Bassmaster Classic 2023: Weigh-in Results and Friday Leaderboard

The 2023 Bassmaster Classic kicked off Friday in Knoxville, Tennessee on the Tennessee River with some of the best anglers in the world coming together to compete in what has become known as the "Super Bowl of fishing."

Jeff Gustafson took the early lead in the competition after Friday's weigh-in with his five fishes coming in at 18 pounds, eight ounces. He has bit of a cushion between himself and the rest of the field as second-place Brandon Lester is more than a full pound behind him at 17 pounds, seven ounces.

Defending champion Jason Christie didn't exactly have a hot start as he ended the first day in 12th place at 12 pounds, six ounces.

The middle portion of the leaderboard is pretty tight with just four ounces separating fourth place from sixth.

Here is the top 10 after the first day in Knoxville.

Friday's 2023 Bassmaster Classic Leaderboard

1. Jeff Gustafson (18 pounds, 8 ounces)

2. Brandon Lester (17 pounds, 7 ounces)

3. Bryan Schmitt (16 pounds, 1 ounce)

4. John Cox (14 punds, 4 ounces)

5. Cory Johnston (14 pounds, 2 ounces)

6. Jay Przekurat (14 pounds, 0 ounces)

7. Chris Johnston (13 pounds, 12 ounces)

8. Drew Benton (13 pounds, 5 ounces)

9. Scott Canterbury (12 pounds, 13 ounces)

10. Jacob Powroznik (12 pounds, 9 ounces)

Full leaderboard via Bassmaster.com

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Gustafson is looking for his first win in the competition and quickly climbed up the leaderboard, taking the top spot early on in the day and managing to hold onto it by a good margin.

Although he didn't have the best first day, Christie stayed in the mix after day one. He's actually in a similar position to the one he was in at this point last year when he went on to win the competition.

After the first day in 2022 he sat in 10th place, but he rode great performances in day two and three all the way to the title. Christie is looking to become just the fifth angler in history to win back-to-back Bassmaster Classics.

Meanwhile, Chris Johnston had the best catch of the day after reeling in a four-pound, 15 ounce fish to give him the biggest bass.

The competition will resume Saturday morning, with the top 25 advancing to the championship round Sunday.