Bass Master Tournament
The YLPA sponsors a few fishing tournaments during the summer. The first contest of the season is always the “Bass Master’s Tournament,” which will be held Saturday morning, 22 June, from 6 AM to noon.
This contest is for the “serious angler,” with the winner being the catcher of the heaviest combined total of up to three large mouth bass. The Tournament Host will be on a raft near the dam, close to the Heyney Islands, with an air horn and scales. Your boat must be registered with the Host before you start catching fish! (You can’t catch a big fish, and then try to register. You have to register first.) The cost is $50 per boat.
There can be up to three adults in the boat, at least one of whom must be current with respect to YLPA dues. You have to be in a boat with the blue YLPA sticker, and 2024 Year Tag. You may register any time during the 6 AM to 12 noon time window.
The contest ends when the Host blows the air horn at 12 noon. Your fish must have been logged in before the horn blows at noon. The prize goes to the catcher of the heaviest combined weight of up to three large mouth bass. We don’t care what kind of bait you use, as long as it’s legal. When you catch a large mouth bass that you want to be considered for the prize, then take it to the Host at his weigh station. Important: The fish must be alive at the time that it is weighed! We encourage catch and release.
The Tournament Host keeps a record of the boats that have registered, and the official record of their catches. He will announce the winner at 12 noon.
There is only one winner and one prize—there are no second or third place winners.
For the Bass Master’s Tournament, the fee is $50 per boat. We take the total of all the fees that are paid in, and give half of that total as the prize, and contribute the other half to the fish re-stocking program for the Lake. So, the prize depends on how many boats enter, but has generally earned the winner $350 to $400. We do limit the prize money to no more than $500, so even if we have more than 20 boats enter the contest, the maximum prize paid out would be $500.