WBT preview event moved to Lewisville Lake

Media Release
Friday, Sept. 30, 2005
______________________________

Women's Bassmaster Tour kickoff event moved to Lewisville

A special preview event for the new Women's Bassmaster Tour has been
moved to Lewisville Lake because of substantial damage caused by
Hurricane Rita in the area surrounding Sam Rayburn Reservoir in East
Texas.

The tournament is scheduled for Oct. 20-22, with launches and weigh-ins
at Sneaky Pete's. It will be the second BASS event at Lewisville Lake
this year, with two more scheduled during 2006, as the lake takes on a
new reputation as a bass fishing hotspot.

"When the Bassmaster Elite 50 tour came to Lewisville back in June,
a lot of people wondered whether this was really a good fishing
lake," said Lewisville Mayor Gene Carey. "But those professional
anglers proved to the world what those of us around the lake already
knew - there are some big lunkers in the water if you know where to
look."

On the first day of the Elite 50 event, held June 1-4, 2005 CITGO
Bassmaster champion Kevin VanDam of Michigan shattered the lake record
by boating an 11-pound, 13-ounce largemouth bass. VanDam went on to win
the tournament, and the $100,000 top prize, but he only held onto the
lake record for a few weeks.

On July 17, Garrett Rogers of Corinth pushed the record up by half a
pound when he brought in a 12.23-pounder. And two weeks later, on July
31, Charles Pratt of Lewisville set the current lake record with a
12.67-pound bass.

The Women's Bassmaster Tour was announced this summer and will
feature five stops next year, including a visit to Lewisville Lake on
May 18-20. The women's events will coincide with the dates and
locations of two of next year's CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series stops
and all three CITGO Bassmaster Majors events. The Women's Tour and
the Elite Series will fish separate but nearby waters and final round
weigh-ins will be held on the same stage. Like the Elite Series, each
event will include three days of practice. The women's field will be
cut to the top six anglers on the final day.

The Women's Bassmaster Tour championship event will be held in
conjunction with the 2007 CITGO Bassmaster Classic. The date and
location will be announced at a later date.

Triton Boats and Mercury Marine are the premier sponsors of the
Women's Bassmaster Tour. A significant portion of both Triton and
Mercury's sponsorship includes providing the boater and non-boater
winners of each event with a boat and outboard package worth $35,000
and $25,000, respectively.

"We're excited that Triton and Mercury share BASS' vision to grow
the sport aggressively yet responsibly," said Don Rucks, general
manager of BASS. "We all firmly believe that this tour will provide
women with another outlet in which to fish competitively. It's
another great way to proactively grow bass fishing."

There are 34.1 million anglers in America and approximately 26 percent
are women, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Additionally,
of the 28.4 million freshwater anglers in America, 26 percent are
women.

"We believe that the Women's Bassmaster Tour will provide a
superior outlet for the many women anglers who dream of fishing
competitively," Rucks said. "As we continue to encourage women
anglers in our other events, the WBT represents an important step in
our efforts to grow the sport of bass fishing."

BASS recently announce that the 100-boater field of the WBT preview
event is full, although registration still will be accepted through
Oct. 12. Women anglers who are interested can visit www.bassmaster.com
or call (407) 566-BASS.

"It isn't unexpected, considering the diligent research we did,"
said Bruce Mathis, director of the Women's Bassmaster Tour. "We
are very encouraged by the response we have received by interested
women. They are burning up the phone lines, and I have never heard such
enthusiasm."

Like the CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series, the WBT will feature a pro-am
format. Anglers will be randomly paired and boaters will compete
against boaters while non-boaters will compete against non-boaters.

WBT events will span three days - Thursdays through Saturdays. The
full field will fish during the first two rounds of competition. After
Day Two, the field will be cut to the top six anglers.

Anglers will return at the end of each day for weigh-ins at Sneaky
Pete's Marina. Spectator information will be released as it becomes
available.

Lewisville Lake is located 15 minutes north of downtown Dallas along
Interstate 35E. Created in 1954 on the Elm Fork of the Trinity River,
the lake covers nearly 30,000 acres of surface area and reaches depths
of up to 67 feet. Lewisville Lake is rated as "excellent" by Texas
Parks & Wildlife for catfish, crappie and white bass, and "good"
for largemouth bass and striped/hybrid bass.

Lake Park is situated on 350 acres of land leased by the City of
Lewisville from the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Park features include
overnight and day camping sites, picnic areas, swimming beaches,
playgrounds and a state-rated disc golf course. Visitors to Lake Park
from Interstate 35E will use the Valley Ridge exit east to Mill Street,
then north on Mill to the park entrance.

BASS is the worldwide authority on bass fishing, sanctioning more than
20,000 events through the BASS Federation annually. Guided by its
mission to serve all fishing fans, BASS sets the standard for
credibility, professionalism, sportsmanship and conservation, as it has
for nearly 40 years.

BASS stages bass fishing tournaments for every skill level and
culminates with the CITGO Bassmaster Classic. Through its clubs, youth
programs, aquatic resource advocacy, magazine publishing and multimedia
platforms, BASS offers the industry's widest array of services and
support to its nearly 550,000 members. The organization is
headquartered in Celebration, Fla.

For complete details, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208 or
visit www.bassmaster.com.

2006 Women's Bassmaster Tour tournament schedule:
March 16-18 Toledo Bend Reservoir, Huxley, Texas
April 20-22 Neeley Henry Lake, Gadsden, Ala.
May 18-20 Lewisville Lake, Lewisville, Texas
July 27-29 Lake Norman, Huntersville, N.C.
Aug. 24-26 Lake Dardanelle, Russellville, Ark.


Media contacts:
BASS
Publicist Doug Grassian
(407) 376-9429

http://www.bassmaster.com

City of Lewisville
Community Relations Manager James Kunke
(972) 219-3726

http://www.cityoflewisville.com

As I understand it, women have been allowed to enter the regular tour
and some do, but the BASS Federation believes that having a dedicated
tour will attract a new wave of anglers to the sport. They drew 200
entrants for this preview event, so BASS might be right. Next year's
five events will tell.