Fishing tourney set at Reelfoot

By JOHN BRANNON

Messenger Staff Reporter

The Buddy Bass Tournament, which has been staged for more than 14 years at Reelfoot Lake, will be held again this weekend.

Official hours of competition are 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday.

Gordon Fox and Lannie Callicott, both of Union City, couldn’t be happier. They and other members of Reelfoot Lake Bass Club have worked the tournament each year, weighing fish and awarding prizes. They still get excited about fat-bellied lunker largemouth bass brought to the weigh-in station each tournament.

Fox said he’s also happy that at last, given the doldrums of a long winter, spring has come to northwest Tennessee. The bass tournament, which attracts amateur anglers from far and wide, is a harbinger of spring.

“It’s a time for a great outdoor activity, and that’s bass fishing,” said Fox, president of Reelfoot Lake Bass Club, which hosts the event. “It’s a time to bring out the boat, trailer and outboard motor, find the fishing poles and favorite baits and head for Reelfoot Lake. You and your fishing buddy cannot only have a great time fishing, you can also win some good prize money.”

As always, the tournament headquarters will be set up at Kirby Pocket, located on the northeast shore of the lake. Each two-man boat will launch from the Kirby Pocket boat ramp. Launch time is 6 a.m.

“We’ve already got 25 teams signed up. Pre-registration will close at 5 p.m. Thursday,” Fox said. “Anyone who wants to pre-register can stop by Reynolds Brothers Tires (in Union City) and sign up. Otherwise, they can register 5:30 to 6:30 Saturday morning on site at Kirby Pocket. The advantage of pre-registering is, we’ll have a drawing for a $100 gas card.”

Registration fee, which includes $10 for the Big Bass category, is $80.

Each two-man team is allowed to bring only five bass to the weigh-in station. Weigh-in begins at 3 p.m.

There are two categories of prize money:

• Total weight of the five fish. First place, $700; second place, $500; and third place, $300.

• Big bass. 100 percent payback, with 60 percent to first place and 40 percent to second place.

The tournament has a plethora of sponsors in the business community, including Reelfoot Bank, War Eagle Boats, Abernathy’s Marine, Reynolds Bros. Tire Co. and Southern Machinery Repair.

For more information, call Fox at 885-5541 or Brent Callicott at 885-7109.

“This is our fun time of year,” Fox said.



Published in The Messenger 4.8.09

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