Bass Classic, 2
Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish Restoration Program
Lake Fork is the site of the first annual Toyota Texas Bass Classic, scheduled April 13 through 15. The organizers of this one million dollar tournament had to figure out how to work with the agency’s restrictive management policy.
We manage that lake with a 16 to 24 inch slot limit. Which means fish between 16 and 24 inches must be released immediately. They can’t be held in a live well or carried to a weigh-in.
Phil Durocher is Director if Inland Fisheries at Texas Parks and Wildlife.
We’ve been working with them and they’ve developed a format where they’re going to actually weigh the fish on the boats as they catch them and release them on the spot. So, it will be the first time anywhere in the country that we’ve had a top-notch professional bass tournament on a lake with really restrictive length limits.
In addition, the professional anglers will work as four-man teams.
Two of the anglers by draw are going to go out and fish the morning session. And then, they’re going t get together with the other two anglers on that team, where they have a strategy session about what they need to do in the afternoon. And in the afternoon the other two anglers are going to go out, and fish based on the information and the patterns they discussed with the anglers that fished in the morning. You know, these anglers are not used to fishing in teams. So it’s going to be interesting to see what happens. They’re going to have to work together to win this event. It’s reality fishing.
Get tournament details on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.
That’s our show… supported by the Sort Fish Restoration program. ..funded by your purchase of fishing equipment and motor boat fuels.
For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti
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