Rogne Brown
Hosted by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, the third Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open of the 2011 season will take place on Douglas Lake out of Jefferson County, Tenn., June 2-4.
Nearly 400 anglers will converge on Douglas to compete, and some are more eager than others to fish the final Southern Open.
Rogne Brown of Hixson, Tenn., who sat low on the leaderboard in the first two Southern Open events this season (189th and 105th, respectively) but won the Bassmaster Series Tennessee 4 event on Douglas Lake in 2005 with a total weight of 18-13, predicts that someone will bring “a really big bag” to the scales.
“If the water level is up where it should be, then everything will be great,” he said. “Hopefully, with all this rain we’ve been having, it should be great for guys who fish offshore — that’s what I’ll be doing — and for guys who like to fish cover. It’s also a really good structure lake.”
Brown has fished quite a few tournaments on this lake over the years, including a Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series operated by American Bass Anglers event in June 2008, where he finished in second place.
Douglas Lake and all rivers, creeks and canals connected to it that are open to all public fishing will be considered tournament waters.
According to Brown, Carolina rigs are a popular technique on Douglas. With riverbeds and structure, football jigs and flipping can be expected as well.
“It’s going to really be diverse with a bunch of guys who come in who don’t really know the lake. I’m curious to see what all goes on, but I’m going to be fishing structure. That’s my strong suit.”
Pros in the Bassmaster Opens have a five-bass limit, and co-anglers have a three-bass limit. Full fields will fish the first two days of competition, and the Top 12 will advance to the third and final day. The best cumulative three-day total will win the event. Each place is assigned points on the same scale as the Bassmaster Elite Series Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race. The points accumulate throughout the season, and the Top 5 anglers in points in each division will be invited to fish the 2012 Bassmaster Elite Series.
“The tremendous support from the Jefferson County Chamber and the community, combined with an outstanding fishery, should make for an exciting and competitive tournament for anglers and fans alike,” said Chris Bowes, B.A.S.S. senior tournament manager.
As with each of the nine Open events, the winner of the pro division will receive $45,000 in merchandise, $10,000 cash and an automatic spot in the 2012 Bassmaster Classic on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La. The co-angler will win $35,000 in merchandise. The payout for all other places is cash. The traditional points system used in the Opens will only determine future Elite Series qualifiers and will have no bearing on Bassmaster Classic berths.
The boats will launch daily at 6 a.m. ET from The Point Marina, 122 Boat Dock Drive, Dandridge, TN 37725. Weigh-ins will take place June 2-3 at 2 p.m. ET at the launch location. The final weigh-in, Saturday, June 4, moves to 3 p.m. ET at Bass Pro Shops, 3629 Outdoor Sportsmans Place, Kodak, TN 37764; 865-932-5600. All events are free and open to the public.
Weigh-ins are streamed live on Bassmaster.com, so fans everywhere can watch the weigh-ins free with an Internet connection. For more information about the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open on Douglas Lake, go to www.bassmaster.com/opens.