In fact, the grand prize winner might not even be an entered angler.

“Instead of just awarding a grand prize, we are doing something different at Lake Murray this year,” said Andrew Marks, Marketing Director for Berkley, a division of Pure Fishing which has its national headquarters in Columbia, S.C.

Marks explained that the Big Bass Challenge is bass fishing’s version of “Texas Hold Em,” which matches angling skill with a weigh-in strategy. The competition day consists of six one-hour periods where anglers can weigh-in their single largest fish. Each hour an angler can bring one fish to the scales to try and stay in the running for a chance to receive one of the five, hourly cash awards.

Over $18,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded during the event, which include the hourly prizes and grand prize – guaranteed payouts regardless of field size. The exclusive aspect of this tournament is that only Berkley baits can be used during the challenge. Each hourly Big Bass Winner will be choosing an envelope containing a key at the end of the day for a shot at winning the $5,000 grand prize award.

“Then everybody in the tournament and everybody on site who is not a Pure Fishing employe will get a raffle ticket and one of those will be drawn for the seventh key,” Marks said. “We will line those seven up to try to open a box which will have $5,000 in it.”

One of the seven will hold the right key to open the box and will leave the tournament $5,000 richer.

“We are hoping to get a good crowd at Lake Murray Saturday,” Marks said. “Last year we had 114 and we hope to double that number this time. We’d love to get more anglers entered, because the more that enter the more money we can pay back. If we could get up to 400 or 500 anglers entered, we would go down 10 places and awards boats and big items like that.”

“The tournament is a fun format to expose anglers to the full spectrum of Berkley baits,” Marks said. “It is challenging to not only adjust to some of the new baits that are being used, but also the added strategy of when to weigh in your fish that lends a unique twist.”

Marks pointed out that Sebile baits are now legal to use in these events, along with Johnson and Abu Garcia baits from years ago, which broadens the type of fishing that can be done.

“It opens up their tackle box,” Marks said. All Berkley baits – 7-inch plastic worms, Chigger Craws, and others – are also legal in the tournament.

“The rules are that a fisherman must use only a Berkley, Sebile, Johnson or Abu Garcia bait. You can’t take a competitive brand bait and add a Berkley trailer,” he said.
Spinner bait frames, jig heads, buzz bait frames, and other lures may be used only when broken down to terminal tackle where all skirts and plastics have been removed and replaced with only Berkley products. All terminal tackle must include a “functional” full length Berkley skirt and/or Berkley soft plastic. Non-Berkley skirts and soft plastic trailers are not permitted.

“We want to expose people to all the different products we have and that is the fun part. It’s a real challenge to someone who uses a competitor’s bait and is comfortable with it,” Marks said.

Weighmaster Al Odom, a local angler and founder of the national Fishers of Men Tournament Series, said everything is falling in place for the Big Bass Challenge anglers to have really good fishing this weekend.

“The weather is shaping up to be perfect,” Odom said. “It is cooling down which means the Sebile Magic Swimmers and Sebile topwater baits will come into play and the Berkley Jerk Shads and Hollow Bellies will also be catching fish.”

With the water temperature dropping some, Odom said anglers will be catching fish on a variety of Berkley and Sebile lures. Predictions are the weather will drop from the low to mid-8-0s to low to mid 70s by the weekend.

“The fish are in transition. They have kind of left the summer pattern and are transitioning into the fall feeding pattern. The cooler weather should ignite the fall feeding frenzy.”

Odom said some fish will be caught on the bank and some anglers will be offshore catching fish relating to blueback herring.

“The bluebacks have become notoriously linked with the blueback herring and that has changed the way these fish transition. They basically roam year-round with the bluebacks. When the water temperature falls the herring move shallower and the bass move with them,” he said. “They will be on the points in the 5- to 15-foot range.”

The Berkley Experience trailer, a 60-foot event center, will be on site from Friday at 2:00 PM until the final weigh-in and awards on Saturday. The trailer features Interactive presentation screens, educational seminars on line selection, reel maintenance, rod selection and selecting the right bait, a knot tying station and competition, bait demonstration tanks and many other fun elements designed to help the angers Catch More Fish. The Experience trailer will also have a good selection of Berkley baits for sale, if anglers have not already stocked up for the tournament.

Up to three anglers can fish out of a boat, but each angler must pay the $75 entry fee. Anglers who enter will get a Berkley HAVOC Bait and the first one hunter that sign up get a Sebile Magic Swimmer and a Berkley Power Bait. Some will also receive a spool of Berkley’s new Armor-coated XL Line and other fishing goodies, Marks said.

To encourage Junior anglers to participate, the first 25 anglers under the age of 15 will receive a Shakespeare Catch More Fish Kit valued at $29.99.

More information can be found at http://www.berkley-fishing.com/myberkley/events or anglers can email Andrew Marks at [email protected].

 

Berkley/Sebile Big Bass Challenge Lake Murray

Sat. Oct. 22, 2011

Lake Murray

Dreher Island State Park

www.berkley-fishing.com