Professional bass fishing's Big Show comes to the nation's third-largest city July 20-22 as Chicago showcases the 30th annual BASS Masters Classic and 46 of America's best bass anglers.

The Windy City — specifically Lake Michigan and the Chicago-Calumet River system — will host the Classic, which has grown into a week-long extravaganza and the sport's premier event. Daily weigh-ins have routinely attracted crowds of 20,000, and more than 100,000 visitors participate in the Classic's activities. In terms of color, pageantry and participation, Classic week would be compared accurately to the NFL's Super Bowl and NFL Experience festivities.

On the water, the 46 survivors of the five arms of the BASSMASTER Tournament Trail will be consumed with locating and catching the three five-bass limits of largemouth and smallmouth bass that swim in the big city waters. At stake is a $100,000 top prize, which pales in comparison to the benefits derived by winning competitive fishing's biggest prize. The Classic crown has meant more than $1 million in career earnings for some past winners through endorsement contracts and speaking engagements.

The pros will show off their catches during the daily weigh-ins at venerable Soldier Field.

"Taking the Classic to Chicago is a bold move that is really going to elevate the sport," said Davy Hite of South Carolina, the reigning Classic champion who will be defending the title he won last year in the Louisiana Delta. "We're going to a great city.

"Seven or eight years ago when I first started out, to think that I would be riding out onto Soldier Field with a crowd screaming and hollering whether I caught fish well or not would have been beyond my dreams. The sport has grown so much in a positive way in the years that I've been fishing. And this is another step forward.

"I think it's going to help our sport tremendously to have the Classic in Chicago. We've had very few tournaments in the North, so we're going to be exposing our sport to a lot of new people. I think it's going to amaze a lot of people when they see the Classic in their area. It's going to be a shock to them to see how exciting and what an entertaining event it is — even if you don't bass fish."

Michigan pro Kevin VanDam, a three-time B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year competing in his 10th consecutive Classic, couldn't hide his excitement regarding Chicago as the Classic site.

"The Classic is going to be exposed for the first time to a ton of bass fishermen in the North, especially Illinois, Indiana and Ohio," he said. "Chicago is a good city for a lot of people to travel to, so I expect big crowds.

"Soldier Field is going to be an awesome place to have the weigh-ins. Last year, we were in the Louisiana Superdome, and I thought that was a great step up for the sport. And this will be another great event and great location. It's going to make the Classic especially enjoyable for everybody who attends because Chicago is such a great destination city. There's so much good food and good entertainment, and so many great things to do there other than the Classic."

Massive Lake Michigan is home to an excellent population of smallmouth bass. In addition, certain Chicago-area harbors and the Chicago and Calumet rivers will be open to the Classic pros seeking largemouth fame and fortune.

"This is probably going to be one of the most challenging Classics we have ever put on," longtime B.A.S.S. tournament director Dewey Kendrick said. "With the exception of some closed areas, the fishermen can fish anywhere that's legal with an Illinois license. And those that want to take a chance with the locks can even fish the Illinois River. But we figured out that if you made that run and went through two locks, you would only have about an hour and a half to fish for the day.

"A lot of (fishing strategy) is going to depend on the wind. If the wind allows them to fish the rockpiles out in Lake Michigan, they are going to slay the smallmouths."

The pros got a taste of what the Chicago-area bass fisheries had to offer during a six-day practice period last month. Most reported locating isolated bass throughout the region, but most anticipate that the fishing will be tough as Classic XXX unfolds.

"Most Classics are in the cities, but we drive away from the city to actually fish," explained Rick Clunn, a four-time Classic winner who will be competing in a record 27th-consecutive Classic. "But in this Classic, we're actually going to be fishing in the city. From that standpoint, it's really very draining.

"I think the fishery is OK. It's not anything great, but we've fished worse places before. I think it will be a very good tournament, to be honest with you, if the smallmouths will do anything.

"I think one of the most unusual aspects of this Classic is going to be the different seasonal patterns that the fish were in during the practice period and the seasonal pattern they will be in when the Classic starts. Most all of the Classics we've fished since (the event was) moved to the summer, there hasn't been much difference between practice and the Classic in terms of the summer pattern. It's been a fairly stable situation with only minor differences.

"But with this Classic, we were dealing with a spawning pattern during practice and the fish will be on a summer pattern when the tournament starts. And that's going to make things interesting because that's a much more major transition than what we've dealt with in the past."

Among the pre-Classic favorites is Alabama's Tim Horton, a 27-year-old BASSMASTER Top 150 circuit angler who stunned the fishing world by running away with the coveted B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year title. His domination was so thorough that Horton had the title wrapped up entering the final event of the season (a first in B.A.S.S. history).

Horton is excited about heading for Chicago and his chances of further shocking the bass world by winning the biggest title in the sport.

"I can't wait for the Classic," he says. "I think having the Classic in Chicago is going to be great."