Australian Kim Bain-Moore, the first woman to ever fish the US Bassmaster Classic tournament, said she struggled with slow fishing and a weight of expectation during her first day of the prestigous US $1.2 million event. “I fished too fast and just covered too much water too quickly,” she said.
Bain-Moore blamed the adrenaline more on the Classic atmosphere and less on making bass fishing history. She said the enormity of the tournament didn’t hit her until she launched her boat and idled out in front of roughly 500 fans on the first morning.
“It was probably the first moment, when I was like, ‘Oh boy, I’m at the Bassmaster Classic,'” Bain-Moore said. “As I drove in to launch my boat, everyone is patting me on the back and giving me high-fives. It was very memorable.”
After she left the dock the Aussie came down to earth with her first bass not coming to the boat until three and a half hours later.
“I was just like, ‘Yes, the first one is out, and now I can just get on with it,” she said.
Unfortunately her spots still weren’t producing like they had in practice. She missed bites through the middle part of the day before adding her second fish in the early afternoon.
“Realistically, I went out there looking for five bites, and I got five bites,” she said. “I just didn’t get them in the boat. I know the fish were in the spots, and I just think it was cold this morning and I fished too fast.”
For Day Two, Bain-Moore aimed to stick to her original game plan and not think about the top-25 cut.
Using a word she learned after catching an 8-pound bass in California shortly after arriving in the U.S. Bain-Moore added, “Five toads – that’s all I want…Whatever happens after that, happens.”
Unfortunately for the Aussie she ultimately missed the 25 angler cut to compete in the final day, finishing 47th with a five fish total of 8 pounds, 12 ounces yesterday and a tournament total of 12-2, ahead of three male competitors.
Bain-Moore’s husband Andre Moore, an American pro bass angler, said his wife fished with the pressure of making her first Classic along with the pressure of fishing for the Women’s Bassmaster Tour anglers and all women who fish. Shortly after her cut from the event Bain-Moore reportedly wrote about the unwelcoming attitudes of some of her male competitors in the event on a web blog.
