The 21st annual Holder Ford-Mercury Team Bass Tournament kicks off Saturday on Clear Lake. While the two-day event is no longer the largest team bass tournament in the nation, it remains one of the more popular tournaments held at Clear Lake.
The first tournament was held in 1987 after I was invited to be a guest speaker at the Lakeport Rotary Club. My topic was how beneficial bass tournaments were to the local economy and I suggested that Lake County host its own tournament. John Lowman, then publisher of the Record-Bee, and Bill Brunetti, former owner of Bruno”s Food Store, agreed to sponsor the tournament if I would be the director.
Even though I knew practically nothing about running a bass tournament, Record-Bee sports editor Brian Sumpter joined me and, as they say, the rest is history. The tournament is now the longest-running bass tournament to be held on the lake.
As the tournament grew larger each year, fishermen from throughout the Western United States visited Lake County just to take part. In fact, teams came from as far as Chicago, Spokane, Seattle and Salt Lake City. The tournament also received national media coverage.
The concept of the tournament was to give local businesses a boost during the winter months when tourism was at its low point. As an attraction to fishermen, the tournament featured a 100-percent payback of all entry fees, unheard of in professional bass fishing circles.
The tournament has a colorful history dating back to the first tournament. It was a one-day affair and started out with what was supposed to be a 75-team limit, but that was quickly increased to 122 teams. The entry fee was only $60 and the first-place money was $1,100. It took 19.62 pounds to win the event.
In 1988, the field was increased to 200 teams and the entry was $100. The tournament also expanded to two days. The total purse was $20,000 and the winning team caught 28.32 pounds to win a tidy sum of $5,000.
As the tournament became more popular, the entry fees and the prize money increased. The tournament reached its peak in 1991 when 225 teams competed for a purse of $51,875 and first-place money of $17,500. This also was the year when professional bass tournaments in the West reached their peak. Bass tournaments are still popular but because of the abundance of circuits, the number of fishermen in the tournaments has declined.
In 1992, for the first time in the tournament”s history, the quota of 225 teams was not met. Even so, the tournament drew 185 teams and had a purse of $50,875.
It was in 1994 that the Greater Lakeport Chamber of Commerce took over sponsorship of the tournament. Bob Simmons of Lakeport Tackle served as the tournament director. Northlake Ford ran the tournament from 2003 to 2007, when the present sponsor, Holder Ford-Mercury, officially took over the tournament. The Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce is a co-sponsor.
In the six years I served as tournament director there were many high points and a few low ones.
The most memorable tournament was during the first Gulf War in 1991 when prior to blast-off in front of Library Park in Lakeport, I asked the fishermen to stand in their boats for the playing of the national anthem in support of our troops. The sun was just peeking over Mount Konocti when the anthem played and a bass boat with a huge American flag roared past the silent fishermen. There wasn”t a dry eye in the crowd.
One of the most anxious moments came in 1989 when thick fog settled on the lake at daylight. I delayed the blast-off until the fog cleared. Finally, after hearing the fishermen complain, I reluctantly agreed to let the boats go, despite visibility of less than 30 yards. The boats roared off in the fog. An hour later I received a call from a resident in Nice who found floating debris near his dock, including life vests and a fishing license. A check of the name on the license revealed that it wasn”t one of our fishermen. My blood pressure dropped by at least 20 points. That debris had blown out of a boat three days prior to the tournament.
The worst moment came in 1992 when gale-force winds forced me to cancel the second day of the tournament. I declared the first-day leaders, Stan and Bill Standridge of Lakeport, the winners and gave them a check for $17,500. Not many fishermen appreciated me stopping the tournament and a number of angry fishermen almost ran me out of town.
While it”s doubtful the tournament will ever be as big as in 1991, it still remains one of the more popular bass tournaments held on the lake. It is a tournament where you don”t need to be a top pro to take home the money, and it”s a tournament that offers more enjoyment than cash.
Fishermen can sign up for the tournament until 5 p.m. on Friday at the Holder Ford-Mercury dealership located on 2575 S. Main St., in Lakeport.
