Moderator: Welcome to today's chat with Don Hopey on the ongoing Bassmaster's Classic. Don is here and starting to answer questions. Just a reminder that the questions go a moderator before the answers are sent to the room.

3ontheriver - Q: The rivers look nice today and I envy them the time off to fish. Any results to report yet?

Don Hopey: Oh yeah! Some of the Classic anglers seem to have found the fish. Early leader (not in the clubhouse) is Preston Clark, who has caught 13 and kept 6, according to the nearly live ESPN feed from the water. Clark has never won a Classic and has just a handful of tour victories to his credit. He's such a darkhorse that ESPN doesn't even have a head shot to post on its Web site. Other better-known anglers on the leaderboard are Mike Iaconelli and Kevin VanDam, with 4 and 3 keepers respectively.

catfish - Q: Is it true that the three rivers in Pittsburgh have mutated species of fish, a leftover from the steel mill waste days?

Don Hopey: I haven't seen any real mutants, although there is strong evidence that you should not eat these fish because of their chemical content --PCBs and mercury, etc.

catfish - Q: How come all the fishermen are white males?

Don Hopey: Not true, at lest on the white part. Ishama Monroe is African-American, and Takahiro Omori, last year's Classic winner, Japanese. As far as females, they can compete but none has qualified for the Classic. Next year, BASS is setting up a separate women's tour.

jerrystroggins - Q: Don, how many bass are there in the vicinity?

Don Hopey: Of course no one can do an actual underwater head count, but the Pa. Fish and Boat Commission has done recent electroshock surveying in the rivers indicating healthy populations of bass on all three rivers.

3ontheriver - Q: Crank bait or plastic? My guess is the crank baits will prevail.

Don Hopey: I haven't heard what they're catching them on today but crankbaits are always a good bet. Both have been favorite lures of previous Classic winners.

jerrystroggins - Q: Don, what happens to the fish after they're weighed? Can one buy them and mount them on a plaque? Or eat them? Can I buy one to put on a rod for my son so he thinks he caught it?

Don Hopey: The fish are kept alive for the weigh-in, and the idea is to keep them alive after the weigh-in too. The plan by the Pa. Fish and Boat Commission is to transport the bass back to the rivers they were caught in after the weigh-in. They will not be taking them back to the exact location from which they were caught.

Mark-Rauterkus - Q: Where is the "finish line" for the fishermen to make it back in time? Is that at the Point? When exactly?

Don Hopey: Finish line is at the Point. The boats were launched in two groups at 7 and 7:15, and must return to the Point by 3 or 3:15 depending on whether they were in the early or late launch.

puddles - Q: What are the most popular lures they're using?

Don Hopey: Again, there's been no word from the water on what's working today. That will come after the weigh-in, maybe. They'll probably keep whatever is working a secret until after the tournament.

wiseguy - Q: Which river seemed the most popular destination this morning?

Don Hopey: No clear idea how the fishing pressure is stacking up at this time. A lot of guys went up the Mon during Wednesday's practice, but there were a lot on the Allegheny too. And I'm not sure that the practice round is a good way to assess the fishing destinations for today anyway. Some guys were just trying to get an idea how the locking system was working for timing purposes.

Mark-Rauterkus - Q: Where are the boats from the weigh-in period until the start of the next day of fishing?

Don Hopey: The plan is to store them in the parking lot behind the Mellon Arena.

jerrystroggins - Q: Did they restock the rivers for the tournament? Would 'healthy populations' mean like 3,000 surrounding the Point?

Don Hopey: They did not restock the rivers for a couple of reasons. First, they never stocked them in the first place. All of the fish populations, including the bass, have reappeared naturally as the rivers have gotten progressively cleaner. And second, the Classic is fishing almost 90 miles of three rivers plus whatever tributaries they can get up into. That's a lot of water to stock and would take a lot of fish to make a difference.

Chris - Q: Don, are you out watching them fish from your boat?

Don Hopey: Unfortunately my boat's in the shop. No, seriously, I don't have a boat in the Pittsburgh pool and don't have a bass boat or any other boat that could keep up with the Classic boats (225 hp outboards). All my boats either have sails or paddles for power.

1iggy1 - Q: Are you allowed to snag the fish?

Don Hopey: No. Snagging is illegal under state fishing rules and these guys are supposed to be abiding by all the rules that would apply to any fisherman on the rivers.

absentia - Q: What is the current thinking on the number and size of fish being caught so far today?

Don Hopey: Well, the early returns show 19 fishermen in the Classic already had 2 keepers (bigger than 12") by 12:30 and six had 4 fish in their live well. Only two have reached the keeper limit of 5 but that was with more than 2 hours left to fish. It looks tough out there for legal fish, but several of the fishermen seem to be finding plenty of little action. Gary Klein has boated 22 (just 3 keepers), and Andy Martens has caught 14 already (4 keepers).

worm - Q: Who pays for the live bait?

Don Hopey: No live bait. All artificials all the time. And they bring their own.

wiseguy - Q: What was the mood of the anglers this morning?

Don Hopey: Tired would be my guess. They were up at 4 for breakfast and then equipment checks, and launched before 7 a.m. But I wasn't there. I'm sure that some were psyched to get going and some were already discouraged by the fish size and difficult river conditions (warm. low water).

Mark-Rauterkus - Q: What radio or cell phone advice and communications get to be used in the competition? Are there spotters for the fisherman -- gathering intelligence?

Don Hopey: The fishermen are working alone, without spotters or help from any communications with other people to find fish. They have only their instincts, experience and identical electronic fish-finders to rely on.

kordell--slash - Q: what was the biggest fish you ever caught and where was it?

Don Hopey: Best I've landed were some 8-9 pound steelhead from the Lake Erie tribs, and a couple of 30" muskies up in Canada

Mark-Rauterkus - Q: How many photographers did the PG assign to the coverage? Is there going to be a photo spread?

Don Hopey: At least two photographers a day and sometimes three. Not sure about the photo spread. The PG Web site to view the photos is at http://www.post-gazette.com/bassmaster/photos/

catfish - Q: What do these guys do for lunch while they're out on the water?

Don Hopey: They eat whatever their moms pack for them, or trade with another fisherman if someone is close by. Okay, the real answer is I'm not sure, but I think food is provided by BASS. But would you stop to eat with $200k on the line?

Mark-Rauterkus - Q: Who gets to go in the boats? Fisherman, captain, partner, caddy, drinking mate, camera crew, umpire, sponsor, etc.?

Don Hopey: Each boat has only the fisherman in the competition and an observer who records the time and location of any fish caught and makes sure they play by the rules. There are a bunch of other ESPN boats out there with camera crews and reporters.

Mark-Rauterkus - Q: Where are the best tailgate parties for the classic?

Don Hopey: You tell me. What do you think this is, a Steelers game? A lot of folks will be hitting the concession stands in the Mellon Arena prior to the weigh-in I'll bet.

Steelmaz - Q: I guess they will wait until the fisherman are done before they will disclose who caught what sizes, etc. Is that after 3:00?

Don Hopey: Yes. The catches aren't weighed until after they boats come in to Mellon Arena. The doors open there about 3 p.m. and the weigh-in starts around 4. ESPN will carry all three days of the weigh-in live on ESPN2.

Don Hopey: Thanks for all your questions. Follow the coverage of the Bassmasters in the P-G.

Moderator: That's all we have time for today. Don has to go get a fish sandwich for his own lunch. Thanks for participating.