Eight 12-member teams from 8 states will compete...and winning this one means a possible trip to the championship.
By Beth Jones
Monday, August 10, 2009 at 5:11 p.m.
Read more: Local, Outdoors
ESCANABA -- For the first time ever, the nationally known BASS Bass Federation Nation fishing tournament, through ESPN Outdoors, has made its way to the Bays de Noc.
Wednesday will kick off the tournament, and crews are already gearing up for a big week.
They worked all day Monday to get Escanaba's marina lined up for the tournament.
Eight 12-member teams from 8 states will compete...and winning this one means a possible trip to the championship.
"These fishermen have been working for two years, most for about two years, to make it to this tournament," explained BASS Federation Nation Tournament Manager, Jon Stewart. "Eight people from this tournament will move onto the National Championship. From there, one of the eight will move on to the Bassmaster Classic, which is the super bowl of bass fishing."
Besides the professionals, this event also has tournaments for youth from all over the country, with winners receiving up to $20,000 in scholarship money.
"In our Junior Bassmaster program and CastingKids program, there are events that take place in every state across the country, as well as Ontario, Canada," explained BASS National Youth Senior Manager, Stacy Twiggs. "On Friday morning, they'll go out with their state team and they'll catch fish along side their partners, and at the end of the day on Friday, we'll know who's moving onto the Junior Bassmaster World Championship."
Although Delta County has been host to FLW tournaments in the past, this is the first time for the BASS Tournament to come here, and officials hope it'll boost the local economy.
"Walleye is primarily what we're known for as a walleye destination, but fishing for bass is really going to help us with our angler diversification along with our tourism base," explained Steve Masters of the Bays de Noc Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The official tournament begins early Wednesday morning, with anglers expected to be out on the waters by 6:30 a.m. The tournament will last three days with the final weigh-in on Friday afternoon.
