Fishing pros schedule event at HS Convention Center

The first Arkansas Bassmaster High School Series will kick off Oct. 29 on Lake Hamilton with three area fishing legends sharing tips of their craft at a free public event the night before.

Professional Arkansas anglers Mark Rose, Stephen Browning and Mark Davis will be the featured speakers at the event, which is co-sponsored by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 28 in the Hot Springs Convention Center.

“With the growth of high school fishing, this is the perfect event for these world class pros to share the skills that it has taken them years to develop,” Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison said in a news release. “This is a great opportunity for these young fishing enthusiasts to learn the tricks of the trade and become more successful on the water.”

The idea for the event came from Davis, of Mount Ida, who is a three-time Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year and the first fisherman to win the Bassmaster Classic and Angler of the Year in the same year. His fellow anglers come with impressive resumes as well — Browning has fished in 259 tournaments, including 10 Bassmaster Classics, and Rose has had seven tournament wins and 46 top 10 finishes.

Davis was enthusiastic about the Bassmaster series making its way into the state.

“It’s about time, for one thing,” he said. “Arkansas is really behind most of the other states in terms of fishing, so hopefully this new circuit will kind of bring them to the forefront.”

Davis said he wanted to hold the Oct. 28 event as a way to kick off the series and to give the contestants the chance to hear in-person advice from experts

as opposed to hearing it through television and social media.

“There’s nothing like hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth,” he said.

The event will also include prize giveaways for those in attendance, including prizes and tackle autographed by Rose and Browning and a half-day fishing trip from Davis.

Davis said the instructional portion of the event will be largely focused on the mindset needed to be a successful fisherman, noting this aspect of fishing the most important.

“I’m gonna talk about a wide variety, a wide range, of things, but a lot of it will be preparation,” Davis said. “I’ll talk a lot about the mental preparation, and I’ll go through techniques, as well.”

Davis said the event will include demonstrations of fishing gear.

“It’s great to see these world-class pros give their time to help the next generation of anglers,” Arrison said. “All of them are is arguably donating their time and wisdom so we could make this a free event.”

While the event is open to the public, Davis is largely focused on putting on an enjoyable, educational event for those who will be competing in the series the following day.

“I hope that we see a big number come and attend,” Davis said. “The good thing about it for them is they’ll take away a lot of knowledge and insight that they can apply to their own fishing going forward.”