Bassmaster Classic

State gears up to host nation’s greatest bass fishing tournament

The 43rd edition of sport fishing’s greatest championship will come to Oklahoma for the first time in its history. The 2013 Bassmaster Classic tournament will lure the world’s best anglers to Grand Lake on Feb. 22-24.

Grand Lake marks the westernmost site for the Classic since the 1979 championship on Lake Texoma. This will be the sixth time that B.A.S.S. has held a professional event on Grand Lake, which was the venue for three Invitational tournaments in the 1990s and Elite Series events in 2006 and 2007.

“We’re very excited to bring the Classic to Oklahoma and Grand Lake,” said B.A.S.S. Chief Executive Bruce Akin. “It’s a wonderful venue for us, and we’re confident it will provide a true test of the best when the world’s greatest bass anglers compete in the championship of our sport.”

The event will bring an expected economic impact of nearly $26 million to the economy in the Tulsa region. The Classic’s average attendance is more than 70,000 each year.

Tulsa’s BOK Center will hold daily weigh-ins, and the Tulsa Convention Center will hold the Classic Outdoors Expo. Competition boats will launch from Wolf Creek Park in Grove.

As many as 54 anglers will compete for a $500,000 first-place prize and a $1.2 million purse over three days of fishing in average February temperatures in the mid-40s. Low temperatures and late winter Classics have typically meant big tournament weights.

Regulations in red are new this year.

Purple text indicates an important note.