SUNBURY, Pa. — The Capital City Bassmasters club’s 10th annual Bass Classic set a record and reached an impressive milestone when 78 teams competed last summer on the Susquehanna River.
The event raised $17,078 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) of Central Pennsylvania and brought the club’s history of charitable giving to LLS to more than $116,000.
“Getting over the $100,000 mark is something special,” said Bob Herman, Capital City Bassmasters president. “It means so much to us as a club to help people battling cancer in Central Pennsylvania.”
The funds raised by the tournament are used locally to aid research, patient support and information programs for those afflicted with blood cancers.
The tournament counts on sponsorship donations so that 100 percent of the entry fees can be paid back to the competitors. “I spend pretty much the year rounding up sponsorship starting at $500 in either product or cash,” Herman said. “Every dime of sponsorship money is given to the Leukemia Society and not one dime is kept for the club.” Herman estimated that 20 sponsors donated cash and prizes to the 2013 event.
Herman noted the tournament field increases every year because of the high payout and prizes given to the competitors.
“Everybody who fishes gets a goody bag and a T-shirt, and when it is over, we have prizes for everyone,” Herman said. A couple of trolling motors donated by the Pennsylvania B.A.S.S. Nation and Bass Pro Shops were among the draw prizes for the anglers and tournament helpers in last year’s event.
This year’s event will be moved to the fall, Sept. 13, when the river will have less recreational boat traffic and the fishing should be better.
“This year we are going to pay out a few more places,” Herman said. “As it gets bigger, we are tweaking as we go and keeping everybody active and happy with it.”
For entry forms and contact information about the Bass Classic, visit the club’s web site at www.capitalcitybass.com.