LACROSSE, Wis. – The nation’s 50 best anglers from the Red Man Tournament Trail, the nation’s largest competitive bass fishing series, are set to compete in the 16th annual Red Man All-American Bass Championship, June 14-19, 1999, in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, for a share of a record $289,250 purse and a shot at $100,000 for first place. The Red Man All-American Bass Fishing Championship is one of the oldest and most prestigious bass tournaments in sport fishing and showcases the nation’s top weekend bass fishermen.
The week-long Red Man All-American event, to be held on the Mississippi River, is a festival highlighted by the three-day tournament beginning Thursday, June 17, featuring daily weigh-ins beginning at 3 p.m. in the LaCrosse Center and culminating Saturday, June 19, with the final weigh-in. In addition to the $100,000 first place check, one of the largest payouts in sport fishing, the event features a second place payout of $40,000; the
angler finishing in last place will receive a minimum of $1000.
The 50 fishermen who have qualified for the championship represent the best of the 26,000 anglers who competed on the 140 event Red Man Tournament Trail during 1998. They qualified for the championship by competing in one-day, divisional qualifying tournaments during the 1998 season and finishing in the top 30, based on a system of points and pounds. The
anglers then competed in one of five, two-day regional championships for one of only eight slots, per regional, available in the Red Man All-American Championship. A sixth regional, Western, advanced four All-American contenders. Six anglers qualified by entering all six events in a division, thereby earning a spot in the Chevy Trucks Wild Card Regional that had a field in excess of 600 wannabe All-Americans.
Qualifying for the Red Man All-American is the most difficult challenge a tournament bass fisherman can face. They must remain consistent on different lakes, in different weather and water conditions, and against a field of as many as 400 other high-caliber anglers from tournament to tournament. Spectators at the championship will see a spectacle featuring a world-class field of anglers from a tournament series that has spawned today’s legendary fishermen like Rick Clunn, Shaw Grigsby, and David Fritts.
The Red Man All-American has an elimination-style format, with the full, 50-man field competing for two days and the top 10 advancing to the final day fish-off. The 10 finalists will compete on Saturday, with their previous weight totals carrying over. The angler with the heaviest weight total for the three days will be named the winner.
Six of the contenders will have a shot at the CITGO National Points Champion crown. John Murray of Phoenix, Arizona, KimCarver of Milledgeville, Georgia, Mike Sherley of Louisville, Kentucky, Tom Silber of Labadie, Missouri, Ronald Yurko of Conneaut, Ohio, and Kevin Powers of Unicoi, Tennessee, amassed the highest point totals within their respective divisions during the regular season; the highest finisher of the ” Select Six” will garner $10,000 as the CITGO National Points Champion..
The first Red Man All-American was held in 1983 on Kentucky Lake. Dean Starkey of Peru, Indiana, was the first champion, winning $50,000 from a total purse of $75,000. Starkey won the event again in 1994 when it was held on the Arkansas River at Muskogee, Oklahoma. He received $100,000 for the win. Starkey is the only angler in history to have won the coveted title twice.
Kim Carver of Milledgeville, Georgia, is the reigning Red Man All-American champion and, having qualified for the 1999 event, has an opportunity to be the first angler in history to win consecutive titles.
Sponsors of the 1999 Red Man Tournament Trail include: Evinrude Outboards, Evinrude Electrics, CITGO Petroleum, Ranger Boats, Humminbird Fishfinders, Stren Fishing Lines, Abu Garcia Rods and Reels, Chevy Trucks, ENERGIZER Marine Batteries, Old Milwaukee NA, Black & Decker, David Seeds, Coleman Products, Land O’Lakes, BC Powder, Eveready, Wheaties, Chex Mix, Hamburger Helper, Wrangler, Powerbait, US Bank-VISA, and Frenzy.
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