The 23rd Annual Holder Ford/Konocti Vista Casino Team Bass Tournament kicks off Saturday and the tournament should produce some huge weights. The tournament is co-sponsored by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce.
The tournament is the oldest bass tournament to be held on Clear Lake and also one of the most popular among fishermen. The first tournament was held in 1987 after I was invited to be a guest speaker at the Lakeport Rotary Club. My topic was on how beneficial bass tournaments were to the local economy and I suggested that Lake County host its own tournament. John Lowman, then the publisher of the Record-Bee, and Bill Brunetti, then owner of Bruno”s Foods, agreed to sponsor the tournament if I would serve as the director. Even though I knew practically nothing about running a bass tournament, Record-Bee sports editor Brian Sumpter joined me and we were on our way. The tournament is now the longest continuous-running bass tournament held on the lake.
As the tournament grew bigger each year, fishermen from throughout the western United States visited Lake County just to fish in the event. 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 cash payback of all entry fees, unheard of in the professional bass tournament business.
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.
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 take home the 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 due to the many circuits and the struggling economy the number of tournament fishermen has declined.
The Greater Lakeport Chamber of Commerce took over sponsorship of the tournament in 1994 and Bob Simmons, owner of Lakeport Tackle, took over as the tournament director. Northlake Ford ran the tournament from 2003-2007. Holder Ford-Mercury took over the management of the tournament in 2008. This year, Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina has teamed up with Holder Ford to run the tournament along the Lake County Chamber of Commerce.
In the six years I was 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 I asked the fishermen to stand in their boats for the playing of the national anthem in support of our troops just before the blast-off. The sun began rising over Mount Konocti when the anthem started playing 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 being less than 30 yards. It was a huge mistake. The boats roared off in the fog and an hour later I received a call from a resident in Nice who had 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 and my blood pressure dropped by at least 20 points. Actually, it turned out that the debris had blown out of a boat three days prior to the tournament.
The worst moment came in 1992 when gale force winds in advance of a big storm 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 it was in 1991, it still remains one of the more popular bass tournaments at the lake. It is a tournament where you don”t need to be a top pro to take home the money and it 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.
