Countdown underway to bass tournament

With just 77 days to go until the parade of boats, the countdown for the sixth-annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship is well underway.
FFCBC board member Doug Cain gave an update to council at Monday night’s meeting, and stressed many changes have taken place since the first three-day tournament drew 47 teams in 1995.
“It will be remembered for high winds and broken tent poles . . . for the spirit of it, not [for] turning a profit,” Cain recalled.
This year’s edition is fully booked at 130 duos–with a waiting list of more than 45.
Cain said the FFCBC has grown into one of the best in Canada, and the board hopes the 2000 tournament will turn a profit as well as have a beneficial economic impact on the town.
In its second year, the tournament was an eight-page feature in a popular fishing magazine. It has since been highlighted by a number of fishing magazines and TV shows.
This year, TSN and CTV also plan to cover the event.
The prize purse for anglers now totals $120,000, and the crowds on hand to watch the weigh-ins continue to grow each year.
Cain said with a high number of spectators, participants, sponsors, and volunteers, coupled with a thriving bass population on Rainy Lake, he hopes this year’s tournament also will draw tourists to the area.
“Without the support of all these groups, the tournament would not continue to grow,” he stressed. “The ownership residents have taken to this tournament is incomparable.”
There are seven major sponsors for this year’s FFCBC, including Pinewood Sports and Marine, Abitibi-Consolidated Inc., Safeway, the Fort Frances Times, CFOB, Labatt’s, the Town of Fort Frances, and Canadian Tire.
Canadian Tire owner Ray Engelbertink, who also sits on the board of directors, said he financially supports the tournament because of the benefits he sees as a business owner.
“I think the tournament is an investment for my business and for the town of Fort Frances, not only for the week of the tournament but for the month-and-a-half after the tournament,” he said.
Engelbertink said around 10,000 people passed through the tent during last year’s event.
“Once the word gets out here of the tremendous resources we have here and the tremendous people we have here, the more people will come,” he reasoned.
Again this year, the catch-and-release tournament will run from Thursday to Saturday (July 27-29), giving anglers a chance to enjoy a social evening on the final night before heading home Sunday.
Prior to 1999, the tournament used to run Friday to Sunday.
Providing the necessary funding is available, a number of improvements are planned this year, including a banner across the overpass, a computer kiosk to print pictures of participating teams which can be autographed, stage and tent improvements, and more washrooms on site.
An addition to the aeration system for fish, and increased prizes to cover anglers’ expenses, also are being looked at.