There have been several positive developments and more sponsors getting on board with the fast-approaching 2019 Big Bass Classic, a highly popular fundraising tournament with a format unique to this region.

At an organizational meeting Wednesday evening at Lipari Specialties, Tee Roy Savoy of Coteau Holmes announced the strong possibility of radio coverage and confirmed it Thursday morning. Savoy said 960 AM the Gator, an affiliate of KXKC 99.1, also known as Nash FM 99.1, tentatively plans to broadcast at least twice each hour of the tournament that starts at 7 a.m. Feb. 23 on Lake Fausse Pointe with headquarters at Marsh Field Boat Landing.

After years of local radio coverage, Big Bass Classic competitors who rely on fresh reports at the scale were unable to get them last year when the radio station and organizers parted ways. Savoy, who stepped back as BBC director a year ago to spend more time with his wife, who has cancer, got word this past week from Neil Carret of Carencro, who served as interim director last year, that Carret was close to firming up coverage plans with 960 AM.

“It’s going to help. We hadn’t had a whole bunch of complaints,” Savoy said a few days ago, noting some 2018 participants complained they had to burn gas — in some cases unnecessarily — to go back to the boat ramp to weigh one or more bass that had the potential to be one of the three biggest bass of the hour, only to discover much heavier bass had hit the scale already.

“Without the station, it kind of makes the game (decision-making process) a little different. It wasn’t terrible … but this will help,” Savoy said, noting he was grateful Carret convinced a friend at KXKC 99.1 to cover the Big Bass Classic, originally billed for many years as the Top Rod Big Bass Classic.

Tentative plans call for the Gator to relay top weights each of the eight hours at approximately 20 minutes before the hour and announce the winners 15 minutes after each hour.

The first weigh-in is at 8 a.m. The last weigh-in ends at 3 p.m. 

The first-, second- and third-heaviest bass each hour will win $250, $150 and $100, respectively, for a total payout of $500 hourly.

Entry fee is $100 per boat. Bass anglers can pay that morning before launching but if they enter before Feb. 16, they are eligible for an “early-bird” drawing prize of two fishing rods. For more information call (337) 519-3107.

Savoy said he has a handful of entry forms as of mid-week this past week and that interest appears to be running high for those who want to fish the tournament that benefits Lydia Cancer Association, among other nonprofits.

“There’s a lot of interest, new people that have called,” he said.

“Really, right now, everything else is all lining up. I think a lot of social media makes it easier” to get the word out, which wasn’t the case when the tournament began so many years ago under the late Elvis Jeanminette. Jeanminette made the rounds tirelessly to grow the tournament to the high level of success it enjoyed.

This still is a great tournament that brings the bass fishing community and others together. Carret, a man with a big heart who really became a part of the community last year when he stepped in as interim director, will set up his weigh-in stage and speakers for a second straight year. The Resweber brothers, Paul and Shane, have volunteered to cook chicken and sausage jambalaya (the sausage has been donated already). Dennis Narcisse’s wife, Tangi Narcisse, will set up a Woodman Life insurance booth and dole out some delicious hot dogs (with or without chili … but get the chili!) like the St. Martinville woman did last February.

A Gator Tail representative has volunteered to put the fish release tank on one of his boats and drive out to the lake to release them after the event.

More and more people and businesses are getting on board, like the old days. 

“We’ll get it back to where it was. It’ll happen,” Savoy said.

To help make it happen, there are several levels of sponsorships: 

ULTIMATE ($500 or more — promotion on tournament board, T-shirts and any of the company’s banners or signage)

GOLD ($500 for hourly payback period — tournament signage)

SILVER ($250 for hourly payout period — tournament signage).

BRONZe ($100 to help pay for hourly payout).

BOAT ($100 toward a participant’s entry fee).

For more information, call 519-3107.

DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.