Sunbury, Pa. — The Capital City Bassmasters achieved a fundraising milestone during their 15th Annual Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Bass Classic Sept 8 on the Susquehanna River.
The club’s fundraiser tournament raised $18,077 during this year’s Classic to exceed the $200,000 mark in total donations. Since the inception of the benefit tournament, the club has raised $200,517 in donations for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, according to Bob Herman, vice president and publicity director of the Capital City Bassmasters. “We have increased the number of boaters competing each year and have raised as much as $19,000 in one year,” Herman said.
This year’s tournament had 96 teams entered with most of the competitors coming from Central Pennsylvania. “We had some come from hundreds of miles to fish it,” Herman said.
“We started the Bass Classic as a replacement for a club open tournament we ran for years,” Herman said. “We decided on the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society because for around five years straight we had taken kids afflicted with Leukemia fishing on a morning in late August. We made sure every child caught fish, and we gave every child a new rod and reel combo and tacklebox to bring back the following year.”
The Bass Classic paid $3,000 to the winners with the top 10 finishing teams receiving cash and every other team receiving prizes donated by sponsors. Every angler in the tournament received a goody bag filled with a t-shirt and assorted fishing gear. “We gave away more than $6,000 worth of prizes to all the competitors along with a cookout at the awards ceremony,” Herman said.
Mike Dailey and Bob Lewis won the tournament with 18.49 pounds. Pennsylvania B.A.S.S. Nation member Tom Mills caught the big bass of the tournament with a 5.72-pounder.
Money for the charity was raised through a 50/50 drawing, two trolling motor raffles and donations of cash or prizes from sponsors. Corporate sponsors of the event included the Pennsylvania B.A.S.S. Nation and Bass Pro Shops.
A guest speaker was one of the highlights of the charity event. “We had a Leukemia survivor talk about how much he appreciated what we were doing and how the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has helped him and his family throughout his treatment,” Herman said.
The club has announced the next Bass Classic will be held Sept. 7, 2019. For more details about the event, visit www.capitalcitybass.com.