. According to economic impact studies, the combination of spectators, BASS staff and ESPN Outdoors Show exhibitors combine to rent more than 16,000 hotel room nights during the event. The exhibitors end up spending about $1.6 millions, while ESPN/BASS spends about $1.5 million to the stage the event. Direct spending by visitors totals more than $8 million for a total economic impact pushing $13 million.
For some of those aforementioned exhibitors, the exposure at the Classic can lead to significant gains in the outdoors marketplace.
For relatively new companies like Vicious Fishing, which spools a variety of fishing lines at its Dora plant, it can make a significant difference.
“I think the Bassmaster Classic, as far as coming to Birmingham is huge,” said co-owner Jeff Martin. “Even ESPN voted it the No. 1 city in the country to have the Classic. That says a lot about the people who show up and the businesses that are here.
“For us, personally, it’s really kicked off our business. I don’t think we would be able to do what we’re doing if it hadn’t been here this year. That’s how huge it is. The crowds are just huge. They are expecting 45,000 people to come through the show. That’s phenomenal.
“The thing is the city of Birmingham is an hour-and-a-half away from the best fishing in the country. That’s the beauty of Alabama, we’ve got great fishing everywhere.”
Photo courtesy of Bass Anglers Sportsman's Society.
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