GAY: Back To Basics For Bass

Gay: Back to basics for bass
Tournament trail built on laid-back principles

By Chad Gay

Posted May 16, 2010 at midnight

"Because in the beginning there were rivers."

That's Drew Gregory's motto. It's on his business card. And it's what led him to create a new bass-fishing tournament trail.

Forget high-powered, shiny fiberglass bass boats. Forget dozens of rods on the deck. Forget the stress and the pressure and the "Never Give Up" mentality of big-time bass tournaments.

But don't forget the paddle. And don't forget to get back to the basics.

That's exactly what Gregory has done. The avid angler and sportsman is the founder of the eco-friendly River Bassin Tournament Trail, which limits competition to man-powered watercraft such as kayaks or canoes.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based angler had been involved in a catch-photo-release fun tournament and realized if he offered prizes he could increase participation and excitement.

"I said, man, this thing could be so much better than this," Gregory said. "That's kind of where the idea spawned."

Kayak fishing got its start in the ocean and Gregory studied many different competitive fishing trails, took components from them and over the next year and a half formed the River Bassin Tournament Trail. The trail consists of five events across the Southeast, including a Saturday event in Sevierville.

Gregory had a website designed, DrewGregory.com, and within a few months, Gregory said he had been contacted by ESPN, Bassmaster magazine and Men's Journal for story opportunities. Bass Pro Shops joined the trail as the title sponsor, and the inaugural tournament was held May 1 in Atlanta.

"Man, it was a tough process," said Gregory. "But I'm glad I kept going and never quit."

The River Bassin Tournament Trail events are one-day events where anglers compete for their best three fish on a "virtual stringer." Any type of angling is allowed as long as artificial bait is used. The trail consists of three divisions - Avid Angler, where competitors vie for a $15,000 River Basser of the Year prize, Casual Angler and Young River Bassers. Anglers fish specified waters within a 50- to 90-mile radius of each stop's Bass Pro Shops, and anglers take photos of their catches on a measuring board and then return the camera's memory card at the end of the tournament for a results show, where the anglers' catches are shown and the leader sits in a "hot seat".

"These events are all real laid back," Gregory said. "It's not real hard-core. Everyone gets along and it's like a tailgating event at the Bass Pro Shops store. Everyone gets to know each other and it's real family oriented.

"Everybody competes against the river and the fish," Gregory said. "They're not really thinking about the other people, because that's something they can't control. And that's typical of kayak fishermen. They're laid back and into seclusion. They're not into loud noise, jet skis, party boats and chaos."

The development of the trail has resulted in Gregory designing a signature fishing kayak for Jackson Kayak, which is based in Sparta, Tenn. Now, in addition to running the River Bassin Tournament Trail, Gregory uses his experience of about 650 kayaking trips to help design better fishing kayaks.

Gregory said he's very optimistic about the growth of his tournament trail and foresees sponsored anglers and teams in the future, as well as more event stops broken up into regions.

"We'll probably have regional finalists that would go to a national finals and we would actually film them out on the water that day," Gregory said. "We'll see, man. It's possible, especially with how the sport's growing."

For more information about the River Bassin Tournament Trail, visit www.riverbassin.com.

Chad Gay is a freelance contributor.

2010, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.