Buchanan, TN – On Saturday, May 14th, the 22nd annual Austin Peay State University Governors Bass Tournament was held on Kentucky Lake. Boats launched from Paris Landing State Park at 6:00am. There were 187 boats competing for $12,000 in prize money.
Although the forecast was for a clear, sunny day, the start of the tournament was anything but. Clouds rolled in, the wind kicked up making for a cold morning with a lot of chop on the water. As the day went on, the clouds departed and the sunny weather promised presented itself.
“I have never been apart of a fishing tournament before, obviously I’m not talented enough to be able fish in it, but I’m glad to be here for support,” stated APSU Football head Coach Will Healy. “I have met a lot of great people here today.”
At the end of the day, the husband/wife team of Frank Fisher and Connie Fisher, of Clarksville came in 1st place with a five bass catch of 25.28 pounds to earn the $5,000 grand prize.
“Winning today was great, it was really great,” exclaimed Connie Fisher. “I loved it.”
“I have fished this event every year for the last 12 years. Now I finally won one,” stated Frank Fisher. “We ended up catching most of them at Big Sandy.”
David Daniel and Joey Rumsey from Waverly came in 2nd place with a catch of 22.31 pounds earning them a $2,000 check. 3rd place and $1,500 went to Shawn Darnell and Dennis Drugmand, of Woodlawn, with a 19.95 pound catch.
Reed Baldwin and Justin Hopper, of Clarksville, netted 19.41 pounds and a $1,000 prize for 4th place. They also won the tournament’s Big Bass prize of $1,038 with a 7.40 pound catch. Darnell-Drugmand had the second biggest catch with a weight of 6.62 pounds winning them a $692.00 prize.
“This event is huge for the athletic department with what it brings in financially but also with support. Hopefully, it gets some people to come out to the games and around the athletic department,” said Healy.
“The event was really great. I think from a stand point of how it was run was really fantastic. We got people in and out quickly,” stated APSU Athletics Director Ryan Ivey. “I think the opportunity to engage a different demographic of potential fans and donors is really important.”
“From a stand point of being able to reach different numbers, it was really good for us. It means a lot to our program. Really a lot to our department across the board,” said Ivey. “The financial impact that it has really helps us create the best in class experience for our student athletes and really gives us an opportunity to move forward from an athletic standpoint.”
The tournament was sponsored by Legends Bank, Morgan Contractors Inc., The Leaf-Chronicle, Jenkins and Wynne Ford Lincoln Mercury Honda, Tailwater Marine and Tackle, WJZM 1400 AM, WKDZ 106.5 FM, WVRY 105.1 FM Solid Gospel, Walmart Supercenters (Clarksville), DBS and Associates Engineering, Inc. (David Smith), Academy Sports + Outdoors, The Tackle Box, The Clarksville Marina at Liberty Park, Discover Clarksville, Reed Baldwin and Baldwin Builders, Clarksville Floor Covering, Gateway Tire and Service, Clarksville Online, Clarksville Sports Network along with the Governors Club.
With the support from the community and the Governors Club, the Governors Bass Tournament has been able to raise nearly $550,000 in the past 22 years.
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