Great Start

The 2005 Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship is off to a rousing start—and the anglers haven’t even hit the water yet.
The real action gets underway tomorrow morning when the 136 teams vying for the $50,000 first prize head off across Sand Bay in search of the “big ones” to seal victory come Saturday afternoon.
But the 11th-annual event already has proven to be a winner.
Forty youngsters were teamed up with FFCBC anglers for Sunday’s annual “Kid-Pro” tournament. Then a large crowd was on hand for the inaugural “Battle of the Teenage Bands” that evening under the big tent at the Sorting Gap Marina.
Despite changing from a Wednesday night to Monday, “Quest for the Best” proved to be even more popular this year, with 2,000 people cramming under the big tent to enjoy rousing performances by area singers. The first-ever “Kiddie Quest,” which kicked off the evening, was another hit.
And as always, spectators lined the route between the old CN station and the Sorting Gap Marina yesterday evening to take in the annual parade of boats—and perhaps score a haul of candy.
The actual tournament now takes centre stage, with crowds set to turn out at the government dock and along Pither’s Point Park to watch the launch each morning. But it’s at the daily weigh-ins where the real excitement builds—culminating with the top 10 boats being pulled into the tent one by one on Saturday afternoon until a victor is crowned.
In the meantime, there’s plenty of other activities slated to appeal to all ages, whether it’s “Daytime Land” for the kids or first-class musical acts like the Sensational Hot Rods, Kenny Shields and Streetheart, and Gil Grand each night for the older crowd.
In a nutshell, the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship truly is a community festival thanks to the hard work of the directors and other volunteers who pull it off year after year. Their efforts, once again, deserve hearty applause.
We thank them, and wish good luck to all the anglers.