Please select your home edition
Edition
Maritimo 2023 S600 LEADERBOARD

Classic Contender: Meet "Old Bob" Downey

by St. Croix Rods 9 Mar 2023 18:09 UTC
Bob Downey © St. Croix Rod

St. Croix pro offers insights on the 2023 Bassmaster Elite Season, builds his own rod, and dives into the slugfest that will be this month's Bassmaster Classic on the Tennessee River.

Competitive fishing's grandest stage will be in Knoxville, Tennessee, March 24-26, when the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota comes to the Tennessee River. St Croix Pro "Old Bob" Downey of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota is among the 55 elite anglers competing for the biggest title and payout in competitive bass fishing.

Bob Downey is in his fourth season fishing the Elites. He finished the 2022 season with an AOY rank of 23. So far this season, he has placed 54th at Lake Okeechobee and 12th at Lake Seminole, earning 144 AOY points placing him in 24th place.

"I wasn't thrilled with 54th in Florida, but I'll take 54th over 85th any day," says Downey, who was a lot happier with his 12th-place finish in Georgia. "I'm just trying to stay consistent," he says. "I had one bad tournament last year, but everything else was decent. That's what it takes to make the Classic. For me, there's no secret formula. I'm no better than the best local anglers on any water we fish," he says. "I work really hard but so does everyone else. I guess one thing I do try to do is keep a calm demeanor throughout every day of competition. That means rolling with the punches and keeping a calm head. Do that and more times than not you'll find something that works. But that can't happen if you are totally spun out."

Downey says he's looking forward to this year's events at Lake Champlain, the St. Lawrence River, and Lake St. Clair the most. "Being from Minnesota, those are obviously the venues that set up the best for my style of fishing," he says. "I really like fishing at Lake Champlain."

Looking ahead to this month's Classic in Knoxville, Downey says the weather is definitely the wild card. "We could have spawning fish or a solid pre-spawn pattern. Every spring is different. I think a lot of guys are going to be totally focused on largemouth, but I'm going to target both largemouth and smallmouth. There are ways to target those bigger smallies. Gussy (Jeff Gustafson) actually won with them there last year. I think we've got four days of practice, so we'll see what's happening when the time comes."

Downey says whoever wins in Tennessee will need some help. "Everybody wants to go and win a Classic, but that's hard to manifest. You need to work as hard as you can, but you're fishing against the best in the world. If it's meant to be, it'll happen."

Rod-wise, Downey says he has been fishing St. Croix's new Legend Tournament Bass rods almost exclusively. "They did an incredible job with the new upgrades to this series," he says. "I think it's their best ever. They are crisp and balanced in the hand and the guide trains and ergonomics are perfect." Downey says his favorite rod in the series is the LBTS73MXF.

Follow Bob Downey at the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota with up-to-the-minute coverage at bassmaster.com.

Related Articles

A seven-pound smallmouth story
Pennsylvania fishing guide, Joe Raymond, recently caught his personal-best smallmouth Sometimes referred to as "a foot deep and a mile wide," the sprawling Susquehanna River rises in Central New York's Otsego Lake and drains over 27,000 square miles in three states before dumping into the Upper Chesapeake Bay. Posted on 19 Oct
How to tune your SEVIIN GS Casting Reel
3 levels of adjustability built-in to ensure maximum performance All-new GS Series Casting Reels have been available for two weeks now. If you've picked one up - or are thinking about it - here's how to tune it for max performance with the line and lure you're fishing. Posted on 17 Oct
All-new Physyx Minnow Shakers
Built to shake what you've got Whether you use forward-facing sonar or old-school intuition to locate bass, shaking a Damiki rig or similar jig-and-plastic-minnow combination is a deadly way to catch them. Posted on 1 Sep
Jesse Wiggins on the Power Shot technique
And the Mojo Bass JOS73MXF Drop shotting is typically viewed as a deep, open-water, finesse presentation, but it catches bass everywhere. When deployed on more powerful tackle in and around heavy cover, it's called power shotting. Posted on 15 Aug
New Rods & Reels for 2025!
SEVIIN expands its workmanlike GF Series We couldn't be more excited about the new-for-2025 products we unveiled on behalf of you, our anglers, at ICAST 2024 last week. Posted on 25 Jul
The most advanced rod we've ever built?
Spend enough time chasing hatches on technical trout fisheries, you realize the deck is stacked If you spend enough time chasing hatches on technical trout fisheries where SX is maximum, 6X is the norm, and 7X lives in your pack because some days that's the difference between looks and eats, you begin to realize the deck is stacked. Posted on 7 Jun
CAD 2024 FREE Fishing Seminars, in-person & online
Soak in the knowledge at the St. Croix Factory in Park Falls, Wisconsin We can't wait to see you at our 2024 Customer Appreciation Day, Saturday, June 22 at the St. Croix Factory in Park Falls, Wisconsin! Posted on 30 May
Help St. Croix Rods help fishing guide community
You could win a prize package worth over $17K! Help support the fishing-guide community through Guides Across America, and you could win a prize package worth over $17K! Posted on 12 May
Want to come to our place?
Ever wonder what it's like inside the St. Croix Factory in Park Falls, Wisconsin? Ever wonder what it's like inside the St. Croix Factory in Park Falls, Wisconsin? The Discover Wisconsin television show took a factory tour, and so can you! Posted on 10 May
Dropback Steelies
Steelhead and salmon: Bobber down! Whether they're colored-up and double-striped or dime-bright chrome - 21 inches or 40 - catching a Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes steelhead is unforgettable... especially on a float rod. Posted on 19 Apr
Savvy Navvy 2024Maritimo 2023 M600 FOOTER