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YANKTON, S.D. .... Lewis and Clark Lake will be a busy place next week when 108 of the top amateur bass fishermen compete for a berth in bass fishing^s world championship event at the B.A.S.S. National Federation Central Division Championship.
The BASS Masters Classic is a year away for these would-be pro anglers, but they must pass a bass fishing test here before realizing their dream.
The tournament is one of five regional championships held nationwide that attracts state champions from bass clubs affiliated with the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) and its grass-roots federation arm. Contestants qualified by out-fishing anglers in their local clubs.
Represented in the June 7-9 competition are the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. The African nation of Zimbabwe, where bass were introduced by B.A.S.S. in the early 1980s, is also sending a contingent. Each federation is sending its 12 best anglers to compete in a contest with much more on the line than a winner^s trophy.
What they want to do is finish in first place on their team. The 9 winners will advance to next spring^s B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship to compete for their respective divisional titles. The five divisional champions go to the BASS Masters Classic world championship to compete with the sport^s top 40 pros for the international angling title, lucrative endorsement contracts and a professional career on the BASSMASTER Tournament Trail.
The anglers face a 5 bass and 12-inch minimum length limit on Lewis and Clark. Only artificial lures are allowed and the anglers are encouraged to return to the weigh-in scales with their catch alive. Not doing so results in a 4-ounce penalty per fish.
The upper and lower ends of Lewis and Clark have traits as different as the two men for which the 30,000-acre impoundment was named. The lower three-fourths are essentially void of cover and structure. Bass habitat is sparse, with rip rap at the dam and a few limestone bluffs in the area. The upper one-fourth is where the action will be, as it has in previous divisionals held on this Missouri River impoundment. Islands, sandbars, cattails and other shallow vegetation are all found in the upper reaches of the lake. Both large mouths and small mouths will be caught, although the short growing season does not allow them to reach spectacular sizes. One peculiar type of structure is found here: beaver lodges. Some of them reach 20 to 40 feet and can extend into the water 10 to 12 feet, making them prime structure for bass, assuming busy beavers do not prey them upon.
Daily weigh-ins for the Central Divisional begin at 2:30 p.m. local time at Lewis and Clark Recreation Area in Yankton.
Sponsors of the B.A.S.S. National Federation Central Divisional Championship are Ranger Boats, RangerTrail Trailers, Mercury Marine, Chevrolet Trucks, Big Kmart, Humminbird/Zercom Electronics, Pennzoil Marine, ACDelco Batteries, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, MotorGuide Trolling Motors, worldwaters.com Quantum Rods and Reels, Berkley Trilene, Berkley Power Bait, Eagle Claw Fishhooks, and First USA.
Uploaded: 6/3/2000
Uploaded: 6/3/2000