St. Jude Bass Classic Poised To Break Single-Year Fund-Raising Total For Hospital
Fishermen are turning out in droves for the St. Jude Bass Classic on Mississippi’s Sardis Lake Sunday. The tournament is set to raise the most money it ever has in its 40-year history. The prize package for the winners is outstanding. And the weather for Sunday is going to be beautiful, with clear skies and temperatures in the low 90s.
The only fly in the ointment, said tournament director Rick Lesley, is low water levels in the 98,000-acre Corps of Engineers reservoir an hour south of Memphis, Tenn.
“That’s got everybody wondering where they are going to fish. But there have been some small tournaments down there in the last few weeks where some 6- and 7-pound fish were caught, so the fish are still there. The low water just makes it a little tougher on everybody.”
For that reason, Lesley said, the tournament probably will be won fishing deep.
“I imagine a lot of people will be fishing points and ledges. It’s a flood control reservoir and when they flooded it they blew up some old silos so there will be some deep water structure fishing going on.”
And, while that may limit some fishermen it is not a game-breaker, Lesley said.
“We had the same situation a couple of years ago and the winning team still caught over 25 pounds with a five-fish limit. Their fish came off a deep water island.”
Although Lesley has been involved with the St. Jude Bass Classic for about 20 years, this is his first time as tournament director.
“It is quite an honor,” he said. “You are raising money for the children of St. Jude’s. This is probably the longest-running charity tournament there is and over the past 40 years we have raised more than $2 and a half million.”
The best year of the tournament it brought in $135,000 for the children’s hospital, but Lesley said this year will exceed that.
“With a field of 250-plus we are hoping to top $150.000 this year. We are trying to expand the tournament to get more people involved. We want to include the whole family, not just Dad out there fishing,” he said.
With that goal in mind, tournament organizers have brought in some heavy hitters. Bass tournament legend and television show host Bill Dance will be a special guest at the awards ceremony. Bass pro Mark Rose, who has won more than $1.5 million in Bassmaster and FLW events, will emcee the weigh-in and awards. And Troy Landry, who appears on the History Channel’s “Swamp People” show, will participate in the pre-tournament registration event on Saturday.
But the fishermen are the stars of the tournament, with teams coming from more than half a dozen states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and Missouri.
“We have probably 30 guys who travel up here from Louisiana every year. They come up and spend the whole week and fish the tournament. They have been doing that for probably the last 15 years,” Lesley said.
The St. Jude Bass Classic, which was started in 1971 by a group of volunteers from the Memphis Bass Club, is held each Memorial Day weekend to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which this year is celebrating 50 years of finding cures and saving children.
First place in the tournament takes a hefty prize home: $1,500 Cash and two War Eagle boats, two outboard motors and two trailers. There will also be a drawing from the entered anglers and the winner will take home a new Nissan Frontier pickup truck and a War Eagle boat, Lesley said.
“There is still time to register,” he said. “Call me or go to the website and register. We will also have on-site registration the morning of the tournament.”
40th Annual St. Jude Bass Classic
Sun, May 27, 2012
Sardis Lake
Engineer Point Public Use Area
Call Rick Lesley at (901) 412-7683
