Ahoy, anglers! One lucky person will soon take home a brand-new bass boat package during a live, random drawing at the Bobby Lane High School Cup Bass Fishing Tournament in Lake Wales on Dec. 3. Courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) TrophyCatch program. This will be the 10th boat given away by the program, in celebration of a decade of success.
The boat package is made possible by conservation partnerships with industry leaders. Phoenix Bass Boats donated the Pro 819 vessel, which is powered by a 200 horsepower Mercury Marine motor, supported by MotorMate, guided by Lowrance HDLive electronics and Ghost Trolling Motor, and anchored by Power-Pole Shallow Water Anchor System.
“This $65,000 boat package is a truly sweet ride,” said Thomas Graef, director of FWC’s Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management. “And It’s made a reality only by the generous contributions of partners such as Phoenix Bass Boats, Mercury and others who share our passion for bass fishing and bass conservation. It is incredible to be able to reward our participants with such a great prize for contributing to TrophyCatch.”
Earlier this year, TrophyCatch partner WrapThis let anglers vote on four different boat wrap colors to pick the one they liked best. A wrap design was applied to the Phoenix boat and was displayed throughout the season at events around the state and the winning color will be revealed, adding an exciting new twist for this year’s winner.
A live reverse drawing will determine the winner from among five randomly selected FWC TrophyCatch registrants and club winners.
The finalists will be revealed on the TrophyCatch Facebook page, Facebook.com/TrophyCatchFlorida.
The drawing will take place Saturday, Dec. 3, following the 2 p.m. weigh-in for the Bobby Lane High School Cup Bass Fishing Tournament at Camp Mack, a Guy Harvey Lodge, Marina & RV Resort, 14900 Camp Mack Rd., Lake Wales, FL 33898. The public is invited to attend the exciting drawing where the last angler drawn, wins!
The Bobby Lane Cup is a nonprofit youth tournament held annually to raise funds for educational scholarships for high school seniors who have an interest in bass fishing. Teams from southern states come to compete for the title of BLC Champions.
TrophyCatch is a citizen-science promotional conservation program that rewards anglers who catch, document and release largemouth bass heavier than 8 pounds throughout Florida. Data collected by the program help the FWC better enhance, conserve and promote trophy bass fishing. Anglers who wish to participate — and who want to be included in next year’s boat drawing — can visit TrophyCatch.com to register and learn more.
For more information about the Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management, contact Michelle Kerr at 850-510-4776 or Michelle.Kerr@MyFWC.com.
Fore more on the Southwest Florida fishing scene. tune in to Reel Talk Saturday mornings.
