The Bassmasters Elite Series megabuck bass tournament kicks off at dawn Thursday on Clear Lake and many fishermen are predicting records could be broken. The four-day event operates out of Lakeport and winds up on Sunday.
It was during the 2007 Bassmasters Clear Lake tournament when winner Steve Kennedy of Alabama set an all-time Bassmasters record with 122 pounds, 14 ounces. The lake level is up to near normal and the water is clear, plus the warm temperatures could turn on the swimbait bite, which means some double-digit bass could be brought to the scales.
The warm weather also means the big female bass should begin moving onto the spawning beds. Combine that with the clearer-than-normal water and the conditions are perfect for the bass pros to catch trophy-sized fish.
The activities kick off this afternoon when Robinson Rancheria Resort and Casino in Nice hosts the fishermen. This year there will be no Bass Alley as in 2007. The best opportunity to see the fishermen and their fancy boats will be at Library Park in Lakeport. That”s where the blast-off will take place during all four days of the tournament. The blast-off starts at 7 a.m.
The tournament features the best professional bass fishermen in the world and will be televised on ESPN2. Household fishing names such as Skeet Reese, Kevin VanDam, Mike Iaconelli, Gerald Swindle and Shaw Grigsby will be competing and all have a good shot at winning the tourney.
Without a doubt it”s the richest bass tournament ever to come to Clear Lake ? the winner will take home a cool $100,000. The tournament is part of an eight-event series that”s spread around the country. Each fisherman paid an entry fee of $5,000 per tournament but had to come up with the entire amount ? $40,000 up front ? before competing in any tournament. The pros also had to qualify to compete in the Elite Series.
Skeet Reese of Auburn won last year”s Bassmasters Classic and placed second in the Bassmasters tournament last week in the Delta. Clear Lake is Reese”s favorite lake and few fishermen know the lake as well as he does. However, Clear Lake has a reputation for beating the best of fishermen and it”s not unusual for a pro new to the lake to walk off with the top prize money. That happened in 2007 when Kennedy won it. Bass pro Aaron Martins of Leed, Ala., also has to be considered one of the favorites. He has fished Clear Lake many times and won a number of tournaments on the lake.
Unlike most of the bass tournaments held at Clear Lake, the pros in the Bassmasters Elite Series are full-time professional fishermen. They travel the country competing in tournaments and many of them have career winnings in the millions. They also receive sponsor money for endorsing various fishing and boating equipment.
Each of the pros will be matched with a nonfishing observer (called a marshal) who is chosen by a random drawing. The marshals paid $100 each to ride in the back of the boat and observe the pros. The pros can weigh in five fish per day. The field will be cut to the top 50 pros for Saturday”s round, then to the top 12 for Sunday”s final round. The winner will be the fisherman who has the highest accumulative weight for the four days. The winning pro will pocket $100,000 and the rest of the field will split a lesser amount. The tournament pays down to 50th place.
The weigh-ins starts at 3:30 p.m. each day at the Bassmasters stage in Library Park in Lakeport. The weigh-ins are open to the public and there is no fee to attend.
