Bass Cash

It happens pretty often this time of year. P.D. Vinson of Leesville, Louisiana gets a phone call from a fisherman who reeled in a bass wearing a plastic tag with his phone number and the “BassCashBash” insignia streaming down the side.

Some anglers know exactly what the tag means.

Others call the number anxious to learn what the colorful marker is all about, thinking they may have won something.

“It doesn’t happen near as often as it used to, but it still happens,” says Vinson. “We’ve been around awhile and most fishermen know what BassCashBash is. What I hear from guys more than anything else nowadays is that they thought about entering, but didn’t follow through. They just don’t think they will catch a tagged fish.”

For those who may not know, BCB a is a multi-month tournament that pays out big prize money and/or merchandise to anglers who reel in tagged bass during the designated tournament time frame on a number of lakes across Texas and beyond.

The only catch is anglers must be preregistered before they are eligible to win some significant prizes. Each year, hundreds of fish are finning around out there worth $1,000 cash bounties. Others could fetch you a $65,000 Phoenix bass boat or a brand new RAM pick-up valued at $35,000. Catching one can make a good day fishing even better.

Around since 2015, Vinson says BCB has paid out well over $1 million in loot to participating anglers. Three trucks and seven boats have been given away since 2018.

It can’t be a good feeling for the angler who catches a winning fish but isn’t eligible for the prize because he or she isn’t registered beforehand. Vinson says it happens more often than he would like.

“You don’t want to be that guy who misses out,” he said.

A few years back, Tyler Craig lived the nightmare twice in two days on Sam Rayburn. He was a member the University of Louisiana-Monroe fishing team at the time.

Craig and his team partner, Spencer Lambert, were practicing for a college tournament when Craig caught a five-pound bass that was wearing a tag. Craig, who wasn’t entered in BashCashBash at the time, released the fish with the tag still intact. With several days still left to fish, he registered for the contest later that night.

The following day, when the tournament was underway, the two anglers returned to the same fishing spot. Craig caught another tagged bass and placed it in the livewell as part of their five-fish limit.

The anglers eventually had to cull the tagged fish in order to make room for a larger one. In the heat of the moment, Lambert removed the tagged bass from the livewell and tossed it back into the lake. Had he removed the tag, Craig could have used it to claim his prize.

In 2018, 126 unregistered anglers caught tagged fish valued at nearly $200,000, Vinson said. Several have missed out on boats and trucks because they either didn’t know about BCB or chose not to enter. Nearly a half dozen anglers have already felt the sting of ineligibility since BCB’s 2023 tournament campaign got underway January 1 on Sam Rayburn. Vinson said he received phone calls from five anglers who caught tagged fish within the first week. None had entered the event before they caught the tagged fish. All five anglers told Vinson they knew about BCB before they went fishing, and they were frustrated about not preregistering ahead of time.

“Every one of those fish was worth a $1000,” Vinson said. The value increases to $1,500 if the angler has a bonus T-shirt.

This year marks BCB’s 9th anniversary. The month’s long tournament originated at Toledo Bend on the heels of an idea hatched in 2014 as Vinson was driving home from work. The concept has since spread to other lakes throughout Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.

Vinson said seven events are scheduled for 11 different lakes between now and early July 2023. BCB events always focus on large, public impoundments and rivers that see boat loads of bass fishing traffic from spring through early summer.

Texas and Louisiana waters in the mix include Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend, Caddo Lake and the Louisiana Delta. Other tournament waters include the South Coosa River, Pickwick/Wilson lakes and Lake Guntersville.

Vinson says Lake Guntersville in Alabama always draws more participation than another lake, about 2,000 entries annually. Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend average about 1,000 entries.

He added that events at Lake Fork in Texas and Lake Eufaula in Alabama were discontinued this year due to limited participation in recent times. Fork had about 500 entries last year.

How It Works

The BCB format is different from traditional fishing tournaments. Each event lasts four months and there are no daily weigh-ins.

Preregistered anglers who are legally licensed can fish casually and go after bass that are caught, tagged and released on designated lakes by organizers before the tournament gets underway. Most of the fish are tagged in cooperation with local tournament organizations.

You don’t necessarily need a boat to win, either. “We’ve had anglers land tagged fish from the bank and off docks,” Vinson said.

The money fish are easily identifiably by the plastic T-Bar Anchor tags on their backs, near their dorsal fins. The 2023 tags are purple in color, about 1 1/2 inches long. The tag number, BassCashBash label and Vinson’s phone number are listed on the side.

Registered anglers needn’t keep the fish to redeem their prize. Just remove the tag and take it to any number of lakeside tackle shops and other businesses listed as official check stations at basscashbash.com. All prize winners are required to pass a polygraph test before receiving their prize.

Anglers should also be aware there are plenty of previously tagged fish from previous seasons in tournament waters. The cash bounty is expired of these fish, but anglers can still claim some neat prizes from BCB sponsors.

Entry fee for a single lake event is $60 or adults and $40 for youths 16 and under; a $20 bonus T-shirt adds $500 to the prize for a winning fish. A $100 entry covers eligibility for all BCB waters and the bonus T-shirt. Registration can be completed online or in person at an official check station.

BCB is advertising $2.75 million in tagged fish finning around in tournament waters this year. Vinson says 200 fish valued at $400,000 were tagged for Sam Rayburn event, which runs though April 30. The Toledo Bend (200 tagged fish) and Caddo Lake (150 tagged fish) events run March 1 - July 4.

Check out basscashbass.com for complete details on the 2023 schedule. Let’s fish.

Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by email, mattwillwrite4u@yahoo. com.