The first national bass tournament, part 1

This early post card promotes what may be the first-ever 'national' bass competition.

Those of you following this column know that I have a keen interest in the history of our sport, especially when it involves vintage tackle. I love collecting and researching old lures, rods and reels. It’s an obsession, and it sometimes drives me in different directions — like vintage wooden boats and early outboards.

In fact, I have a library of books on these and other topics related to the beginnings of our sport. It’s my passion, and it helps relieve a lot of stress during downtime. 

Well, recently, my interests took a new direction … at least in the short term. 

While pondering this year’s Elite Series opener on the St. Johns River and the many tournaments I’ve fished there over my career, it made me wonder when and where the first-ever, organized national bass competition might have been held.

Was it on the St. Johns, or even in the State of Florida, or some other part of the country?

Like all good questions, it carried me down an interesting path.

Opportunity knocks 

In 1927, the city of Leesburg, Fla., hosted a month-long big bass competition for area residents. The event began on Nov. 1 and ended on Nov. 30. Various categories were open to men and women to compete for prizes, using both artificial and live bait.

Apparently, the event was quite popular, as it caught the eye of an enterprising city councilman named D.E. Bovines, who saw it as an opportunity to attract tourists to the area.

With Bovines’ leadership, the tournament format was changed to target non-state residents. It became the “National Fresh Water Bass Tournament.”

Leesburg’s Magnolia Hotel distributed this brochure to attract tourists visiting Florida during the winter, and the Florida Fresh Water Bass Tournament was part of its draw.

The tournament period was extended to two months, Jan. 10 to March 10 — prime tourist season, and they expanded the competition categories. They included largest bass caught on 16-pound line, largest bass caught using a fly rod, and largest bass caught while trolling, with categories for men and women. 

To enter, participants paid a $1 registration fee and were required to prove their out-of-state residency. After that, only a fishing license was needed to compete.

Tournament waters included any pond, lake or river within or touching the boundaries of Lake County (Leesburg being the County Seat), and that included parts of the St. Johns River. 

Collector connections 

According to research performed by longtime B.A.S.S. Nation member Rick Osterholt, the event ran off and on from 1928 to 1937. Probably because of The Great Depression, there were no competitions in 1931 or 1932.

Like me, Rick collects vintage tackle. And he, too, is interested in the history of our sport. While pursuing his passion for finding old fishing memorabilia, he came across a post card (pictured above) describing the tournament. That piqued his interest, and so began his research into the story behind Florida’s National Fresh Water Bass Tournament.

Next time, we’ll probe further into the history of this unique bass event. And, hopefully, we will determine if this was, in fact, the first-ever national bass competition.

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