'Epic!' Expect great things from regular folks at Bass Pro amateur tourney today on Grand Lake
Bass Pro Shops U.S. Open qualifier features 500 amateur anglers ages 7 to 80, festival starts at 11 a.m, weigh-in at 3 p.m.
Longtime fishing buddies Albert Longoria and buddy Randy Brewer of Texas bowed their heads with Oklahoma fishing legend Jimmy Houston for prayer after registration for their biggest-ever tournament at Bass Pro Shops in Broken Arrow Friday afternoon.
Rickey Burtchett, 72, of Ava, Missouri, and his fishing buddy Linda Bennett, 60, of Kent, Michigan shared laugh, after laugh, after laugh, as they and Bennett’s husband and father have since they bumped into each other at the Bass Pro in Springfield more than 10 years ago and became fast friends.
And Pamela Brand, a Missouri nurse formerly of Poteau and 20 years an Army wife of her high school sweetheart, Justin, stood cool as a cucumber. She admitted she most often is the “handful” portion of the fishing duo, but when it came to competing on Grand Lake o’ The Cherokees to qualify for a chance to fish their home lake for a $1 million top prize a month from now—he was the nervous one.
“He’s the one that gets nervous about a tournament, I just go fishing,” she said.
“Just fishing” is what these six anglers are doing, among 454 others, as 250 amateur teams compete Saturday in the Bass Pro Shops U.S. Open Regional Qualifying Event on Grand Lake. The tournament series is a first-of-its-kind amateur fishing trail that takes anglers on the path to that potential $1 million top prize, plus a new Toyota Tundra and a Bass Boat, at the championship set for November 19-21 on Missouri’s Table Rock Lake.
That’s the same Missouri lake Brand and her husband fish twice a week.
“It’s just a couple minutes from home and we’re on the water,” Brand said.
The husband-wife team, the pals from Texas, and the cross-country buddies with decades of fishing experience between them are just the kinds of regular folks Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris envisioned for this tournament, said spokeswoman Tricia Milford.
The field on Grand Saturday includes anglers ages 7 to 80 with two father-daughter teams, six husband-wife teams, 14 brother-brother teams, 33 father-son teams, and among the group a total of 11 female anglers, 47 veteran or active military, and 13 hometown heroes. The 250 teams represent 20 different states, with 95 from Oklahoma, she said.
Saturday’s Top 40 teams will be in the money and qualify to compete in the championship in a field of 350. First-place takes home $50,000 Saturday. Big-bass and $1,000 prizes also go out to several categories for family teams, veteran teams, youth under 10 and ages 11-17, and other categories. Big-bass overall at each qualifying tourney puts that angler into a drawing for a Nitro Z20 boat.
And if by some miracle someone manages to break the state record 14-pound, 13.7-ounce mark, that fish will be worth $1 million. The Grand Lake record is 12-3, so that really, really would be some kind of miracle bass.
Bass Pro notes that more than $4 million in cash and prizes has been rolled into the tournament series, which includes the $1 million cash prize as well as a new Toyota Tundra and a 21-foot Bass Boat for each of the champion team members to come out on top at Table Rock.
Fishing conditions look good
Major League Fishing Pro Edwin Evers greeted fans at Bass Pro along with Houston and Roland Martin Friday and he had raised eyebrows and a smile when asked about fishing conditions the anglers might face Saturday after storms this week and a cold front that pushed temperatures down to 42 degrees overnight Friday.
“I think tomorrow is going to epic, like super epic, because we’re going to have calm, the sun is going to be showing and it’s been cloudy all week, we’ve got that cold front cooling that water off a little bit more, it’s going to be good,” said the man who won the 2016 Bassmaster Classic on Grand.
“I was out there this week and it was, well, it’s going to take low 20s to win,” he said.
Likely a five-fish bag over 22 pounds will grab the top prize at Saturday’s weigh-in, he said. Most of the anglers in the building agreed it will take at least 12 pounds to make the Top 40.
Brand said she felt confident she and her husband will find enough fish to at least break the 11-pound mark, if not more. They are no strangers to Grand and they’ve bunked with family in Poteau several times while visiting the lake to fish.
Brewer said the Texas duo will do OK if he can get his partner close to some fish. They’ve been on the lake three practice times recently and Longoria is the fish magnet, he said.
“He’s a good fisherman and I just need to get him close to them and he’ll get them in the boat,” he said. “I’m serious. If I get him close he’ll get them in the boat.”
As for Bennett and Burtchett, well, listen across the water Saturday and you’ll probably hear them out there just having a ball. They’ll hit the lake, hopefully in order. Burtchett told Bennett they drew in as boat number four for the launch. He showed the tag on the lanyard around his neck and explained.
“See here, it’s 2, plus 1, plus 1, what’s that?” he laughed.
Let’s all wish the best of luck out there to team No. 211 today and all the rest of those regular folks representing all us other regular folks out there today.
Fun for everyone
The free party for everyone starts at 11 a.m. Saturday at Wolf Creek Park in Grove with kids activities, live music, boat, and ATV displays, and outdoor fun for all at the Fan Village.
Kids Activities & Live Music: Free interactive games, inflatable slides and more will create a festive atmosphere and The Petersens, an American bluegrass band from Missouri’s Ozark Mountains, will take center stage to provide live music and entertainment throughout the day.
Celebrity Guests & Award Ceremony: Hosted by legendary anglers Roland Martin and Oklahoma’s own Edwin Evers, tournament weigh-in will begin at 3 p.m. Competitors will arrive at the weigh-in site in waves throughout the afternoon and are invited to stay for the final award ceremony at approx. 5 p.m.
Boat & ATV Displays: Fans can view on-site displays of boat models from America’s foremost boat brands including Tracker, Ranger, Nitro and more, as well as the best-in-class ATVs from TRACKER Off Road.
Outdoor Fun for the Whole Family: Guests can learn about fisheries conservation with representatives from the National Fish Habitat Partnership along with food, displays from Toyota and Columbia Sportswear, and special activities. Bass Pro Shops pop-up shop will feature exclusive merchandise and the latest gear from top outdoor brands.