There is probably little debate with the assumption that fishermen help the Grand Lake economy. There is quite a bit of debate as to how much they help. This article is mostly about the tournament fisherman.

The tournament fisherman (mostly Bass tournaments) can have a major impact on our lake and how busy we are. How many weekends do you see all the bass boats on our highways? Most of these people are from out of town and a lot from out of state.

Fishing has changed over the years --maybe not all for the best-- in that you have far fewer pleasure fishermen; but tournament fishing has increased greatly. This is true all over the United States. Tournament fishing is big business!

Here are some observations:

1. Tournaments are for the most part on weekends -- it would be great if tournaments were on Monday and Tuesday, but this is not the case. The lake area from Memorial Day until the middle of August when school starts is very busy. We have vacationers and family reunions that pack our lake. This is not true in the early spring and in the fall. If it were not for fishermen you would not hardly see a boat on the lake. In the summer, all the lodging, restaurants and convenience stores are busy. In the spring and fall a lot of the lodging would be empty without the fishermen. We need the fishermen to extend our season.

2. Length of tournaments - The number of days a tournament is held greatly affects how much the event helps the local economy. A one-day tournament means more fishermen are local, or are at least from within driving distance. Most show up with a full tank of gas and have already eaten. They may stay at a motel and eat in the evening and some may even stay two nights. On a two-day event, they may stay 2, 3 or even 4 nights in the area, eat out more and buy more products from all kinds of merchants.

3. Distance the fishermen travels to Grand - Our economy is helped directly far more in relation to how far they must travel to get to us. A 50-person " Indiana" club tournament will usually stay longer and spend more than a 400 person local event.

4. Time of year - A huge tournament in the middle of summer can help the economy only so much. We only have so many motel rooms, restaurant space and so on. This is not to say that the summer time tournaments are not appreciated and welcome. But spring and fall events mean so much more to the area because the pleasure boater is not here. He has his boat in storage waiting for 80 degree weather. The tournament fisherman will fill up our area when it is below freezing with a 30 mile per hour wind! How may times have you remarked about all the bass boats in town the middle of October one weekend and how dead everything seemed the next. It is because we could not get a big tournament booked for that time.

5. Not all Grand Lake businesses appreciate the fisherman - I do not know of any Grand lake business who will not take the money of a fishermen. I do know that many have an attitude that they will come anyway and why should I support their causes and concerns. We are very lucky to have one of the best fishing lakes in the United States and they want to come to Grand. If I were a tournament fisherman, I would seek out those businesses who will give a little effort to show support and appreciation.

Whenever the fisherman travels to Grand, and for however long he stays, we need to show the tournament fisherman he is appreciated. We want him to tell his friends and for him to come back and give us some more of his business.