An entry from Grand Haven, Mich., and two from Indiana are among the 110 boats lined up as of Tuesday night for the Bass Pro Shops’ Battle of Chickamauga High School Classic this Saturday on Lake Chickamauga.
The safe-light launch and weigh-in starting at 3 p.m. will be at the Dayton Boat Dock in Rhea County.
Six states are represented, according to Rhea Economic and Tourism Council executive director Dennis Tumlin, with “several” boats from the areas around Tuscaloosa and Decatur in Alabama. Rhea County High School has 18 boats taking part, and Soddy-Daisy, Sale Creek, Walker Valley, Central, Chattanooga Christian and a club combining multiple northwest Georgia schools are among other area entrants.
The event is enhanced by the promise of $25,000 to any competitor who catches a Tennessee-record bass. One of the coaches, Gabe Keen from Campbell County High School in Jacksboro, Tenn., broke a 60-year-old state record with a 15-pound, 3-ounce largemouth from Chickamauga last month.
“There’s another one in there,” Keen, a Dayton native, said in an event release. “It’s a great lake. I think there’s some more 15- to 16-pound fish in the lake.”
Campbell County High has six boats entered.
“I know Gabe Keen personally. I’ve fished with him in my boat several times,” Rhea coach Brian Derlak, another native of the county, told the Times Free Press on Tuesday. “There’s a lot of very capable teams that will be here, and all have the same goal — to win the national title belt this tournament is giving.
“Unfortunately, the weather is supposed to take a change for the worse. They’re calling for 28 (early Saturday morning) and a high of 48, which is compared to 80 (Wednesday),” Derlak said. “That will be a big shock to the fish, but that’s all right. Everybody will have the same conditions, and the ones who adjust the best will be the ones that have a chance to win.”
Derlak met one of the Indiana teams practicing on Chickamauga last week.
“They’re excited about driving 500 miles to be in this tournament and try for $25,000,” he said. “And my kids at school are talking strategy and getting out their maps and really getting into it. It’s nice to see these kids get so excited about something like this. I’m excited for them.”
Bass Pro Shops’ participation includes a $1,000 scholarship and $1,000 in Bass Pro Shops gift cards for the winners and bringing in Ott DeFoe, a Bassmaster Elite Series pro the company sponsors, to speak in conjunction with the tournament. That will take place at about 7 p.m. Friday after the 6 p.m. dinner and rules meeting at Dayton Family Church.
“For anglers to have the opportunity to be around an Elite Series Pro like Ott Defoe, it’s going to be a great experience,” Keen said.
DeFoe is from Knoxville, which is matching the Chattanooga area with about 40 percent of the entered boats, to go with “a good showing from Middle Tennessee as well,” Tumlin noted.
“This event does two things for us,” said Tumlin, whom Derlak praised for long, “tireless” work in organizing it. “It promotes tourism and fuels our local economy with visitors, but this particular event is more about giving back to the sport. We’ve gone above and beyond with an amazing group of sponsors and volunteers that want to host a world-class event that teaches sportsmanship, ethics and code of conduct and talks to the youth about being positive role models in everything they do each day.”
Other sponsors are CATCH Ministries, Pure Fishing, Bassmaster High School and Fish Dayton.
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.