One lucky fishing fan who attends the Feb. 22-24 Bassmaster Classic in Greenville, S.C., will have a shot at a lunker-size prize in the Berkley Cast for Cash contest.
If the caster is successful, he or she will win $50,000.
At the final day's weigh-in at Greenville's Bi-Lo Center, Berkley will give a randomly selected fan one chance to cast a hookless practice plug a distance of 60 feet into a target 12 inches in diameter.
The contestant will be picked at random from entrants who register at the Berkley booth at the 2008 Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo at Greenville's Carolina First Center. To be eligible to make the cast, the contestant must be present at the Bi-Lo Center when his or her name is drawn.
Details, rules and entry forms will be available at the Berkley exhibit at the Classic Outdoors Expo. The show will be open from noon to 9 p.m. ET Feb. 22; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 23; and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 24.
While fans enjoy the Classic Outdoors Expo, 50 anglers will be competing for the Classic's first-place prize of $500,000 on Lake Hartwell. Classic contenders will bring their catches to the Bi-Lo Center stage beginning at 4:30 p.m. Admission is free to all Classic events.
INSIDER BONUS.
The 2008 BASS Fantasy Fishing season will offer a bonus for BASS Insider members: a chance to win a fishing trip to Mexico.
The leading BASS Insider member at the end of the fantasy season will win a trip for two to Lake El Salto, a well-known home to lunker largemouths.
The winner's grand prize will be airfare for two, three guided fishing days, meals and a four-night, five-day stay at Anglers Inn, a lakeside lodge that provides guiding services as well as accommodations.
Beginning this week, players can make their picks for the Bassmaster Classic, set for Feb. 22-24 on Lake Hartwell and in Greenville, S.C.
ROOKIE SPINS INTO WRAP SPONSOR.
Rookie Jay Fuller already has put in many days of hard work, and he has yet to make his first cast in Elite competition.
He not only has to be ready for the opening of the Bassmaster Elite Series season in early March, but also for his first Bassmaster Classic. He qualified for both by scoring third place in the 2007 Bassmaster Central Open points race.
That was at the end of September. Since then, Fuller has been busy lining up sponsors for the 2008 season and pinning down the design for his Longshank boat wrap.
He plans to debut the wrap on his new Ranger/Yamaha rig at the Feb. 22-24 Classic on South Carolina's Lake Hartwell, but completing the job in time will be a push.
'I'm going to pick up the boat and get it wrapped on my way up to the Classic this week,' said Fuller, who will travel from his home in Kingston, Okla., to be at Lake Hartwell in time for the Feb. 12-14 official practice period. 'Being a new Elite pro, I've had a lot to do and it's been tough to get it all done. Everything's been a learning experience.'
He described his wrap design as black and blue with a large Longshank logo. He said the 'L' in Longshank underscores the word, then bends like a hook up and around the final letter.
The Longshank is a spinnerbait made by Southern Outdoors America, a Nashville, Tenn., lure maker whose president, Scott Smith, is a regular contender in the Bassmaster Open circuit.
Fuller said his new sponsors also include Berkley and its sister brands, such as Abu Garcia and Trilene; Omega jigs; and Bandit Lures.
WBT ANGLERS WINNING SPONSORSHIPS.
More and more sponsors are signing anglers who are regulars on the Women's Bassmaster Tour.
The third season of the WBT begins in April, but many of the pros will make their first appearances of the year for sponsors Feb. 22-24 at the 2008 Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo at the Carolina First Center in Greenville, S.C.
One such pro is Michelle Armstrong of Denver, N.C., who will be at the Legend Boats booth representing her new sponsor. Another is one-time WBT winner Laura Gober of Pendergrass, Ga. She plans to be at the Tru-Tungsten booth to help her 2008 wrap sponsor promote new products.
The Classic Outdoors Expo is part of the Feb. 22-24 Bassmaster Classic on South Carolina's Lake Hartwell. The same week, the Women's Bassmaster Tour Championship will take place on nearby Lake Keowee.
YAMAHA INTRODUCES NEW MODEL.
Yamaha, recently introduced as a premier sponsor of the Bassmaster Classic as well as the official engine sponsor of BASS and the Bassmaster Elite Series, will feature its F225 'Sports Model' during the event.
Mark Davis is one of the Yamaha-sponsored pro anglers who will use the new F225 during the 2008 season. Though the F225 was designed primarily for use on pontoons, fish'n'skis and other boats with 20-inch transoms, the idea of a quiet, clean, four-stroke outboard resounds with professional anglers.
'I've been away from BASS and my return to this tournament circuit coincided nicely with Yamaha's return as a sponsor,' Davis said. 'The fact that Yamaha is a BASS sponsor really makes me feel at home and I think this is great news from the company. This means more opportunity to once again show the world the exceptional outboards and engineering associated with the Yamaha brand.'