ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 3, 1991                   TAG: 9102040308
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Bill Cochran
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IT'S NOW OFFICIAL, B.A.S.S. WILL BE BACK

The Bass Anglers Sportsman Society is returning its Wrangler/B.A.S.S. National Championship to Smith Mountain Lake and the Roanoke Valley for the second year in a row because it says it likes both the fishing and the people in the region.

"The people of the area are enthusiastic about fishing, and local officials and business leaders are easy to work with," said Helen Sevier, chief executive officer of B.A.S.S.

She made the statement in the first official announcement from B.A.S.S. that the amateur world championship will be held on Smith Mountain with daily weigh-ins at the Roanoke Civic Center April 18-20. Virginia State B.A.S.S. Federation officers had said earlier that the tournament would return to the area.

There will be 42 fishermen, B.A.S.S. said, two more than last year to accommodate entries from Japan and the Republic of South Africa. No Virginian qualified.

The tournament has been switched from late June to April, and the weigh-in from the LancerLot to the Roanoke Civic Center. Lodging and tournament banquets will be at the Tanglewood Holiday Inn, with launching at Bay Roc Marina and Yacht Club.

"Roanoke is just a very enjoyable place to do business and with the excellent fishing here it makes for an exciting and fun location for everyone," Sevier said.

B.A.S.S. is yet to announce the site of the BASS Masters Classic, scheduled for late August. It has been held on the James River at Richmond the past three seasons, but will not return to that site.

Two cities remain in contention, said Ann Lewis, chief of information for B.A.S.S. She declined to name them, but pro fishermen and state federation officials say front runners include Charlotte, N.C. (Lake Wiley) and Washington, D.C. (Potomac River). 


 by CNB