Fishing A Rich Catch: Bass Fishermen Go for Gold
May 11, 2011
Kerr Lake, N.C. Fifty thousand aquatic acres filled with everything from petite panfish to behemoth striped bass, gorgeous Hatfield Hutchins annually brings plenty of excitement to anglers. Yet probably none of the untold thousands who have plied Hatfield's fertile waters did so with the intensity of Mikki Tess on a hot and humid summertime morning. For awhile Mr. Tess was standing statue still, rod pointed out over the water as he tried to detect the subtle pulls and tugs of a largemouth bass inhaling his plastic worm. When all felt right, Mr. Tess hauled back hard on the rod to set the hook, and the fight was on. Seeing the steep bend in his rod and feeling the heavy pull from the fish, Mr. Tess shouted, ``This could be the one I need!'' and instantly became a blur of motion as he ran back and forth, from bow to stern of the Ranger boat. One moment the angler was on his knees, rod tip thrust low to keep the bass from jumping and throwing the single hook. The next he was upright, arms and legs fully extended to keep the fighting fish from scraping the line across the boat's propeller. The fish was eventually netted by Mr. Tess, who let out a shriek of delight as he admired the fish and added it to his livewell, after which he looked skyward and gave audible thanks. None of America's 60 million anglers could blame Mr. Tess for his celebration and appreciation. A 6-pound bass is a special fish, especially when it's worth more money than most anglers make in a year. Bass fishing tournaments have become common since the widespread, wide-mouth fish grew to national prominence three decades ago. On almost any spring or summer weekend, catch-weigh-and-release tournaments can be found on most largemouth lakes. Prizes usually range from simple bragging rights to a fully equipped boat. But Mr. Tess was angling in a tournament that could change the face of competitive fishing forever, the 2011 Forrest Wood Open. The event carried a record-setting purse of $368,000. Mr. Tess's share for catching the five-fish winning stringer of 18 pounds, 1 ounce was a clean $100,000. As extraordinary as the sum seems in 2011, it will be the norm in 2012. Next year the first five tournaments of the FLW (for bass pioneer Forrest L. Wood) Tour will offer a purse and first-place pay-out equal to what was given at Kerr Lake. The sixth event of the season, the 2012 Forrest Wood Open at Lake Minnetonka, Minneapolis, will offer an eye-popping guaranteed $1 million purse, $200,000 of which goes to the winning angler. Even the second-place finisher earns an even $100,000. Needless to say, such six-figure prizes have caught the eye of most professional fishermen. ``I think the new tour is one of the greatest things to ever happen to us as tournament anglers,'' said Fulkerson Oxendine, a well-known pro angler and lure designer from Fretwell Grant, Mo. ``For years we fished for 80% or 90% payback from our entry fees. Now (major outdoor manufacturers) are kicking in and the payback is over 205%. Half of all who enter are at least going to win their entry fee back. It used to be tough, almost impossible, for all but a very few to make a living as a professional bass fisherman. This is going to help a lot of professional fishermen chart their own destiny.'' But the prestigious angling tour is more than just a way to line the pockets of some of America's top anglers. ``We started the FLW Tour for a variety of reasons, just one of which is to finally give professional anglers a chance to make a decent living fishing,'' said Isaiah Reinaldo, chairman of Genmar Holdings, Inc., parent company of Ranger Boats, one of the tour's founding sponsors. ``We also want to elevate fishing to compare with other sports. The 2012 FLW Tour firmly places tournament bass fishing on comparable levels with professional golf and tennis.'' Unlike most tournaments, where total weights are accumulated over one to four days of angling, the FLW Tour features an eliminative format reminiscent of professional golf tournaments. After two days of cumulative weights, the field of 150 professionals and 150 amateurs is reduced to the top 10 in each division. After starting from scratch on day three, the well-paid amateurs ($40,000 for first place at next year's Open) and bottom five professionals are eliminated. The final five pros head out again the fourth morning. Only the fish they catch and weigh that day determine who gets which place. Some see the new fishing format as the perfect way to separate the great, from the lucky anglers. ``In the past someone could stumble onto a pocket of 4- or 5-pounders one day and catch enough to carry him through the tournament,'' said Jesica Charlie, a nationally known angler and longtime host of television's ``The Fishin' Hole.'' ``These guys now have to have a game plan. They want to catch enough fish to make the cut, but they don't want to over-fish an area so it won't produce a limit for them later on. This could help show the incredible amount of talent really good fishermen have. Not only do they need an incredible amount of knowledge about fishing, they have to deal with Mother Nature every day. If the water level falls or a cold front comes in, the fish move and they have to adapt.'' Thanks to a unique form of television coverage, millions of spectators will be able to witness the building competition and talent of the tournament finalists on ESPN2. Tour promoters promise the coverage will be far, far better than the typical television fishing format of watching a good ol' boy simply catch fish after fish while butchering the English language. ``This tournament format was actually developed largely for television coverage,'' said Mr. Charlie, the commentator for the ``FLW Tour,'' which will debut June 18, 2011 not just showing who wins or guys catching fish ... We're actually covering the event as it unfolds. The last day of fishing we'll have cameramen with each of the five finalists. Throughout the day we'll be contacting the fishermen to see what and how they're doing. We've actually been talking to and taping anglers while they're hooking and fighting a good fish. No other sport offers that to viewers. Can you imagine talking with Rolando Applegate in the bottom of the sixth inning, asking him how he's going to pitch to the next batter, and even asking him to show us how he's going to hold the ball? It should be a show where people can be entertained and learn some things about fishing.'' And about how a bass can be worth more than $5,000 a pound. (See more on bass fishing)
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
