Come Fish Lake Mille Lacs this fall to Catch a Trophy Smallmouth and WIN Big!
Without a doubt the month of October, is when a large number of the biggest smallmouth get caught on Mille Lacs, so what better way to showcase the amazing Mille Lacs smallmouth fishery, than to have the inaugural Mille Lacs Smallmouth Alliance (MLSA), Free the Fighter Team Big Bass Challenge, presented by In Tune Marine/Vexus Boats.
The event will be held on Saturday, October 6th and will follow the success and popularity of the Classic Bass Champions Tour, where following a smallmouth being caught, it will be weighed by a boat official, who will record the weight and then the angler will release of the fish back into the Lake Mille Lacs.
“It’s an honor to partner with the Classis Bass Champions Tour and present the Free the Fighter Team Bass Challenge,” said MLSA President, Jim DaRosa. “Classic Bass is the leader in running catch, weigh and release tournaments.”
The entry fee for the tournament is $350, of which $110 is tax-deductible, and $50 of the entry fee will go towards the MLSA High School Scholarship Fund. The tournament is limited to the first fifty teams, so don’t delay and Register Now.
A high school angler will accompany each team and serve as the boat official, who will watch each bass being weighed, record the weight and enforce any rule violations that take place.
There will be a pre-tournament meeting on Friday, October 5th at Izatys Resort, time is TBA.
The winning team will walk away with $5,000 (based on 50 boats) and the total payout of the event will be $12,000 (based on 50 boats). Besides the cash prizes, there will be five merchandise winners, both in the morning and afternoon sessions.
The following day, on Sunday, October 7th, the MLSA will be hosting a High School Division event. This no entry fee tournament will be offered only to the high school anglers who served as boat officials during the Team Big Bass Challenge the day prior.
The tournament will again follow the Champions Tour format and the high school anglers will be randomly paired together to form a two-person team. Pro anglers will serve as boat officials and be randomly paired with the high school anglers. If you are a high school angler and interested in participating, please Register Now.
The top five teams will be competing for $2,500 in college scholarships.
“Based on the recent Minnesota DNR smallmouth bass population studies on Mille Lacs, it shows that there are approximately 67,000 smallmouth bass over 12 inches. In fact the DNR 2017 creel studies show that approximately 125,000 smallmouth bass were caught by anglers, meaning most fish were caught more than once…catch and release is working.”
“The Classic Bass Champions Tour format of catch, record and release, reduces livewell stress commented DaRosa.”
Sponsors of the event include: In Tune Marine, Vexus Boats, Classic Bass, Simms, Abu Garcia and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
If you have any questions on these events or to learn more about the Mille Lacs Smallmouth Alliance, please visit, http://www.millelacssmallmouthalliance.com .
