Tournament fishing grows in popularity

Bass fishing — and the giant industry built around it — has evolved more in recent years than probably any other type of freshwater angling.

The sport is more popular than ever.

The equipment has gone high tech. Boats that cost more than family cars are now made especially for bass fishing.

As a result of this surge in popularity, tournament bass fishing has also grown by leaps and bounds. From early spring to late fall, it is rare to not have some type of bass tournament occurring weekly on one or more of the Catawba River chain of lakes.

Bass tournaments come in all shapes and sizes. Some are designed to help promote the sport and pay back 100 percent of the entry fees. Others, like the annual Jim Ledbetter Cancer Tournament on Lake Norman, have helped raise thousands of dollars for charity.

Lake Norman is the state's largest body of inland water. More people live within a few miles of its shorelines than any other lake in North Carolina. The lake is noted for stripers, crappie, catfish and bass. In the late 1990s, the spotted bass was introduced into the big lake. To date, the new addition has done quite well.

Today's bass fishing community displays much diversity. But one thing the group has in common is a love for the sport and the outdoors. While a lot of money can certainly be spent on bass fishing, one can also be successful with a minimum of equipment. Since two-person teams, with both anglers fishing from the same boat, are the norm, you really don't have to own a boat.

Many tournaments take place at night, especially in the summer.

One of the top nighttime tournaments for Lake Norman is the "Friday Night Fishin' Friends" event.

This popular tournament is managed by the Balls Creek Bassmasters and is celebrating its 19th consecutive year. Running from the second Friday of April through the second Friday of August, the tourney features an armada of bass boats, which leaves from Midway Marina at 7 p.m. and returns at 2 a.m.

I had the joy and privilege of accompanying one of the regular teams this past Friday night.

Like most bass tournament participants, Scott Beattie and Joe Nunn are worlds apart off the water.
Scott is in the realty, construction and renovation business. Joe is a supervisor for a racecar assembly team for one of the NASCAR teams.

Both have been fishermen as far back as they can remember. Joe met Scott a few years back while bass fishing. He approached Scott in order to seek his expertise at fishing. The two have been great fishing buddies since.

Theirs is a unique relationship that exists between good fishing buddies. They might not have anything else in common or even see each other off the water, but once they are afloat, their minds work as one. This may be why the team has been in the money in half of their Friday night outings this year.

According to Scott, it takes him a good three to four hours of preparation for each tournament. Having the right equipment, and in working order, is foremost. Everything has a place and everything is in its place. Each fisherman has his section of the boat for his equipment. From the first cast to the last cast, the duo had a well-orchestrated plan.

They know where to be and when to be there in order to optimize their chances of getting one of those few hits that put fish in the boat.

With amazing accuracy, cast after cast landed near and under various objects that looked fishy. Some produced slight bumps while a small but precious few produced those heave-ho, full-body swings to set the hook.

By dark, the team landed one keeper and a couple of throwbacks.

After a long but speedy ride, the duo picked up another keeper in one of their favorite spots.

But as the clock eased closer to weigh-in, normally the team kept coming up dry in spots that normally produce fish.

With time winding down, the strategy was to head for Scott's last-minute location.

As usual, the move paid off for Beattie and Nunn.

First one nice bass, then another came to the boat. The pair now had four of a five-fish limit and it looked like they just might pull it off.

With only minutes left, Joe made a calculated cast to a shallow, well-lit bank and immediately felt a sharp tug. Joe set the hook, grabbed the net and got into position.

With only a few feet separating fish from net, the bass, which easily weighed several pounds, went acrobatic mode and tossed the lure from its mouth.

As the fish darted back into darkness, it carried with it the team's shot at the winner's circle.