Bass Tournament returns to Lake Wylie

This blog was written by Jan Todd, an associate of David's.

If you had told me a few years ago that I'd be "stoked" about a bass tournament on Lake Wyie, I would have thought you a bit loo-loo. About four years ago, however, the Bassmasters tournament held an event at Lake Wylie, and it was pretty darn exciting!

I was co-owner of the Dilworth Coffeeshop at the time, and some of the fine folks at T-bonz recommended us to ESPN to cater their coffee service. It involved delivering coffee in the wee hours of the morning, and making sure their sleepy-headed technicians never ran out of caffeine.

Quite honestly, we hadn't done much catering at that point, and managed to bluff our way through the price quotes, determining food quantity, and all the other things that go along with handling such an event. We must have done okay, because they called us back the next year to cater another event!

It turned out to be more fun than I imagined. The first day was primarily set up and prep. The ESPN trailers were equipped with video equipment and monitoring stations. Each bass boat had a GPS that could be tracked for location. As the contestants caught fish, the weight and location were almost instantly available on the internet.

The morning of the competition arrived, and after we set the coffee up in the trailers, we joined the crowd to watch the launching. All of the bass boats arrived together, in a long parade that originated at the Charlotte Coliseum. As we watched from the landing near T-Bonz in the pre-dawn darkness (did I mention it was EARLY??), the trucks rolled across the bridge, with the boats all lit up. I was jumping up and down like a kid at a parade!

"Watch out," said someone beside me. "It's about to be on like a pot of chicken necks!"

Chicken necks indeed. My thoughts exactly?

The boats were launched one by one, then with a starting signal, they were off like a band of Nascar racers. The noise! The waves! I could sense the fish trembling!

TBF (The Bass Federation) National Championship has announced that the bass tournament will return to Lake Wylie. If you can get your sleepy head out of bed, it is definitely worth the effort to see the launch! Just make sure to grab a good cup of coffee along the way!

Find more Lake Wylie Events and Activities at David Coone's website, TheLakeWylieMan.com. Your source for Lake Wylie waterfront real estate and more!