This year the Bassmaster Classic returns to Grand Lake, site of the 2013 and 2016 editions. Both of the previous events were notable.

Cliff Pace took down the first in a cold-water duel that focused primarily on winter patterns using jerkbaits and jigs. Pace outfished then-newcomer Brandon Palaniuk and legendary angler Mike Iaconelli to win a title for which he was due. Pace had posted several strong Classic finishes prior and nearly won in 2008.

The 2016 event saw Edwin Evers master the venue, fishing all over the lake with a variety of techniques. Evers’ 30-pound bag on the final day beat fellow local Jason Christie fairly handily.

Predicting the winner this year will not be easy. Only a couple of Oklahoma pros have qualified for the 54th Bassmaster Classic and the field is a diverse mix of newcomers and vets.

Grabbing the lowest hanging fruit first, it’s easy to bet again on Christie. A previous Classic champion, local angler and one of the best fishermen on the Elite Series, Christie will come ready to play and should be able to catch a limit at will.

Christie is known as a shallow-water power fishermen, but is also adept at the forward-facing sonar game. Which method he will rely on most is yet to be seen. Perhaps a blend of tactics will prevail.

Most pundits are picking – or possibly hoping – that such a blend of traditional fishing and sonar use will be the winning strategy. With a five-fish limit event, that may very well be the case. More about that in a minute.

I like other veterans, too, including Palaniuk (easy choice) and Brandon Cobb. I’ve always felt Cobb is underrated and flies under the radar, a big plus when dealing with the Classic craze.

The Johnston brothers will threaten, as they always do when a title is on the line. Joey Nania and Stetson Blaylock are also high on my list of potential winners. Blaylock can’t help but be forever viewed as a young newcomer, but his record tells otherwise. Now a 13-year veteran, Blaylock has Top-10 finishes all over the country and an Elite Series win under his belt. He threatened at the 2022 Classic. Blaylock is hungry.

Kenta Kimura will also be one to watch. A Japanese finesse expert, Kimura resides in Oklahoma when he’s in the States; I’m told he’s spent considerable time on Grand. I look for Kimura to find a subtle locale holding a group of fish that others miss.

That strategy will be key, and what I predict will ultimately win the Bassmaster Classic. In fact, I’ve got a better idea about the pattern than the top anglers.

Forward-facing sonar will make a giant impact, but we shouldn’t discount that as anything more than what it is. Much of what we know, or thought we knew, about bass fishing has come from approaching fish in a traditional manner around the shoreline or on defined structure. Now, through the use of this new technology, we’re understanding that many fish don’t play by the rules. The best in competitive bass fishing are learning this the quickest – and exploiting it.

In a format that supports all-you-can-catch, forward facing sonar is unbeatable, period. We’ve seen this repeatedly, and it will only continue to become more apparent in future events.

In formats using a limit approach, targeting large fish is needed to win. In that case, when fish are in areas where forward-facing sonar does not yet aid in catching them (note I said yet), more traditional approaches can and will compete. For now.

The Classic, given the size of the venue, the time of year and the weather conditions, will likely be a tournament where multiple methods can compete. But an obscure area, or group of fish, will be the key to winning. The obvious has become just too obvious.

I look for a “Scoper" who has one or two key shallow locations to win the Classic. It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds. One thing is always certain in modern Classics: This event will be anything but ordinary.

(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)