Lake Okeechobee gains kick-off; locals confident series will return to Palatka
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Palatka Daily News file photo. Anglers gather on the St. Johns River at the Palatka riverfront in 2021 after a morning of fishing during the Bassmaster Elite Series.
Palatka’s biggest fishing tournament won’t be returning this February, B.A.S.S. officials confirmed.
The Bassmaster Elite Series, a nationally televised fishing tournament, has kicked off in Palatka on the St. Johns River for the past four years but the organization is switching things up.
“The usual February Southern swing will have a slightly different flavor this year,” B.A.S.S. officials said in a statement posted to their website Aug. 31.
“After starting the season the past four years on the St. Johns River, the 2023 slate will open on world-famous Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee, Fla., Feb. 16-19.”
Local tourism experts and others say the event has been a huge economic driver for the Putnam County area but, since it was "unusual" to host the launch for several years, it was not unexpected that the series is looking to move the schedule around.
Local angler Cliff Prince said Palatka is fortunate to have had it four years in a row. He said normally B.A.S.S. will host a tournament in one place for just two years, but he is sure the tournament would come back to Palatka.
“They'll kind of switch it up and change it around a little bit, you know, to share the love throughout the state, which is a good thing,” Prince said. “It kind of gives the (St. Johns River) a time to rest.”
Putnam County Chamber of Commerce President Dana Jones, too, called the four-year visit “unusual.”
She said she understands the tournaments need to move around.
According to the 2023 Bassmaster Elite schedule, the Lake Okeechobee kick-off is the only tournament stop in Florida.
After February, the anglers move on to stops in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, Texas and New York by August.
“We'd love them to come here and enjoy that $2 million economic impact that they bring,” Jones said. “It’s sad to not have them in (2023) but we certainly understand.”
There are fishing tournaments in Putnam County nearly every weekend, she said. Still, Palatka is home to some large-scale fishing events, like the Wolfson Children’s Hospital Bass Tournament, which Jones estimated brings in up to 800 anglers, or the Florida BASS Nation Junior/ High School series.
“We have appreciated the Bassmasters Elite Series being in Palatka and the value that it brings to our community,” State Rep. Bobby Payne, R-Palatka, said. “It is a competitive bid process, and we have been fortunate to have them for many years.”
He said the decision by B.A.S.S.to move the location this year will not prevent it from returning to Palatka in the future because anglers loving fishing on Putnam’s portion of the St. Johns River.
Cliff said he believes the Elite Series tournament would come back to Palatka because the St. Johns River is not only a good place to fish, but the local crowds are great.
“There’s no doubt that they’ll be back,” he said.