The Sentinel-Record - HER - Hot Springs
Bass Fever
The next generation of pro-tournament anglers in The Bass Federation
The rakish, low-slung profile a bass boat cuts evokes the pure expression of its function: speed to get to where the fish are biting, a shallow draft to access shorelines and low sides to minimize wind drift.
Those docked at the Clarion Hotel for the Bass Federation Junior World Championship Aug. 20-22 will be employed by the country's most precocious tournament anglers.
The speed enabled by the boats' outsized motors will be of the essence when ferreting out where fish are most likely to offer at a hook. Less time in transit allows more time to puzzle out which lures the fickle fish will hit as the anglers plumb Lake Hamilton for the haul that will tip the scales in their favor at the Aug. 22 weigh-in.
Totals from the five-fish limit allowed during each day of the two-day competition will distinguish the winner among a crowded field of 11- to 15-year-olds from 40 states. At the same time, professional tournament anglers will be plying Lake Ouachita Aug. 20-23 in pursuit of the Forrest Wood Cup.
TBF youth director Mark Gintert said many of the junior anglers aspire to cast their lines and lot with the professionals whose livelihoods are pinned to the array of sponsors that bedeck their boats and person, a mosaic that's proportional to the station they occupy in the firmament of professional tournament angling.
“We've had a couple of past champions go on and do extremely well in a variety of different circuits,” Gintert said. “It's a good steppingstone for the kids.”
Juniors compete for scholarships in lieu of the $500,000 that awaits the Forrest Wood Cup winner. The contrast in prizes belies the shared experience of hurtling across the water at 60 mph and feeling the frisson of excitement elicited by an unsuspecting bass taking the bait. The sensation registers for professionals and amateurs alike.
Duping a trophy bass onto a hook is no mean feat when the heavy August swelter sends them to deeper waters and blunts their aggressiveness, but Gintert said the Fishing League Worldwide schedule dictates holding the event when conditions aren't optimal.
“The middle of late summer is not a great time, but it's a convenient time for the Forrest Wood Championship Cup,” Gintert said. “It's good for us too, because the kids are getting ready to go back to school or school's just started.”
Gintert said the crucible of tournament angling is equal parts science and art. The former points anglers to where the fish are biting, a function of a set of factors determined, among other things, by the water's temperature and levels of alkalinity and dissolved oxygen.
The spawn's come and gone by August, making shorelines less conspicuous areas of fish activity and flip rods less effective.
“You have to go back into the deep water if it's post spawn,” Gintert said. “There's a science in determining where fish are going to be and how you're going to catch them.”
Depth finders, pH meters and sight imaging are among the electronic aids that help reveal location, but the art lies in manipulating a lure to mimic the movements of lower-food chain aquatic life and setting the hook such that the fish can't wriggle off.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to fishing,” Gintert said. “You can find and locate them, but you have to put them on the bait and catch them.”
No more than five fish are allowed in an angler's livewell at any time, and only black bass species will count toward the total. Gintert said a first-day haul of 10 to 15 pounds should advance anglers to the Aug. 22 final, where six finalists representing the TBF's six geographical regions will vie for three places.
An adult will accompany the anglers and pilot the boat, as well as offer advice. Tournament waters are off limits from Aug. 8 until Aug. 17, the first official practice day. Tournament rules will be explained during the Aug. 20 registration and banquet at the Hot Springs Convention Center.