GAINESVILLE – Heads up: the traffic Thursday morning at the Longstreet Bridge (where U.S. 129 crosses the Chattahoochee River) will be heavy and continuous shortly after sunrise …not on the bridge, but under the bridge.
That’s because the majority of the 368 anglers fishing the FLW bass-fishing tour event will be leaving Laurel Park in their bass boats for day-one of the four-day competition, headed south in their quest for nearly $1-million in prize money. At roughly 10-second intervals it will take half-an-hour before the last boat clears the concrete bridge pilings.
Competitors from across the nation have spent the past week “pre-fishing” Lake Lanier in the hope of discovering the secrets they will need to catch four-days’ worth of heavy limits of bass and walk away with the $125,000 first place award.
That may be bad news for the huge bass population swimming in the 37,000-acres that make up Lake Lanier, but it is great news for the economies of Gainesville and Hall County. The economic impact of this event is the chief reason the Gainesville Convention and Visitors Bureau tries to lure (pun intended) such fishing extravaganzas to our area.
Gainesville Communications and Tourism Director Catiel Felts said, “When we are planning for events to come to Gainesville we always look at economic impact. We’re expecting in just the couple of days for this to be $3-million of economic impact for our community.”
“This is one of seven stops on the list (FLW Tour schedule); Gainesville is third,” Felts explained.
Gainesville Tourism Manager Regina Dyer said, “In the past six months, fishing has resulted in more than $2-million in economic impact and showcased Lake Lanier as a world-class fishery and prime destination for anglers of all ages.”
An added attraction to the daily 3 p.m. weigh-ins at Laurel Park is that on Saturday and Sunday there will be a fishing expo at the park where the latest fishing tackle and equipment will be on display, as well as representatives from various boating and equipment manufacturers, and a handful of the pros ready to “talk fishing”.
Felts said of the family-friendly event, “The Gainesville CVB has been working with FLW to put together the expo for quite some time now.”
The expo is free and runs from noon until 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
Professional angler Aaron Britt is from Yuba City, California, (2565-miles away) and he said his time in Gainesville preparing for this weekend’s tournament has been fantastic.
“This place is phenomenal,” Britt said enthusiastically. “And this lake is something very, very special. The people out here are phenomenal; the barbeque is phenomenal.”
“I think it’s going to be a fun tournament and I think a lot of big fish will be weighed,” Britt said.
Scott Ellison is Promotions Manager for FLW and he says the only thing he would add to the accommodations available in the area is an indoor facility to host the daily weigh-ins and provide shelter for the fishing expo.
“Laurel Park is a beautiful facility and it works great for us…to be able to launch all the boats there, do the weigh-ins…in that regard it’s a tremendous facility,” Ellison said, but, “having a facility in addition to Laurel Park would certainly be a huge asset for future potential events. We’ve got a lot of history here at Lake Lanier so there is definitely a potential for future partnerships down the road.”
According to an FLW media release, television coverage of the FLW Tour at Lake Lanier will be broadcast in high-definition on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) April 18, from noon-1 p.m.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2018/3/644738/lets-go-fishing-lake-lanier-ready-for-major-bass-tournament