The Lions Den

To say it was a busy week for the Lions is an understatement. Last Friday I contacted the Leech Lake Chamber and was told that they needed a non-profit food vendor for the Bassmasters Open Fishing Tournament. For those of you who may not know, The Bassmasters is among the biggest bass tournaments in the U.S.

The Bassmaster Open gives any angler an opportunity to compete for the biggest bass. Participants must belong to the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) to compete. From there, the top anglers from the Eastern, Central and Southern divisions secure entry into the Bassmaster Elite Series. The recent tournament, held in Walker on Leech Lake, was the eighth of nine tournaments held this year in this division.

The B.A.S.S. Nation Series maintains a global network of local clubs that support a range of tournaments, marine conservation and youth programs. According to the national organizers, this series spans every level of fishing competition from junior and high school events to the Elite Series, Academy Sports and Bassmaster Classic.

After qualifying through a series of B.A.S.S. national tournaments and the national championship, anglers get a fighting chance at the Bassmaster Classic.

For the past week Walker was filled with bass fisherman, bass boats and bass equipment of all kinds. It was huge and the Lions were part of it on Friday and Saturday when we once again served our delicious pulled pork sandwiches along with brats and hot dogs. Normally this would have been a three-day tournament but high winds on Thursday prevented fishing that day.

The event was huge and well planned. The boats and fisherman were out on the water around 6 a.m. and weigh-in on both days was at 2;30 p.m. Huge tanks filled with cold water kept the fish alive so they could be released back into the lake after the weigh-in.

Both days were warm and we sold a lot of bottled water to both contestants and spectators. City Dock was filled to capacity on both days as friends and family, as well as the anglers themselves, waited to hear the results.

Thanks to Cooper Brovold, Blake Watson and Joe Bieloh, who came down after early morning football practice on Friday to help move chairs and arrange tables. They also carried my stuff down the hill for me and that was so appreciated. I hope to get to some games this fall to cheer for the Wolves.

We also had some Nevis Lions — Samantha, Barb and Kim, who volunteered to help as well. Serving food at this event was one of our “fun draisers” to benefit some of what we do locally such as our Lions Honors Banquet and our scholarships which we award to WHA seniors. All-in-all a very busy two day. Thanks to everyone who helped in so many ways, Thanks to all who stopped to eat at our booth. Thanks to the Chamber for their help!

We serve!