The inaugural Military Bass Bash will team 150 professional bass fishermen with a like number of military-affiliated anglers who will compete for a top prize of $5,000. Each winning team member will take home $2,500.
Open registration will be held at Fort Gordon's Pxtra on March 26 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Final registration will be held at Augusta Marine Superstore on Frontage Road on April 8 from 4-8 p.m.
A mandatory boat pairing will be held at Patriots Park on April 14, with boaters paired electronically with non-boaters. A free dinner for the anglers will be held during the pairings. Live entertainment will take place at Wildwood from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., on tournament day.
- Congratulations to Tim Jones, of North Augusta, and Jeff Rikard, of Leesville, S.C., for winning the Boater and Co-Angler Divisions, respectively, in the Walmart Bass Fishing League tournament on Thurmond Lake last weekend.
THURMOND LAKE
Capt. David Willard, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed full-time professional fishing guide specializing in hybrids and stripers and trophy largemouth bass. (Boat phone: (706) 214-0236. (803) 637-6379(www.crockettrocketstriper fishing.com) -- Water temperature is in the mid 50s and the fish have turned on in between the weather "bumps." We had a couple of days of high winds and a couple of days of early morning fog, but mostly the weather has been good. James Simpson and his wife, Julie, from Akron, Ohio, were visiting relatives and decided to try our striper fishery. They landed some nice stripers, slab hybrids and big largemouths over a two-day period. They planned to make it an annual event. All our fish were caught freelining live herring and on herring fished beneath planer boards in shallow water.
Read more at http://chronicle.augusta.com/sports/outdoors/fishing/2011-03-17/fishing-tournament-will-honor-military