Grand prize to top $200,000 in fishing tournament

By The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

RUSSELLVILLE — The winning boater of the 2009 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series Championship at Lake Dardanelle will win up to $205,000 for first place and a slot at the Bassmaster Classic.

The Series Championship will take place Wednesday through Saturday, with weigh ins held at Dardanelle State Park in Russellville.

The public is invited to watch the weigh-in each day beginning at 3 p.m.

The grand champion will be named at 3 p.m. Saturday.

The field for the championship is derived from the top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each of the four Regional Championships.

The winning boater will receive $100,000 cash plus a guaranteed slot in the 2010 Bassmaster Classic, plus be eligible for Triton/Mercury/MotorGuide contingencies of up to $105,000.

The winning nonboater for the event will take home $50,000 plus be eligible for up to an additional $52,500 in contingency awards.

Lake Dardanelle was named as the No. 1 bass tournament lake in Arkansas.

Its State Park Visitors and Aquatic Center is a unique facility that offers a 1,861-square foot tournament weigh-in pavilion, a world class park and recreational facility and is the first of its kind to serve as a staging area for tournaments.

Sponsors of the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series include Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Russellville Tourism and Visitors Bureau, Royal Purple Synthetic Motor Oil, Early Times Kentucky Whisky, Hi-Seas Line, ProBass Networks and Rejuvenade.

River Valley Ozark, Pages 64 on 11/05/2009