The City of Clearlake and Redbud Park will see a return of bass tournaments this year. 100 Percent Bass owner Bob Kornhauser announced that starting with the team tournament scheduled for April 7, all of his tournaments will be headquartered out of the Clearlake Bait and Tackle Shop in Clearlake. The dates for the tournaments are April 7, May 19, June 19-20 and Aug. 26.
“We”re looking forward to hosting our tournaments out of Clearlake Bait and Tackle and Redbud Park. The launch ramp is one of the best on the lake and it”s easily reached from the Sacramento Valley,” said Kornhauser.
There is no question that Clear Lake will see an unprecedented number of bass tournaments in 2007. To date the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has issued 54 bass tournament permits for the lake this year ? an increase of approximately 15 tournaments over last year.
One reason that the lake has become so popular among the tournament anglers is the attention the lake is receiving from the media and the outstanding bass fishing the lake has to offer. It was rated as the number two bass lake in the world by ESPN and in the top five in the world by FLW Outdoors.
Of the tournaments scheduled for 2007, three are expected to field 200 boats (400 fishermen). The others will range from 50 to 150 boats. The most high profile tournament to visit the lake is the Bassmasters Elite Series on March 29. It is a three day tournament and will feature some of the top professional bass fishermen in the world. The tournament will be televised on ESPN.
The Elite Series consists of 11 tournaments scattered throughout the United States. There will be only two events on the West Coast ? one at Clear Lake and the other at the Delta. The entry fee per tournament is $5,000 and the pros are required to pay for all 11 tournaments up front before they can fish even one tournament. That means each pro must come up with $55,000 in cash before putting their boat in the water. The winning pro takes home $100,000. That tournament will operate out of Lakeport.
The other megabuck tournaments scheduled for 2007 are the FLW Stren Series in April and the FLW National Guard Series in October. Both events are expected to draw 200 boats. Those tournaments will operate out of the Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa. In addition there will be the America”s Vanity Cup bass tournament that will feature a $225,000 purse. That tournament will also operate out of Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa.
There will also be a change in some of the traditional team tournaments. This year, both Angler”s Choice and American Bass will have an all Clear Lake team circuit. That means both organizations will have a Clear Lake circuit where all the tournaments in that circuit will be at Clear Lake. Each organization will have six tournaments at the lake.
There are also several other large single tournament events such as the Holder Ford-Mercury/Lakeport Chamber of Commerce Team Tournament, The Clear Lake Bassmasters annual Bass Derby plus Bob”s Marine Stratos Team Tournament. These tournaments will operate out of Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina. Most of the team events will field approximately 100 boats (200 fishermen) and will be one day tournaments ? normally on Saturday.
The entry fee, which includes option money, is approximately $200 per team per tournament. Option money is a separate pool where fishermen have the choice of winning extra money. Options can consist of big fish, heaviest weight for one day and several other options. In team events, the winning team typically takes home about $1,500.
In addition to the major tournaments, there are dozens of bass club tournaments scheduled for this year. In fact, on any given weekend there are at least two or three club tournaments that will each feature up to 20 boats. Many of those tournaments will also go out of Redbud Park.
Clear Lake and the Delta are the two most popular tournament locations in the West. The reason being that both are large bodies of water and hold monster sized bass. The good news is that bass fishermen spend a lot of money on the local economy. They stay in the motels, eat in the local restaurants and buy their gas here. Typically a fisherman will use about 30-40 gallons of gas in a day”s fishing. Most of the fishermen pre-fish for two or three days before the actual tournament. It”s not unusual for a fisherman to spend $700-$1,000 during a tournament ? not including the entry fees.
Terry Knight can be reached at tknight3021@ sbcglobal.net or by calling (707) 263-1699. Letters intended for publication that respond to Mr. Knight”s column can be sent to news@clearlakeobserver.com.
