KISSIMMEE, Fla. - On Sunday, an Ocala angler who fished the 2005 Bassmaster Southern Open circuit and a BASS Youth member won the 7th annual Angling Against Cancer, a one-day bass fishing tournament benefiting The V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Angler Rick Couch, 38, and 14-year-old Freedom Middle School student Cody Detweiler took the tournament with a five-fish limit weighing 12.33 pounds. The duo flipped and pitched a murky and wind-swept Lake Tohopekaliga before weighing in at Osceola Heritage Park in front of hundreds of fans.
"Anytime I can do something for The V Foundation, I do it happily," said Couch, who owns an RV dealership and lost a co-worker to cancer in 2002.
Detweiler did not know he would fish until Saturday night when his father Mark, the owner of Big Toho Marina surprised him with the gift. "I want to be a pro and this was great because I got to fish with one today," said Detweiler, who attended the 2006 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Toho back in February and considers Michael Iaconelli his favorite angler.
Second place was taken by pro angler Mike Surman of Boca Raton and 8-year-old amateur Brandon Andrews of Kissimmee. Together, they caught a limit weighing 12.30 pounds.
In all, 23 pairs of pro anglers and amateurs participated: Preston Clark, Steve Daniel, Paul Elias, Charlie Hartley, Chris Lane, Russ Lane, Peter Thliveros, Terry Scroggins, Kevin Wirth and Charlie Youngers. Nine-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year and Redfish Cup angler Roland Martin also fished. The tournament was the centerpiece of Kissimmee's Great Outdoor Fest and Expo, a two-day festival celebrating the outdoors and organized by pro Terry Segraves' sponsor, the Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Segraves said the event raised nearly $50,000 this year, an amount he hopes to surpass in 2007. "I'm content, but I won't be happy until we hit six figures," he said. Segraves and Angling Against Cancer has raised more than $200,000 for The V Foundation, a cancer-research organization founded in 1993 by the late N.C. State basketball coach and ESPN commentator Jim Valvano.