JB World Pro Series U.S. Lake Mead Bass Challenge

Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits
P.O.Box 1000
849 S. Coppermine Rd.
Page, AZ 86040-1000

East will partner with West as the Japan Bass (JB) Pro Association brings 61 of its best anglers from Japan and Korea who have qualified for the JB World Pro Series U.S. Lake Mead Bass Challenge tour stop, near Las Vegas, June 14 – 16. The inaugural event, organized by Mercury Marine Japan, includes one practice day and two-days (Thurs. & Fri.) of competition for an over $186,000 purse. They will be paired with 61 American pros from the popular U.S. W.O.N. Bass series to compete in what is believed to be the first-ever international fishing tournament of its kind. “To my knowledge it’s the first time there’s ever been this level and quality of international competition held in the U.S.,” said JB’s American tournament director Mike Kennedy. “We’ve routinely had about 20 Japanese pros entered every year for the U.S. Open and most have always had a good showing.” For this event the foreign contingent consists of three Korean anglers along with 57 top Japanese pros including Japanese American Gary Yamamoto. Other top Japanese that are coming are Toshiro Ono, Morizo Shimizu, Hirohazu Kawabe, Kenzo Tokunaga, Teiji Hamada and Mitsuhiro Handa. Top American anglers include past U.S. Open winners John Murray, Phoenix; Greg Hines, Tempe; Mike Folkestad, Yorba Linda, Calif.; Pat Donoho, Las Vegas; and Byron Velvick, Boulder City, Nev; along with past anglers-of-the-year Aaron Martens, Castaic, Calif., and Mike Reynolds, Modesto, Calif. and seven-time WON event winner Gary Dobyns, Yuba City, Calif. The field also includes four women professional anglers, two Japanese, in Sono Ishi and Reiko Kawase and two Americans in Tammy Morrow, Placenda, Calif. and Carol Martens, Castaic, Calif. The event will be covered heavily by the international press and taped for television playback in Japan and Korea. “They have become some very avid and knowledgeable fishermen,” noted Kennedy. “They also do a tremendous job of promoting the appeal of the sport to the point there are over 300 boats entered in many Japanese tournaments.”

Kennedy said that fishing in Japan is done on much smaller lakes. “Lake Mead will probably look vast to many of the competitors.”

Celebrity status is also found in the Japanese fishing ranks much like that to American sports stars. Kennedy said following the tournament the Mercury OptiMax outboard powered Rangers and ProCraft boats used by the Japanese pros in the event will be exported to Japan to be promoted and sold in the Orient. “There will be instant buyers of these boats,” said Kennedy. “Many anglers emulate the pro fishermen in Japan and want to buy the boats and motors used by them.” The tournament will be a shared weight format. In the pairings the American pros and their Japanese or Korean counterparts will be working together as a team for the day. “It’s to the advantage of both to catch a limit of weight fish for their boat and not compete against each other,” said Kennedy. Camaraderie is one of the reasons for the pairings giving the 122 anglers the opportunity to work as a team. Kennedy said that in the past at the Opens, the fishermen have improved their techniques and skills watching each other. “For example, the ‘drop shot’ technique began in Japan and is now a technique widely used among many of the pros here in the U.S. In turn the Japanese have taken back different ways to use a jig or a crank-bait.” New pairings will be made for the second and final day of competition and winners will be determined by total weight at the end of two days of fishing. The $186,400 purse will be split 50/50 between the American and Japanese competitors. First prize will be $20,000 each. The purse will pay down to 31st place plus $1,500 for “big bass” winners each day.

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