COLUMBUS – Competitive bass fishing is back in Columbus.
For the third time this year, Mississippi B.A.S.S. Nation is back in town today on the Columbus East Pool of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway with more than 40 boats ready to conquer the water in a qualifier for the MBN state championship. The send off is at 5:20 a.m. and the weigh in of the one-day tournament begins at 3 p.m.
The last time the MBN pushed off into murky waters of the Tenn-Tom was on May 2 in the MBN High School State Championship tournament, and MBN president Skipper Smith said it’s been too long of a wait to come back to the Friendly City.
“I’ve been looking forward to it for three weeks now,” he said. “I really have. I really am excited to be back.”
The tournament, which features anglers ages 16 and up, is split into two categories – boaters and non-boaters. Boaters are those who own a boat and will captain the vessel during the tournament, and the non-boaters are those who don’t have a boat and will be randomly selected to be put on board with a boater. Both will compete in their respective categories with the boaters seeking to meet their five-fish limit while the non-boaters have a three-fish limit.
All of the anglers will be battling for a top-15 finish, which guarantees them a trip to the MBN state championship. Columbus is the last of a three-leg qualifying system for anglers to land a spot in that state championship, which will take place in the fall. Once all the qualifying is done the participating contestants will all vote for a body of water to fish on for the state championship. The top boater and non-boater at the state championship will advance to the national B.A.S.S. Nation championship.
Cash is also up for grabs today in Columbus. The angler who finishes in first place in the boater category will land $1,500 and first place in the non-boater category will net $500.
For many of the anglers, who are coming from all around the state, it’s an opportunity to get away from some of the flooded waterways in the central and southern portions of the state that have been recently hammered with torrential downpours of rain. On Friday, Smith got the chance himself to hit the water and get in some early recreational fishing before the craziness of today’s tournament, and he was astounded at just how fine the water is looking compared to his home fisheries on the coast.
“It’s (looking) surprisingly good,” Smith said. “We have had some massive rains on the coast and up near Jackson, but it doesn’t look like ya’ll have had quite as much. The water is clearer than we expected – it’s very fishable right now.”
Smith said he expects 16 pounds to be the winning weight for the boater division and around nine pounds for the non-boaters.
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