Century Club, a look back

Now that Brandon Cobb has passed the Century mark with 109-1, let’s take a look back at this coveted award.

The last time Century Belts were awarded was 6 years ago at Falcon Lake on the Texas, Mexico border. That Elite Series tournament in 2013 saw three entries into the Century Club– Keith Combs with 111-5, Rick Clunn with 105-6, and John Crews with 103-13.

The Century Belt was conceived by former Bassmaster emcee Keith Allen, and first handed out in 2006 to Fred Roumbanis for 101-13 at Lake Amistad (TX). Prior to that Dean Rojas had 108-12 at Kissimmee Chain (FL), but the belts weren’t handed out at that point.

There are just 40 instances of Bassmaster Century marks, by 29 different anglers; Cobb will be 41, and Micah Frazier still has a shot today. His total weight is 96-12 with about four hours of fishing left in the day.

Very few anglers have won more than one Century Belt. Steve Kennedy has three– at Clear Lake (CA) in 2007 with 122-14, at Lake Amistad (TX) in 2007 with 101-10, and at Santee Cooper (SC) in 2006 with 104-2.

Lake Fork marks only the eight lake where Century Belts have been won. They include: Falcon Lake (TX), Okeechobee (FL), Guntersville (AL), Clear Lake (CA), Amistad (TX), Santee Cooper (SC) and Kissimmee Chain (FL).

You may notice that all of those fisheries are in warm-weather states where bass have a long season to grow.

Might we see more anglers join the Century Club when the Elite Series returns to Guntersville in June?