TENNESSEE AND ARKANSAS PROS FILL MAJORITY OF WBT CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
Tennessee’s Dianna Clark and Arkansas’ Tammy Richardson Highlight Field
CELEBRATION, Fla. — The inaugural Women’s Bassmaster Tour Championship set for Feb. 22-24 on Alabama’s Lake Mitchell will feature a friendly border war of sorts.
That’s because the 12-angler field in the crowning event — held in conjunction with the Bassmaster Classic in Birmingham, Ala. — is dominated by pros from Arkansas and Tennessee. In all, seven representatives from the two states will compete in the inaguaral championship event.
The Tennessee pros include Toyota Women’s Bassmaster Tour Angler of the Year Dianna Clark from Bumpus Mills; Emily Shaffer of Mount Juliet; Cindy Hill of Smyrna; and Lisa Sternard of Clarksville.
The Arkansas contingent is highlighted by two-time WBT tournament winner Tammy Richardson of Amity, Lucy Mize of Ben Lomond and Tammy Muse of North Little Rock.
Other pros competing in the inaugural championship are Sheri Glasgow of Oklahoma; Robin Babb of Texas; Linda Sands of Alabama; Juanita Robinson of Texas and Pam Martin-Wells of Georgia.
This past fall on Nov. 11th, Arkansas defeated Tennessee 31-14 in Southeastern Conference football action. And the good-natured rivalry isn’t lost on the WBT Championship contenders.
“Pretty intense, isn’t it?” Dianna Clark said, laughing. “Do I think Tennessee will kick Arkansas’ butt in the championship? I think so. We’ve got four girls from Tennessee and three from Arkansas. So they’re a little out-numbered.”
Not so fast, says Arkansas’s Lucy Mize.
“I really think that Arkansas will perform better,” she countered. “Over the course of the history of fishing there have been more champions that have come out of the state of Arkansas than any other.
“They’re [Tennessee] going to need that extra person in the championship to outperform us.”
Both contenders were asked to explain why so many talented anglers come from their respective home states.
Clark: “It’s kind of odd. A lot of the other states are spread out, but we’ve got so many fisheries that provide different experiences on each one of them without much traveling. Where I live I can fish Kentucky Lake or Barkley Lake or a river system. Or I can go toward Nashville where there are clear-water lakes. Maybe that has something to do with it.”
Mize: “I really think it’s because of the wide array of lakes that we have in Arkansas. You can fish just about any kind of conditions here in Arkansas. Just by having access to that, it makes us better anglers.
“We don’t have extremely cold weather here, so people can fish pretty much year-round. And we have all the different types of cover and habitat.”
The Women’s Bassmaster Tour’s newest rivalry will be determined on Alabama’s Lake Mitchell, a fishery that BASS has not visited in its 38-year history.
The WBT Championship features the top 12 anglers and co-anglers from the five-event season series in 2006 based on Toyota Women's Bassmaster Tour Angler of the Year points.
At stake is cash and merchandise totaling $225,750, including a first-place prize of a fully rigged Triton boat valued at $50,000 as well as $10,000 cash. The winning co-angler receives a similar boat package valued at $24,000, plus $1,000 cash.
The 12 pro anglers will compete for two days before the field is cut to six for the final round of competition. On the final day of competition, the WBT anglers will weigh-in on the Bassmaster Classic stage at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center. All 12 co-anglers will compete in a two-day tournament.
BASS is the worldwide authority on bass fishing, sanctioning more than 20,000 events through the BASS Federation Nation annually. Guided by its mission to serve all fishing fans, BASS sets the standard for credibility, professionalism, sportsmanship and conservation, as it has for nearly 40 years.
BASS sanctions and stages bass fishing tournaments for every skill level and culminates with the Bassmaster Classic. Through its clubs, youth programs, aquatic resource advocacy, magazine publishing and multimedia platforms, BASS offers the industry's widest array of services and support to its nearly 50,000 members. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.
Sponsors of the Women’s Bassmaster Tour include Mercury Marine, Triton Boats, Toyota, Lowrance Electronics, MotorGuide, Advance Auto Parts and Plano.
For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208 or visit www.bassmaster.com.