BASSMaster Classic, Birmingham, AL 2007 Before I could ask the first question of 3rd place finisher in the first WBT Classic, Juanita Robinson, she let out a sigh and declared, "I'm so tired". The look in her eyes told of the emotional roller coaster she had been riding since her win on Lake Amistad several weeks prior. Being rushed right into the WBT Classic almost immediately after her Amistad win, has left her with almost no time to celebrate. "The win on Amistad finally sunk in on my way down here to Birmingham, AL to pre-fish Lake Mitchell, that's when it sunk in. I was on the way down here and asked myself, did I do that?" But it was right to work for Juanita when she arrived in Birmingham for the classic, and wasting no time in getting on the water for practice," During practice they (Power Plant) were using all six generators because of a severe cold snap and I had some water moving. I was so pumped up during practice because I was catching tournament winning fish consistently. Everyday of practice the water was moving and I was on quality fish. During the tournament though we were in the 70's at times and the generators weren't pulling water like they had been during practice. Late this morning I heard the alarm start to sound on the dam and I knew it was going to be my only chance to catch up to Pam (Pamela Martin-Wells). I was behind her after yesterday (day 2) and just knew I had to come up big today. I nailed 2 keepers that were bigger fish, but just never got on the really big bites that I had during practice". When asked about her go to bait for this event she smiled and quickly responded, "Carolina Rig, and I had 3 poles rigged and laid across the deck using a Gibroni soft plastic bait made by JDC Baits". I asked Juanita to give me an overview of the 2006 inaugural season and her response was somewhat of a surprise to me. "In my opinion, I feel like BASS should have put us on the right lakes at the right time of the year. I understand that BASS was trying to keep us on pretty much the same schedule as the men's tour, but they weren't the right lakes at the right time of the year for us. We had a lot of women drop from the tour throughout the season because the schedule was so brutal on us and fish were so tough to catch. It came down to a self esteem issue for a lot of the women on tour and to be put in those conditions right off the bat, well, some women just dropped out. We need as many women as we can get to compete and make this tour successful". When asked about camaraderie amongst the women on tour and whether or not they do what they can to help out fellow competitors, the answer was," you can't put a hundred women in one place and expect them to work together, it doesn't matter what the situation is. We're all just very competitive. Patti Campbell and I worked very well together throughout the season and have become great friends through the experience". Juanita Robinson finished the 2006 WBT season with a win on Lake Amistad and 9th in final point standings with an impressive 1169 points! For her 3rd place finish in the WBT Championship she walks away with a cool $15,000, but more importantly, she and her other competitors walk away with respect and admiration for what they put forth this past season and this championship battle. Can't wait for the sparks to fly in 2007! Juanita Robinson Sponsored by, Skeeter Boats/Yamaha Motors, Dawson Marine in Beaumont and Jasper, TX, American Rodsmith Rods, Seaguar Flourocarbon Line, Parasite Weights, Verticle Lures, CB's Hawg Sauce, JDC Baits, Lure Tamer, Catch-N.com, Logan Plating Company
