Local tourneys begin
By Staff
Kevin Stone
Franklin County Times
Spring has almost sprung, the days are getting longer and it's time for the weekend bass tournaments to begin.
The BCDA tournament series kicks off this weekend at Twin Forks on Upper Bear Lake.
The BCDA is a series of four tournaments that will be held the second Saturday of each month ending with a night tournament in June. The April tournament will be at Slick Rock on Cedar Lake. In May the tournament will be back to Upper Bear and the June classic will be at Elliot's Branch on Little Bear Lake.
During March and April, several local organizations will host Saturday tournaments as fundraisers for their programs.
On March 22, there will be a tournament on Upper Bear to benefit the American Cancer Society. Vina High School will hold its annual tournament on the April 5 at Slick Rock on Cedar Lake. The Belgreen Bulldog tournament will be held April 19 at Slick Rock on Cedar Lake.
These are the tournaments that I'm currently aware of and the dates should be correct because they are the same weekend each year.
If you enjoy fishing bass tournaments or have the desire to start, I highly recommend entering one of these events. They have been going on for many years and each group has experienced volunteers that oversee the tournament.
Also, for most of these groups, this will be their only fundraiser for the year and your entry fee will be put to good use in our community. And for those looking to earn a check, the first-place payout is usually close to $1,000. That's not a bad deal for $50 and a couple of hours of fishing.
I have fished these tournaments for years and the first warm, sunny day immediately sparks memories of fishing the Vina and Belgreen tournaments. Fishing these tournaments is a tradition, and I can't wait until April 5.
I hope you have the opportunity to fish one of these tournaments or at least make a trip to the weigh-in. If this year is anything like last year, there will be some monster bass weighed in during April.
Since the weather will soon start to warm up, I hope you're making plans to take a kid fishing.
Kevin Stone is branch manager and loan officer at Valley State Bank and can be reached at (256) 332-3600.
