Bet the Bassmaster Classic at Sportingbet.com

Any fishing bettors out there?

Sportingbet.comis offering odds on the 2009 Bassmaster Classic - the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing.

Oddsmaker David Main said Sportingbet.com is the only online sportsbook to take bets on the Bassmaster Classic, which runs Feb. 20 to Feb. 22 on the Red River at Shreveport-Bossier City, La.

ESPN 2 will have coverage of the annual fishing competition starting Feb. 21. (8 am ET).

Greg Hackney is the favorite at +1000, followed by Kevin VanDam at +1200, and Matt Herren and Scott Rook at +1400.

There are four fishers at +1600 - Todd Faircloth, Kelly Jordon, Gary Klein, and Bobby Lane. There are five at +1800, including 2008 Bassmaster champion Alton Jones.

Jones, 45, won the $500,000 first prize at last year's Classic in Greenville, S.C. and also competed in the 11-tournament Bassmaster Elite Series. He finished fifth in the Angler of the Year race, winning $648,000.

The Bassmaster Classic was first held in 1971 at Lake Mead, Nevada.

After years of being held in July, the Bassmasters Classic was moved to February in 2006. The event has turned into a three-day event, with televised presentation of big catches and the weigh-ins.

The field consists of 55 anglers: the top 40 in the season-long BASS standings and 15 regional qualifiers. The 2007 competition included women for the first time. They competed in a separate event.

All fish are caught under catch-and-release rules, must measure at least 14 inches, and must be alive at the time they are presented for weigh-in.

There is a cut after the second day, in which only the 25 best anglers, based on total weight, advance to the third day. The highest total weight after three days wins the competition.

Open an online betting account at Sportingbet.com today.