The Bass Pro Shops Crappie Tournament is taking place Friday and Saturday at Columbus Lake on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.
Anglers will be competing for prizes and the opportunity to go to the 2014 National Championship. Ashley Smith, communications director with the Columbus-Lowndes Convention & Visitors Bureau, said competitors from seven states are slated to take part in the competition.
Voucher pick-up and late registration begins at 5 p.m. today at Lion Hills County Club on Military Road. A supper banquet for participating anglers begins at 6 p.m., followed by a rules meeting at 7 p.m.
Competitors will fish from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The boundaries they will be fishing inside are the Amory Lock and Dam to the north and Tom Bevill Lock and Dam to the south, according to organizers. Weigh-in will take place at the Columbus Marina. Every fish must be weighed by 3:30 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend the weigh-ins on both days.
A free kids fishing rodeo will be held Saturday at the marina from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. for children 15 years old and younger. Children must register from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Everyone will receive a prize package. Children must bring their own poles and bait, organizers say.
The CVB is one of the tournament’s sponsors. Nancy Carpenter, executive director of the CVB, noted that within the last eight weeks, Columbus has hosted the Pilgrimage Half-Marathon, the President Cup Soccer Tournament, races at Magnolia Speedway and now the fishing tournament.
The overall payout for the fishing tournament will exceed $10,000, according to Carpenter.
The next Bass Pro Shops Crappie Tournament will be the One Pole Ultimate Challenge on Truman Lake in Missouri on June 20-21, according to organizers.
Dispatch reporter Nathan Gregory contributed to this report.
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
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