This weekend, the nationally-known Bassmaster Elite Series will stage its All-Star event locally, with 14 of the top anglers in the country competing over two days of fishing on Muskegon Lake Sept. 27-28, and culminating with the top four placers after two days gunning for the Evan Williams Bourbon Championship on White Lake Sunday, Sept. 29.
It will be the second time in a month that the Elite Series has brought a competition to Michigan after the Plano Championship Chase was held on Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River in late August. Prior to that, the series had never ventured into the state, said Eric Lopez, director of operations for the B.A.S.S. organization.
“We have lots of members in the Michigan area at the B.A.S.S. Nation level,” Lopez said, referring to the organization that certifies fishermen nationwide. “We have lots of people in Michigan who were asking when we were going to do an event here. It’s not that we’ve been ignoring Michigan, but there are lots of great lakes out there. It was time.”
Ultimately it was worth the wait, as Muskegon Lake and White Lake will play host to one of the most prestigious weeks on the tour, Toyota All-Star Week.
“We’re very excited to bring the best of the best to Muskegon,” Lopez said. “We’re bringing in 14 of the best for this three-day tournament.”
Why did the Bassmaster Elite Series choose the Muskegon and White Lake areas to host the All-Star event? Lopez said it came down to the area’s support of fishing.
“There are lots of awesome fisheries in Michigan, but looking at the communities, we wanted to go to an area that believes in and supports bass fishing and has the infrastructure,” Lopez said. “That area meets those criteria.”
Next week, it appears I'll be joining Mike Iacconelli, one of the anglers competing in the All-Star event, for his practice session on the water. This should be enlightening, to say the very least.
In any case, for anyone interested in fishing, this is a big event, probably the biggest sporting event to be held here in recent history. (The event will air in multiple parts on ESPN2 Oct. 13.)
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