The Dogwood Days Bass Tourney, The Early Days

The 19th Annual Dogwood Days Buddy Bass Tournament will hit the water on

Beautiful Crown Lake April 18th in Horseshoe Bend.

This takes me back 20 years when I was Horseshoe Bend Chamber President, and

Co-Publisher of the local Newspaper, The Easy Living News. The Dogwood Days

Festival was a fund raiser for the Chamber and had a golf tournament for a

while and it bugged me that there was no fishing tournament. The new owners

of the Marina, Ed and Laureen Sac seemed to be likely victims of my never

ending flow of ideas for the chamber. Plus my love for fishing and my many

friends that fished and liked tournaments. It just seemed like a natural,

and after much persuading the first tournament became a reality. With 5

boats it began and the Sacs at Boxhound Marina and Easy Living News staff

gave away Prizes and Gifts and 10% of the entries went to the Chamber.

Well 18 Tournaments later it's still going strong. It is usually during the

Bass Cat event on Norfork and a lot of the non-Cat owners come to Crown

Lake. The prizes have varied, but recently the Tri-County Board of Realtors

have been responsible for the awards and the proceeds go to Special Olympics

of Arkansas.

Like I said earlier the first tourney had 5 boats, but last year there were

30. In the early days I fished it my self with my sons or Bob of Bob and

Ginny's fame. Jeff Johnson fished it till he got a Bass Cat. Some of my

fondest memories include the Wardens, Zieglers,

The Cave City Bass Club, and many others have come and gone and some have

stayed. Some have fished in jon boats, and some pontoons, and many in old

boats some in new, and some were even rented. I have been the host and been

quizzed by some who wandered if I had done a seminar at Wal-Mart in Walnut

Ridge.

I replied that I had not done that one. Get it???? Sometimes it's what you

don't say that's interesting. The Sac's have always worked hard to make the

tournament successful and know how to keep everyone happy, as is humanly

possible. Even people at Crown Point Timeshare/Resort get involved. It was

hard to give it up, but racing and Public relations have call me away.

Maybe I can come back this year or soon. Don't worry, I've never won it.

But thank Ed and Laureen for keeping it going.