Fish With The Pros: Bass and Charity

 

 

Photo credit: Lifeline Youth & Family Services

 

Cutline: The islands and inlets of Traverse City’s Long Lake conceal schools of wily smallmouth bass, known affectionately to anglers as “hawgs.” Every fall, eager fishermen compete for the chance to fish this scenic Michigan region with some of the nation’s top professional anglers in a charity event called “Fish with the Pros.”

 

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – Not many places wear October’s colors as beautifully as northern Michigan’s Grand Traverse region. But for a handful of eager bass fishermen, the lakes and bays around Traverse City have an even bigger attraction: the chance to spend a weekend fishing with some of the nation’s top professional bassmasters.

 

For nearly a decade, amateur fishermen have gathered each fall in this bustling resort area for a charity event called “Fish With the Pros” that has become one of the best-kept secrets in the close-knit world of bass fishing. For $1,250 apiece, they can spend two days fishing these legendary waters – recognized by Field & Stream as among the nation’s best fishing areas – in the company of the sport’s most successful pros.

 

The event, scheduled this year for Oct. 2-5, will feature such luminaries as 2008 Bassmaster Classic winner Alton Jones, 2005 Forrest Wood Cup winner George Cochran, Scott Suggs, Mike Iaconelli, Jay Yelas, Mark Davis, Zell Rowland and Kevin VanDam. Each pro takes out a pair of amateur fishermen for what amounts to a two-day private fishing clinic.

 

“This has grown from a small fundraising idea to a real sought-after event,” said Fish with the Pros coordinator Ann Hettig. “What’s not to like? Fishing on a professional bass boat with a pro and all of his gear, great food, great prizes, fish stories and some friendly competition.”

 

All money raised by the event is donated to Lifeline Youth and Family Services, an agency that works with at-risk youths and their families in northern Indiana, Ohio and southern Michigan. Fish with the Pros got its start in 1999 when several Lifeline executives were casting about for fundraising ideas. They thought about a charity golf tournament, but quickly realized that “everybody in the world does a golf event.”

 

Then one of the agency’s part-time employees suggested holding a sort of intensive fishing workshop, featuring prominent fishing pros who would donate their time and their gear to the cause. But the event had to be held in a truly special – even legendary – location, and that’s how Fish with the Pros came to Traverse City.

 

Fourteen people signed up for the trip that first year, mostly businessmen from the area around Ft. Wayne, Ind. where Lifeline has its headquarters. Today, Fish with the Pros draws over 150 guests, instructors and other participants from around the Midwest; organizers have had to set a limit on the number of available slots, and other Fish with the Pros events have been started up in Texas and Florida.

 

“When this thing first started, we thought the difficulty would be in lining up the pros, but now we have them calling us to make sure they don’t get left out,” said Hettig. “Everybody wants to come to Traverse City; it’s a beautiful area and this is really a great deal of fun.”

 

For many participants, it’s also turned into something of a family event. Guests stay at Traverse City’s Great Wolf Lodge, with its indoor waterpark and other kid-friendly attractions, and the $1,250 registration fee includes three nights lodging, raffle tickets, and a full complement of hearty “man food” buffet meals.

 

Participants are not restricted to any particular fishing area and can fish anywhere they choose. (Elk Lake, Torch Lake, Lake Leelanau, Lake Skegemog, and even Grand Traverse Bay are favorite spots.) And although the main idea is to learn better fishing techniques, organizers have added several not-terribly-serious competitions -- one for a traveling trophy known informally as the “Big Toad,” the other a Heavyweight team competition where guests add up the combined weights of their total catch.

 

Fish with the Pros even attracts fishing enthusiasts who don’t get one of the coveted pro spots, thanks to a number of public events and activities – from a 1,000-gallon aquarium known as the “Hog Trough” and a Ranger boat simulator to the chance to snag a few autographs from some of sportfishing’s most prominent celebrities.

 

For more detailed information about Fish with the Pros, contact Ann Hettig at 231-632-3535 or log on to the event web site at www.fishwiththepros.com.

For information about other fishing opportunities and autumn activities in the Traverse City area (and for a listing of special fall and winter packages offered by local innkeepers) visit the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Web site at www.VisitTraverseCity.com. For free help with room reservations, contact the Bureau’s toll-free number at 1-800-TRAVERSE.

 

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